Ojai: Ventura County, California

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Ojai (pronounced "Oh Hi") is a twenty-five minute drive from our campsite. It is a curvy drive along Highway #150. Along the way, we stopped to take some photos of the valley.

A visit to the Peddler's Fair:

This is a photo of the artist. Years ago, she worked on the ferry between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine.

We also spoke with some vendors inside. Matt and Donna Wall are teachers. We share our names with two of their children.  We purchased a book of short stories Matt wrote, inspired by his teaching career. Another vendor we spoke with, her mother is from San Luis Obispo.  She has a book that her mother ordered, many years ago, from Baltimore, Maryland. The book is written by Ah Louis, a Chinese pioneer of San Luis Obispo. When she found the book in her mom's collection, she contacted Louis' grandson, a doctor who resides in San Louis Obispo and serves on the city's Board of Directors.

On our way to the farmer's market, we met Jon, a shaman, selling singing bowls made in Nepal by Tibetan monks.  Jon told us about the metaphysical qualities of Ojai, and the magnetic vortex in the Ojai Valley.

Ojai is a spiritual place for the Chumash, whose word for "moon" gave the town its' name.                 In the town of Ojai, Elders bless new buildings and projects. 

The Los Angeles Times wrote in 1878: "The magnetic center of the earth is here. Spirit-minded people come to reach the God centers in themselves." 

In 1922, Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian mystic, traveled to Ojai for spiritual guidance.  In the last twenty years of Krishnamurti’s life, he spent three or four months a year in the Ojai Valley as a respite from India, where he had a full schedule of talk and travels. In 1975, he founded Oak Grove School in Ojai. 

According to Paul Kaihla of Soul's Code: "Ojai has more mind-body spas per 
capita than anywhere else in the U.S."
http://www.soulscode.com/why-ojai-ca-has-more-spiritual-retreats-per-capita/

At the farmer's market:

Donna's lunch recommendation:

Jonathan's chicken fried steak: It is not chicken! The name means your steak comes with sausage gravy! Jonathan hasn't stopped talking about it, since.

Some photos of gems from an antique store, one of the largest we've explored. There were rows and rows of treasures:

Jonathan is very fond of these lamps. 

                                 We are both enamoured of this lamp from the 1930's/40's.

We also explored an art gallery "Human Arts": an fascinating array of sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, drawings, paintings, clothing...  http://www.humanartsgallery.com

Ojai Post Office was built in 1917, designed by San Diego architects Frank Mead and Richard Requa at the request of Edward Libbey.

 The 65-foot domed bell tower is inspired by the campanile over Christopher Columbus' tomb in Havana. It chimes on the hour and features music at the noon hour. The tower is closed to the public. 

http://www.ci.ojai.ca.us  For historical info. scroll down on the left, and click on "Visit Ojai".