More KDHamptons Diaries keep rolling in and it has been so much fun to see where Hamptonites venture to in the off-season! This week I heard from Montauk resident Cambria Levine, who spends her winters in San Diego, California. Come summer, you will find Cambria shredding waves at Ditch Plains, styling haute Hamptonites at Surf Bazaar, or shooting Montauk’s model set. Get to know this gorgeous 26-year old self-described “mermaid-at-heart” in her KDHamptons Diary below:

 

 

 

 

Cambria shares: I grew up in Port Washington, NY and spent every summer of my life in Montauk. My parents bought a lot on Lake Montauk in the 70’s and my dad spent the majority of the 80’s building the house all by himself. Most of my greatest memories are in that house. My brother, Grady, was born in 1990 and as we both got older, we got totally into surfing.

 

 

 

 

I never liked the cold winters on the East End, so when I was applying for colleges, I thought Florida would be an ideal place to go. I ended up attending Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. After graduating college, I went home to work in Montauk for another summer. I was working at a restaurant where I met someone who owned a business down in Rincon, Puerto Rico. He offered me a job doing graphic design, and I decided to take him up on his offer. I lived in Rincon for two winter seasons, and it was the most amazing experience, living in paradise with perfect surf and being able to work doing what I love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, there is little money to be made in Puerto Rico, and I knew my time there must come to an end. I went home to Montauk for the summer of 2011 and met my boyfriend Greg Gould [below]. If you’ve ever spent a Sunday evening at Surf Lodge watching the sunset, or a late Saturday night at Ruschmeyer’s, you have seen my boyfriend DJ-ing there~ he goes by the name “DJ WOOGZ”. Greg has been spinning in Montauk since a teen, and was recently named “Montauk’s Best DJ”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always felt I belonged in California, so when Greg asked me to move to San Diego with him for the off-season I decided to give it a shot! I spent my first winter in SD living in La Jolla, doing graphic design and marketing for a local company. We go home to Montauk where I continue to work as the manager at Surf Bazaar and Greg DJs. On the side, besides doing graphic design, I have a strong passion for photography and help models build their portfolios, shooting in Puerto Rico, Florida and the Hamptons. I love to dress girls up – style them, and make them look beautiful. [Here is a link to some of my work: http://cambriasherwin.blogspot.com/2012/01/photography-work-in-progress.html

 

 

 

 

For our second season in SD together, we decided to look for an apartment in north county San Diego. We found an amazing place in Encinitas, only a block from the beach~ prime location for walking to Whole Foods, restaurants and bars. I am loving Encinitas! It feels a lot like Montauk – small surf town. But….there is still nothing like the feeling of going home to Montauk for the summer and sitting at our local beach, bumping into all your friends. California is such a great place….such an active lifestyle: dogs, families, moms everywhere exercising with their babies in strollers, surfers, beach cruisers, healthy eating and living.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In San Diego, I am a brand ambassador doing sales for a new beverage company called BAI. It’s an all-natural antioxidant infused beverage, and we go around SD sampling/demo the product to consumers creating awareness of the brand [www.drinkbai.com ]. They do a lot of events in the Hamptons in the summer, so I hope to continue working for them doing sales on the side. We are releasing our ninth flavor June 1st~ the Molokai Coconut!!

 

 

 

 

On my days off, I like to surf, workout at the gym, or go for beach runs. Greg and I love to be outdoors – we found a really great hike in Solana beach that takes you along the lagoon and there is a crazy crevice in the side of a mountain that you can climb up a very narrow valley – it’s called the mushroom caves. Such a cool spot! Once you get to the top, you can see the ocean and the entire lagoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We LOVE to get dressed up and go out for dinner and drinks. There are a few fancy restaurants in the area – Greg took me to L’auberge hotel in Del Mar for my 26th birthday and we had the most amazing meal at the hotel restaurant, Kitchen 1540.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to winter surfing, I will admit I got spoiled from living in Puerto Rico. The water was in the 80’s and I surfed in a bikini, so it’s hard to get used to suiting up to surf 50 degree water in San Diego! But I finally got myself a 4/3 wetsuit for the winters here and its made the world of a difference. Greg and I surf at a spot called pipes a couple blocks down the street. The water is beautiful here, looks so tropical but it’s actually SO cold! I hear it warms up in the summertime, but by that time, we will be skinning it in Montauk :)

 

 

 

 

Greg and I will be heading back east some time before Memorial Day weekend kicks off. I look forward to a lot of things this summer. I want to work a lot, but I also look forward to just my typical routine. I love to do fun things with Greg, even if that means posting up at our local beach with our chairs and breakfast. I LOVE taking his jeep on the beach and going in for an early surf sesh when no one is around yet, and our favorite time is September: when the summer craziness is over, and Greg and I have time to relax and enjoy perfect empty waves and weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all about having fun, work hard, play hard!!!! That is my life motto! This year I plan to pursue my dreams of starting my own bikini line. As a surfer and water-woman [mermaid at heart], I’ve always wanted to create a line of high quality, great looking swimsuits that actually stay on when you’re surfing!!! Stay tuned………