Ojai Day Trip

Earlier this Spring we took a day trip to Ojai.  I'd been wanting to visit for a while and one Saturday morning we decided to put the kids in the car and go.  From our house to Ojai was just a 2 hour drive.  That's the beauty of living in Bakersfield, everything is just 2 hours away.  2 hours to the Sequoias, 2 hours to the ocean, 2 hours to LA and most importantly just 2 hours to Ojai.  We wondered through shops and ate delicious fresh food and toured an olive grove and press.  I left feeling inspired and relaxed, a perfect day trip. 

If you are in the Southern California area or are planning a trip here soon, Ojai needs to be on your list.  Unlike a lot of Southern California, everyone was extremely friendly, down to earth and just seriously nice (I say this because I've lived in California most of my adult life).  The snotty LA edge was no where to be found.  So, here's my must see, do and eat list. 

First stop was the gorgeous In The Field clothing and interiors shop.  This well curated shop is owned and run but the loveliest couple.  After walking through this shop, I could have happily gone home and said, "Well that was a lovely day."   Textures, patterns, and natural fibers were displayed in a relaxed, well-traveled way.  

We spend the day eating little meals all over town.  Instead of fulling up all at one place, we nibbled and shared plates at a few really yummy spots.

Knead Baking Company was filled with gorgeous pastries.  We opted for this locally sourced savory meat and cheese plate.  For a late lunch, we ate at Hip Vegan Cafe.  We are the farthest thing from being vegans, but this food was amazing.  So full of flavor, I didn't even miss the dairy and meat. Plus it was a great place to eat outside a watch the local folks come and go.  I would highly recommend the Chai Tea and the burritos were so yummy.  As we headed out of town, we stopped at Boccali's for a delicious pizza with gorgeous views of the country side.

We toured the Ojai Olive Oil Company.  The owner showed us all about growing and making olive oil in California.  The kids found this really interesting.  After visiting the tasting room, we ended up buying quite a few bottles of their delicious infused oils and balsamic vinegars.  Yummy flavors like Lemon Olive Oil and Blackberry Balsamic.  

And this shop might be the reason I wanted to make the trip to Ojai in the first place, Summer Camp.  I've been following them on IG for a while now, and just knew I needed to visit.  It's everything I could ever want for Riley, my vintage trailer.

And last but definitely not least, Bart's Bookstore is a must!  This is an amazing outdoor bookstore. Yes, all the shelves are outside.  My hubby, the book worm/nerd, was is heaven.

Grow Nursery in Cambria, CA

I really do love where I live.  California has so much to offer.  I really think I should be sharing more of my California with you.  We do get out quite a bit and see our state, and if you follow me on Instagram you probably know that.  So, I'm going to make more of an effort to share some of my must-see parts of Cali.

Last weekend, while Lon's parents were here, we headed to the coast for the day.  We love Cambria.  It's a quaint little beach town.  If you are familiar with California's central coast, you probably know Pismo and Morro Bay.  These are fun spots, but Cambria has a lot more class (less tacky, cheesy shops and the beaches aren't crowded).  The shops are cute, the restaurants are great, and the scenery never disappoints.

This last time I came across a new favorite shop, Grow.  Oh my, I could spend hours there.  I bought gorgeous succulents for my bunny planters and my mother in law bought me an amazing chunk of green recycled glass.  I'm still kicking myself that I didn't by a baby head wall planter.  I know they are kind of creepy, but pretty fun at the same time.

Exploring the Redwoods

Yesterday was my sweet mom's birthday! We celebrating by taking a little day trip to some new and some favorite spots in the Redwoods. I really do love California. I've shared before that I was born Canadian, but actually grew up in Papua New Guinea. So, California is where I chose to live 14 years ago. This state really has so much to offer and I love to share my favorite Cali spots with my readers.

So, we did a very touristy thing, that my kids have been wanting to do ever since my parents moved to Eureka, CA 4 years ago, we rode the Sky Trail in the Trees of Mystery. It's about a one hour drive North of Eureka and just a few minutes drive South of Cresent City. The little hike up to the Sky Trail takes you through a very dated, quirky walk through some beautiful Redwoods. In the 60's the Trees of Mystery attraction was put in and there really hasn't been much of an update. There is funny dramatic music that accompanies the guided self guided tour featuring the tale of Paul Bunyan. And we really enjoyed the whole retro package. The ride on the Sky Trail gave us a tree top view of the Redwoods. I really do recommend trying out this attraction if you are in the area.

We also hiked through Fern Canyon. It's an amazingly lush steep canyon. The walls of the canyon are covered in beautiful, green ferns. It's a fun little hike over log bridges and in and out of the little river up the canyon. It's definitely a must see in Northern Cal.

And I love my new app, Over. I added this great text and artwork to my instagrams using this app. If you follow me, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of it very soon. And the app even uses fun illustrations and text from one of my favorite bloggers, Megan Gilger of The Fresh Exchange.