Let’s Hide in Ojai

The arches leading to the park. 

Ojai was our next stop, I kept pronouncing it Ogai and my fiancé would laugh. I began to mispronounce it on purpose, as we drove up the winding road. I didn’t think it would be anything special, after all, our destination was Disneyland. Of course I Googled it but in no way did I expect how serene this mountain town would be. As I got out of the car the architecture took me by surprise. A motif of the town were it’s tall white arches reminiscent of Spanish style homes.

Fig was a unique outdoor store.

We walked through the arches by the park and then through the park to a beautiful fountain in the center. It felt good to be be on two legs again and we decided to keep walking downtown. We noticed many art galleries and shops. One such store was Fig, it was an outdoor decor store that had swings and lawn chairs. My favorite product there was a whimsical hanging acorn floral arrangement.

Inside Fig I found these cute acorn ornaments.

By the time we were done walking down one side of the street I realized the main downtown had no traffic lights. This gave it an old town feel, and reminded me of the small town in Gilmore Girls. In that show it always looked like there were no crosswalks and they would cross anywhere.

Trying to capture the pink moment was more difficult than I thought.

During the evening we began to scout a spot to watch Ojai’s Pink Moment. It is a pink sunset that happens during the winter months. We should have done this earlier because we couldn’t get a clear view of it and my photos don’t give it justice.

The arches leading to the shops across the street.

Crossing to the other side of the street to see the shops, we explored more art galleries and shops. We tried Casa Barranca Organic Winery and the wine was sweet. After sipping our wine we searched for a place to have our dinner. We found a cute little Italian place with good appetizers and the best pesto pasta. I regret not remembering their name! If you’re ever in Southern California and looking for a slower pace where you can unwind, you can always hid in Ojai.

Little shops, art galleries and restaurants lined the streets.

This Rumi quote a cool find.