Ojai Retreat

We just got back from a super relaxing trip to Ojai, CA.  Time seems to slow when you’re in Ojai.  It was the perfect place to unwind.

We stayed at the Blue Iguana Inn.  They have spacious condo style rooms, and ours had a living room, small kitchen (microwave, coffee maker, and refrigerator), two bedrooms, and a bathroom.  The buildings have Spanish-style architecture, and the grounds were really well kept.  Also, breakfast was included with the room, which I always love.

We got lunch at Hip Vegan Cafe.  For the size of the town, there are a disproportionate amount of vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Ojai.  I ordered the Hip Wrap with a Vegetable Soup.  Both were delicious, and the almond pate was surprisingly filling.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the streets and shopping.  We found lots of thrift stores.  I picked up a nice sun hat along the way at a surplus store.  Our favorite store was Bart’s Books, a huge outdoor used bookstore.  We spent hours perusing all the books.

The next morning, we wandered around town some more.  There are so many cute independent shops in Ojai.  I love that it hasn’t been taken over by tourist shops and chain stores.  I really liked Fig.  I loved browsing their outdoor inspired gifts and pottery.

SHOP//Fig

SHOP//Summer Camp

For lunch we had burritos from the Ojai Tortilla House.  It’s a tiny little place, and there’s no room to sit except for this super shallow bench outside, but it’s totally worth it!  The watermelon agua fresca was super refreshing too.

Our last stop before we headed back home was Wachter Hay & Grain, the “chicken headquarters”.  In the back, they sell chickens and turkeys!  They have the cutest chicken coops too.  I always have this romantic dream of having space to have chickens in my backyard and they would lay me eggs every morning, but then I realize that I’d probably be terrified of the chickens.

This little guy was crowing and when we walked over, he gave us the stink eye.

It’s a bummer that so many places were closed Monday and/or Tuesday in Ojai.  I’d love to come back to Ojai to check out Meditation Mount and hike some trails.