"On The Road Again" - Finally...

We're not normally spontaneous travelers; for us making the decision to take a trip someplace eight or nine days before departure was very spontaneous! The unseasonably hot, dry weather (which we were actually complaining about when it first arrived!) made the thought of spending a couple of nights right on the ocean soooo tempting. Turned out that the timing for our get-away was weather perfect.






With two dogs and ALL their paraphenalia (plus a couple little bags for us) we headed out Saturday morning - first stop the foothill arts community of Ojai. Not wanting to waste any of the day, but unable to check into our Santa Barbara hotel too early, we'd planned this little side trip to a town neither of us had seen before. We'd checked our on-line sources for dog-friendly restaurants in the area and found a listing for Manny's Oak Pit, just a few miles outside Ojai.
As we pulled into the parking lot the aroma was heavenly. We made our way to a large patio, with a water-fall and a huge fake bull on the hillside behind it. Larry had a burger, while Margaret went straight to BBQ - an "oink-oink on a bun", barbequed pork with cole slaw on top! Then we drove the last few miles into Ojai and found a parking lot right next to a lovely municipal park; it was the perfect place to let the dogs walk off some energy and for us to get a feel for the town. Indications of just how art spirited the community is were everywhere - from the bandshell in the park, to the local community theatre, and the flags for various other events flying everywhere. It's a place we'll return to, I'm sure, because we could have spent a lot of time poking around in the shops and galleries had we not puppies attached to us. Instead, we called the hotel in Santa Barbara to see if our requested early check-in was available. It was and were were on our way again. Route 150 out of Ojai took us on a winding path that skirted many of the fingers of Castaic Lake. We wish there had been more safe places to turn out and take photos of this lake - quite spectacular.