Ojai is a cute little town in Ventura county, about an hour from our house. To get there, take the 101 North, to the city of Ventura, then take the beautifully winding mountain road (highway 33) all the way there. We took a different road going in because we were in Simi Valley. That takes you through flat farmlands, endless orange groves, and around a sandstone quarry. Stunning mountain and valley views all the way to Ojai. The only downside was on our ride in. There was some kind of bicycling event and all these people were riding in the road, not in a single line like they should, and due to the curvy roads, we had to wait until I could see clearly to pass in the oncoming lane. Other then that, the drive was probably my favorite part.
The little town of Ojai is filled with boutique shops and relaxing hotel properties. It's rumored that other then a few gas stations, Ojai city laws prohibit chain retailers so they can keep their small town charm and support local business. We parked in front of The Arcade, a long strip mall type place with side alleyways to other stores and restaurants. The Arcade has been there since 1917. Right across the street is Libbey Park, where the Lavender Festival was being held.
You couldn't see it because of all the vendor booths, but this park was pretty big. The weather was nice for most of the morning but by late afternoon the humidity came in. Blah. We hadn't eaten so we headed where the food smells were coming from. There was a large lack in food options so we went with what we saw. Teen Challenge has a booth that was selling taco salads and lavender lemonade so we got two salads and split a drink. The beef for the salads had been in a crock pot all day, mmmmm... Slow cooked is so good, and the salsa was made from scratch. But the real winner here was the lavender lemonade. Slightly floral, not too sweet or bitter, and so refreshing.
We walked from booth to booth checking out all that the vendors had to offer. Most were selling jewelry and handmade arts and crafts. Several booths were selling fresh lavender bunches, which also meant bees. We tried to avoid them but came across a vendor with a whole box of them. Their company sold items made of bee's wax like candles, chapstick, scented wax for warming (like Scentsy), and body lotions. The bees were more exciting then the product but I guess they just didn't have anything that was my style.
We continued to check everything out and came across a booth that was selling aprons. Doesn't sound interesting? Well, she is Jeri Boeing of Jeri's Whimsical Purses and Aprons. She doesn't have an Etsy profile or anything, but she goes to all the events in Ventura county to sell her adorable, well made aprons, purses, bibs, and tote bags. I was drawn in by an interesting skeleton and roses apron she had on a bustform but someone snatched it up before I could decide if it was a necessity to buy. Her aprons come in kids and adult sizes and are reversible with big pockets on both sides. This sweet senior citizen was quite knowledgeable in what the people wanted. She drew me in with her different Star Wars and Star Trek aprons but I ended up leaving with just a small token for a friend of mine. Adult aprons, did I mention, handmade, were going for $25 dollars. She also takes requests. Below is only one rack of what she was selling.
Off to more booths! In the middle of the event was the Ojai Raptor Center. They are a rescue and rehabilitation center for birds of prey. The had about 4 live birds there but the only one we could really see was this little girl owl in the photo below. She was attacked by something but they didn't know what and it left her eyesight all messed up. I don't remember the name but it was something along the lines of a Screech Owl.
There were a lot of hippies, really, in tye-dye, with flower headbands, incense, and everything. We picked up an ornament for our collection, a slice of tree with lavender flowers painted on it. To our disappointment, they only had one coffee vendor there, and she didn't have anything that looked good or was lavender themed. So we figured we would look elsewhere. In our information book, they gave a list of places that if u mentioned the Lavender Festival, you could get a discount or a lavender themed something. One place was a bar/Bevmo kind of place that was offering a lavender cocktail but when we went in and asked they said they didn't have anything like that. Boo.
After we left the festival, we walked a few doors down for coffee at the Ojai Coffee Roasting Company. It was a quiet little cafe on the corner of a street with a big welcoming red door. They offered everything you could think of on their two giant menu boards..... Except anything lavender. Oh well. I ordered an americano and we looked around as we waited. Fresh flowers on each table, but no lavender, a half stocked bakery case, which is a good sign for that late in the day, and a window to the boutique clothing shop that they shared a wall with. Coffee came up and it was perfect. I added some cream and sugar and we took it to go. The neighborhood is cute even if we didn't get to see everything. Occasionally, the husband and I did get a creepy we shouldn't be here after dark vibe, but I'm sure it was just our imaginations. We hit up that bar I mentioned before, Ojai Beverage Company (quite the city of creative names), also known as OBC. They had lots of taps and plenty of drinks to choose from. We got a couple of drinks and then headed home through Ventura. We got to see the beach as we passed by and caught a couple of raindrops on our car. I would suggest making this a day trip. Check out the locally grown foods and oils, pick up an art piece by someone from the town, and check out the endless mountain views.
The Ojai Beverage Co is the place we had food and drinks with Leland a lot. I like that place. 😄
ReplyDelete