Ojai - Ventura Sister Trip and Dad's Memorial Trip - Part Two

     Welcome to part two of the Sister trip that Lisa and I took on May 20, 2022. First part of it is here.

    After leaving the beautiful, friendly City of Ojai, we headed into Ventura where we had plans to eat at a restaurant called Limon y Sal (translated it means Lemon & Salt ).

Outside of the building. It looks very different now because they built an outdoor patio during the Pandemic and it remains to this day.

    We were really lucky to find parking right around the corner and we had a nice little walk to get there. We also found out they had blocked off Main Street at the beginning of the pandemic to allow vendors to offer outdoor seating and shopping and it continues to this day.

    On the weekend we were there, they had "Vintage of Main Street" where local vintage vendors sell a curated selection of vintage items. We were excited to go check everything out, but first things first, we were in need of Chips, Salsa and Margaritas!

Guacamole with a big hunk of queso fresco. Lisa had a Cucumber Daiquiri, I had the Limon y Sal Margarita blended with salt on the rim, both were delicious. They had an incredible Salsa also, hopefully there is a picture later as I didn't get a picture this time. 

    We decided to share the Chicken Fajitas because the guacamole they served was such a big portion and we were sure we could fill up just on that, but we wanted something more substantial.

    Their presentation was just beautiful! Just look at this! Along with the Fajitas, beginning in the upper left is a small bowl of refried beans sprinkled with cotija cheese; upper right...some MORE guacamole, bottom left is a bowl of Mexican Rice and bottom right is a bowl of Nopales, I'll share more about that in another photo below.

Close up of the Nopales. 

    Above is the photo of the Nopales. Nopal is Spanish for Cactus. My dad loved Nopales, so much so that he planted several cactus plants in his backyard. These looked like they were cooked and then made into a type of salad as they were cold. My dad would boil the Nopal and then he would fry it in a pan with scrambled eggs, sometimes with Chile Colorado. His looked very similar to the ones in the photo below. 

Nopales con Huevo aka Cactus with Egg

    The way that Sal & Limon served them was as a salad or side dish. The Nopal/Cactus is diced into the small green cubes you see above, then boiled in a pot with salted water for about 20 minutes, then drained and rinsed really well. While they are cooling off you dice up tomato, onion, jalapeno and cilantro, you mix in the nopal and then make a dressing of olive oil, lime, oregano and salt. It's a super healthy dish and I wish I like them, but I just never developed a taste for them, which saddened my dad to no end. 

Final photo of our food, the Mexican aka Spanish Rice and here you can see the Salsa in the background, it was fabulous!

    After paying Lisa and I walked the little Vintage Fair. We didn't buy anything, mainly we just wanted to walk some of the food off.

    On the way home we stopped at a Ross Store, which is one of our favorite stores. I bought a journal and a blouse, I can't even remember what Lisa bought.

    Our last stop was at a little fruit stand on the way home where we bought a flat of beautiful, huge strawberries and some pistachios.

    One more thing I want to share so I will always remember is the memory gift that Lisa bought me. 

    I just love this, the stones are so pretty and look a lot brighter in sunlight. I also love the four leaf clover charms so I will always have good luck! Thank you Lisa, I love you. You are my favorite sister!

    I purchased for her a coffee table book of photos of the City of Ojai that has some beautiful pictures. There is one of a beautiful sunset with the most amazing photo of a tree in black silhouette which we have already decided we are going to paint, stay tuned for us sharing our paintings sometime in the near future!

    I believe I will do one more post about the items that I bought at the Benjamin Franklin Craft store, so stay tuned for that as well. 

Ojai - Ventura Sister Trip and Dad's Memorial Trip

 

    Yesterday, May 21 2022, Lisa and I took a trip in memory of our dad who passed away on July 30, 2013.

    We took this same route in September of 2013 in order for the two of us to do something special to say goodbye to our daddy, that post is here.

    My mom and dad were really big on road trips, just taking off with all of us kids bundled up in the back seat and seeing where the road would take us. I don't believe there was ever a plan, but maybe mom and dad did plan things and just didn't tell us, we just went with the flow because we had utter and complete trust in them and their ability to always make sure we were safe. 

    I want to remember this trip and to post it to my blog in case (God forbid) that I end up with Alzheimer's which does run in our family. Having it here means my kids and my sister will have access to it and maybe they will read me these words and show me these pictures and for a brief moment I will be me again...Alicia, the documenter of her life!

    Unlike my mom and dad, Lisa and I had a plan. We took Highway CA-33 which is a winding road through the Los Padres National Forest that reaches an elevation of  7,510'. When we took the trip shortly after dad passed away, the whole trip was so beautiful because everything was lush and green and flowering. We went again a few years later and everything was dry and brown and it made us sad. I was hoping that this trip would be better and it was! Just take a look at these gorgeous photos.

Los Padres National Forest Highway CA-33

Clouds coming over the mountains

View of the cloud cover and the mountains

My beautiful sister, my partner in crime - Lisa

Obligatory Selfie! As you can tell, it was very windy!

Happy to see flowering plants!

Downtown Ojai - We just came up and over that mountain!

    Once over the mountain we had to make a pit stop as one normally does on a long road trip, we stopped in at a local Vons Grocery Store, did our business and then ogled the aisles of wine they had, quite an expensive selection. Needless to say we did not buy any there, but the day was young!

    There was a cute little liquor store in the same shopping center and Lisa snapped a picture of the name of the store, we thought it was pretty unique! Attitude Adjustment Shoppe. We didn't stop in but plan to do so next time. 

Attitude Adjustment Shoppe 

    Just by luck we happened to find a craft store in the same shopping center. It was just the cutest store and they had so many great things for crafting and art journaling plus they had ready made items you could give or purchase for yourself. I really wanted this beautiful hand  that was carved out of wood and painted red with several Zentangle patterns on it, but it was a bit above my price range for what I wanted to spend for the day. Now I regret not buying it.

    We met a very nice art journaling instructor by the name of Carolynne who was there that day for a 3-series Art Journaling Class held on Saturday. When we told her that unfortunately we were from out of town she offered to do a special class for my sister and I on another Saturday if we wanted to drive back to Ojai. While we were there it sounded doable, however on the drive back we realized that is was a long, long way away to make the trip just to take a 3-hour Art Journaling class, but we would try to find a place in Bakersfield that offers the same thing. Sorry Carolynne, I would have loved to take the class with you, you were so sweet and gracious.

     I did buy quite a few things at this shop, they were very reasonably priced and had some items that I've not been able to find at our craft stores in Bakersfield. I will do a separate post with those items.

    From there we headed to downtown Ojai to do some sightseeing and shopping. Here's some pictures from this location, it was beautiful, cool and overcast with a slight breeze and everyone was so happy and friendly, we had a great time!

Loved this hand-painted tile on the side of a building and had to take a picture with it.

There was just beauty everywhere, Lisa in front of a fountain.

Cute little shop. I want to make a string of beads list this one.

We had to do some Wine Tasting of course. Lisa had the 2021 Syrah Rose and I tried the 2020 Roussanne, both we good, but not good enough to buy a bottle.

It was a lovely place to just sit and unwind and catch up with each other.

My pretty sister and her wine. I know she will hate her hair in the picture, but it was windy!

After our little wine tasting while we were still relaxed we did some walking around and headed into the little shops on the street. 

    Lisa and I pitched in to buy our mom this beautiful hand-crafted necklace. We know she's going to love it just because it's red!

Detail on the hand crocheted flowers with seed beads in the center.

    I'm going to do a separate post also for our time that we spent in Ventura for lunch there, so stay tuned for part two. 

My Sister Says I Have to Start Blogging Again! Trip to Oxnard

Hi All! It's been a while since I popped in to blog about something. I've been wanting to but time just seems to fly by. It's funny that I always thought as I got older I would have more time, but the opposite has happened, I have less time...or maybe it's just that I get tired faster and go to sleep earlier? Regardless...here I am again at the demand (request) of my sister Lisa.

I didn't know it but she was using my blog as her own personal calendar of places we went too, things we did and when we did them. So to humor her, I'm going to try to at least blog about events in our lives.

On February 20th Lisa and I attended another one of her work conferences, this time in beautiful Oxnard. How did such a beautiful city get such a weird name? Well legend has it that the founder, Henry T. Oxnard wanted to name the city Zachari the Greek word for sugar. He was the president of the American Beet Sugar Company and the American Beet Sugar Association, but even way back then bureaucracy reared it's ugly head and he got tired of jumping through hoops and named the city after his family, Oxnard. I think Zachari would have been a beautiful name. 

We stayed at the beautiful Embassy Suites by Hilton Mandalay Bay. This is the view that greeted us as we turned off of Harbor Blvd. Breathtaking! Very California, very Spanish style inspired. 

This time unfortunately we did not have a room that overlooked the ocean like we did last time, but still...this is the view we did have from our room. Can't complain right?

We arrived on Thursday and settled into our room. Then we went down to the lobby for a Vendor Meet and Greet event with a sponsored bar and waiters constantly coming out with trays filled with delicious hors d'oeuvres, my favorite being the juicy ripe melon wrapped with prosciutto and drizzled with a balsamic glaze...mmmmmmm! 

Here's a picture of Lisa that I love! She was given a duck by one of the vendors. 

Me, Lisa and photo-bombed by the duck! It was sunset so the lighting was bad, but we had to take a picture to commemorate the weekend together. 

The next day (Friday) poor Lisa had to be in the dining room early for breakfast with her team as this was a working weekend for her. But I was on vacation, I slept in, got ready, had a leisurely free breakfast and then went to Starbucks to get poor Lisa a "medicine ball" drink as she was dying due to allergies and could not stop coughing and blowing her nose. She was pretty miserable!

Once I had her all medicated and working, I headed to The Painted Cabernet, this fabulous place that Lisa found for me where they have an Open Studio from noon to 4 pm. For $25 they provide all the art supplies and you just go in and paint to your little hearts content!

I was inspired by a painting they had on their wall to paint these cute little cactus plants in Terra Cotta pots. It was such a fun time, so relaxing, the weight of the world just melted away!

It didn't hurt that I sipped on this yummy peach Bellini while I painted!

When Lisa was done with her meetings, we took a walk on the beach and then came back to the room to get ready for the dinner that night. 

The next day (Saturday) Lisa again had meetings and I headed out to do some shopping. I didn't really buy anything, mainly just window shopping, but it was fun and relaxing. I picked up a salad at Rubio's Fresh Grill along with some chips and guacamole so Lisa and I could enjoy that once she got out of her meetings. 

I got back to the hotel in time to take a long walk along the beach with Lisa before she had to head back for her afternoon session of classes and meeting. I headed back to the room and decided I was going to enjoy my salad on the balcony...but I had a friend arrive that unfortunately drove me back to my room. Lesson no. 1, never feed a sea gull.

I'd brought some art books with me and spent a pleasant afternoon just sketching and watching art tutorials on YouTube. That evening they had their award dinner and we enjoyed a nice dinner with a couple of glasses of wine. 

The last day we slept in, took our time getting ready and had a quick complimentary breakfast and headed back home. The drive was uneventful and it was nice to have spent this time with my sister.

There you go Lisa, now you can remember this trip!

Catching Up Post with Guest Blogger - My Sister!

So I did a post about a week or so ago about catching up with everyone while I was a way for a quick trip with my sister to the beautiful city of Seaside CA.

My sister Lisa was with me and she took some amazing pictures which I wanted to use in a blog post, so I asked her if she would write the blog post and she did.

Without further ado...here's my sister Lisa!

Welcome Lisa! 

I have been invited by my adorably cute sister, Alicia, to write a guest post for her blog. I enjoy reading other people’s blogs but have only been moved to write one blog post a few years ago when my father passed away.  I imagine my blog page has been deactivated since then.

I work for a cemetery as the secretary/bookkeeper. My sister and I have a strong background in the funeral industry. We both worked at a funeral home and now I work for a cemetery. I am fortunate that my place of employment is progressive and believes in continuing education. 

That being said California Association of Public Cemetery Association which my cemetery is a member of,  hosts 2 annual education conferences. The conferences are usually in the“off” seasons, so while the locations are beautiful they are also usually fairly cold. I am able to take a guest so my sister lucks out to be my driver and my guest.  The conference in March was in the picturesque city of Seaside, CA.

I 100% agree with the quote in the image above. While the conferences are quite educational the best part of the trip is the ride to and fro. Sis and I are able to bond, laugh, cry, sing and most of all SHOP!!! 

I am not a shopper in any way shape or form. I generally avoid shopping like it was the plague but I do love to shop on our bi-annual mini-vac. This year I went hog wild and walked out with over $350.00 worth of merchandise; an all time max on spending. I am set with clothing and shoes for 10 years.

I am in classes from 8:00 am to about 3:30 or 4:00. Once I am released from prison, uhm Class, Sis and I usually escape for about an hour on a small drive to see the local sites. 

(all photos taken by Lisa with her iPhone)

Our first trip was a quick trip past Monterrey and Cannery Row to enjoy the view of the ocean and the splashes of the water against the rocks.  

The 2^nd day we just rested in our room at the Embassy Suites and pigged out on Chips and Salsa, which we purchased at a small Mexican grocery store. Yummy and very SPICY!

Our final day sis drove me around Seaside and showed me the many sites she uncovered while I was educating my cemetery brain. 

Alas, it was time to head home so we gassed up and Starbucked up and headed home… Oh wait, silly me! I forgot the best part… the “17 Mile Drive” featuring Pebble Beach! 

Not only do you see gorgeous views of the ocean but also Million dollar homes. I checked Zillow.com and on some of these multi-million dollar homes the property taxes alone are $20,000.00 a month. Yes a month not a Year!!!! 

All these photos that I've shared were taken on the 17-Mile drive. If you ever make it up to the Monterrey/Seaside/Carmel area please do take this tour, it's amazing!

Ok, it's me Alicia again, thank you Lisa. I love it! A blog post that I didn't have to write! Thank you sis for taking me along on these adventures, they are the high-point of my year! Love you bunches!