Oh Hi, Ojai!

(I’m sure they loathe it when people say that. But it’s just too tempting to resist!) Though short, our first trip to Ojai was delightful-- it’s just far enough away from home to feel like a real escape, and the whole town has this permeating free-spirit vibe that makes all your worries melt away… I mean, what worries? All in favor of feeling like your whole body is made of sunshine, go to Ojai!

I believe the Sunday morning Farmer’s Market is where all of this hippie energy is radiating from. A bluegrass band plays as you wander down aisles of fresh flowers, hand-picked citrus, organic vegetables, artisan breads, Ghanaian picnic baskets, gluten-free vendors, rustic cheeses, and more, and more, and more. While I could have easily walked out with something from every stall, I limited myself to what I could fit into my newly-acquired Ghanaian picnic basket: purple haze carrots, a loaf of buckwheat bread, goat cheese, fresh-squeezed apple cider, a sage-scented beeswax candle.  The real highlight was sampling the loquats and chatting with the grower (behind me in the photo, with a T-shirt to match his produce!).

Loquats, as I’m finding, are winter fruits distantly related to apples. They’ve got a nice mellow flavor that reminded me of apricot and mango, while Jed was transported back to his childhood—it was his first encounter with a loquat in quite some time. Delicious! After so much grazing, we were ready for a walk. So we headed to Meditation Mount, a serene garden overlooking the Ojai Valley. Here we admired the view and took in our peaceful surroundings.

Reluctantly, we left Ojai to spend the rest of the day visiting friends. Had we stayed longer, I would have loved to try some of the restaurants… Ojai Beverage Company and Hip Vegan Cafe were calling my name! Until we meet again, Ojai; until we meet again.