The places to shop down on main have never disappointed, from antique stores to trinket shops, well…read moreknown brands and a few local ones in between, I always leave with a bag full of goodies. They also have cute coffee shops and cafes throughout main street and full on restaurants too!! (some of them have gluten free and vegan options, just read the menu) Parking: free public parking spots around downtown, some pay to park on the street closer to main. They also have free events throughout the year, farmers markets, car shows and more.

Ending our weekend getaway, we took a stroll down Main Street in Downtown Ventura to do a little…read moreshopping. On a Sunday most stores open at 11am. So, it's best to grab brunch or visit nearby sites like Serra Cross or the Ventura Pier before you shop. There are free parking lots in the area, but by the time we headed over around 11:30 am, all the free spots were taken, so we used the metered parking which was pretty reasonable. Mission San Buenaventura is located on Main Street and offers services. The church is beautiful and Sunday service was very well attended. You'll also find many thrift and antique stores with reasonable prices. I loved that Main Street included a variety of stores and restaurants without including the cheesy and touristy gift shops. We had an enjoyable lunch at Immigrant Son caffe, purchased some sodas at a really cool candy store called Rocket Fizz and visited Very Ventura, a gift shop with a nice collection of Ventura related gifts. I purchased some stickers for my Yeti and a hat.

If you are looking for a low key beach, in a sleepy town, then this may just be your place. Often…read morethis beach is not too crowded un-like its neighboring beaches. And there is plenty of parking at this beach. The beach features both metered parking lots and street parking. Also there is a lovely pier, that is quite long, to walk down. And as your gaze into the horizon, you can watch the cargo ships in the ocean. One other positive thing about this beach is that is pretty clean, no littered with all the trash that you see other beaches. Lastly, there is a seafood restaurant on the beach in case you get a little hungry or thirsty. Come check it out if you seek relaxation at the beach.

A bit biased as I grew up between here and Oxnard! Love both cities! Cute little beach towns!…read more If you enjoy a chill vibe and clean beaches then you'll like PH. There are a few restaurants and cafes in town but for the most part ... Oxnard has better restaurants/cares and night life. I enjoy festivals in PH like the Banana Festival !!! So fun!

GETTING HERE: The…read morecity of Fillmore is located on Highway 126, between the cities of Santa Paula and Piru. REVIEW: I love Fillmore! I just love these old towns that are filled with so much history! Now, you might joke that if you "blink", you'll miss it. And, back in the day, that was more accurate. But, Fillmore continues to evolve and grow and I am here for it. Sadly, Fillmore & Western Railway closed in 2021. Long live the movie train and the murder mystery rides. Sigh. Downtown Fillmore is quite enjoyable, and you can find several shops, businesses, restaurants, in that area. Fillmore City Hall is a nice landmark to visit also. Check out Giessinger Winery, founded in 1996, too. I think most may pass it by, especially if you're off to the Ventura Beach or LA, but it's got charm and personality. Check it out!

Recently driving thru Fillmore is worse than driving thru LA , at leats at the A street / S.R. 126…read morejunction and it is the catalyst for the traffic issues here. Just making the lights last for longer than 15 seconds should help the traffic. You have to learn to grow with the population change. Other than that the fast food/restaurant selection and the variety of retailers is amazing for such a small town. OHH WAIT.. just a thought..I think they're making the lights longer so you get frustrated and stay to spend some money!! Fillmore you should probably 5 stars for that alone. We'll done Fillmore building your economy by slowing us down when traveling thru..

Amazing Tour of one of Johnny Cash's first homes with first wife Vivian and four daughters . Our…read morehostess and tour guide Lisa was amazing!!! Knowledgeable warm interesting and inviting .. loved the whole experience. Highly recommended.

Perfect!! Amazing!!!! Coolest place ever!!! It's just the way interior is so cool. How about the…read morepink room??! Wow!

Farm Day 2026 was a big success here in the 805. It was really fun to see the community come…read moretogether for farm workers, fieldworkers and local agency's that positively contribute to the safety of these workers and the mission to maintain safe and sustainable produce in the county. This year I decided to support and check out Growing Works nursery in Camarillo, CA. I've driven by this spot many a times and have been wanting to come in. This nursery is closed to the public expect to a few public days a month. This nursery which is ran through Turning Point Foundation is near and dear to my heart because of the kind of work I do and how they support women with mental health and employment needs. Coming here for Farm Fay was a blast! Not only could I support by buying their flowers and succulents in the back nursery area - they also had a vendor market where I was able to snag some candles and crochet goodies for a friend. All of the booths were local artisans and it was nice to be able to support them. There were a few food vendors so I grabbed a hotdog and listened to the live music. Weather was perfect, the vibes were friendly and cheery, it was absolutely the perfect way to spend my Saturday morning. Love that our county participates so actively in Farm Day and makes it such a big, awesome event throughout the county. I'll be an ongoing supporter and participant. That's for sure :)

I was visiting family in Camarillo and it happened to be during the 15th annual Ventura County Farm…read moreDay. This event is an educational opportunity for the community and is free. We went to five farms. One grew celery and attendees could take home entire heads of celery picked just that morning. I'd never seen celery so big. They also had various vegetable seedlings. We also went to a flower farm and walked through the fields while learning about this worker owned business. My favorite was the Sa'aliyas Ranch at Pacific High School. This hands-on ranch provides students with an education in current organic agriculture practices. They had a cool drone that is used to spray plants. They also have an aquaponics building with koi in tanks (with windows so they can watch the people) to create the nutrients for the plants. A fun day, despite the rain.

We love visiting Ojai. As it was Shangri-La in the movies, we can say that this driving route is…read more"The Road to Shangri-La". We usually enter the Ojai Valley via this direction, instead of coming around on the 101 to the 33. The Ojai Santa Paula Road aka Route 150 surrounds us in back country beauty and pastoral serenity. Passing through the outskirts of Santa Paula there are many interesting sights. The terrain becomes more rugged, and there's just so much to take in visually. From the KOA campground area (with ziplining we'll have to try one day!), and then Steckel Park, it's a short jaunt to the Saint Thomas Aquinas College campus. With it's impressive building towers peaking out behind tall trees and the mountainous backdrop, it has a spectacular setting. Santa Paula Creek runs nearby, with large rock outcroppings that add to the rugged scene. Then the road turns northward, passing through a rural area with several businesses including Painted Pony and Camp Bartlett. It's a windy section of road, climbing to the Upper Ojai Valley. Stay sharp and don't overdrive the curves! The first glance of the horizontally striated Topa Topa Mountains can take your breath away. You'll have better views as you continue the drive once you reach the Upper Ojai Valley. If you are nearby at sunset time you can view the magical "Pink Moment" when the light from the setting sun bathes the Topa Topa peaks with a pinky-lavender glow. At the summit there's a small grouping of places to stop, including Summit Drive-In and Stagecoach Station grocery store. The next section of the journey passes through the "Upper Ojai", home to vineyards, working ranches (including the spectacular Black Mountain Ranch - one of the largest privately owned ranches in SoCal), private schools, the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, and more. Once you reach Dennison Park, be ready for a quick, winding descent. Before you drop all the way down to the valley, take a few minutes to pull off for the scenic overlook of the Ojai Valley. It offers a magnificent view / photo op stop. Take in the peacefulness of the expansive valley, and marvel at the mountain peaks to the north that seem to stretch forever. From here, descend down some additional twists and turns and you're there - in the Ojai Valley. Once on the valley floor you'll have a whole other small town world to explore, set in a magical, lush, and fertile basin. Citrus, succulents, and lavender set the tone for botanical diversity here. Known as a haven for artists, private schools, museums, unique lodging, fabulous food, and independent businesses, it's a rare place to visit and refresh. The road that takes you there helps you shed your city skin and be ready for the Ojai experience. Enjoy!

What a wonderful community gathering to bring holiday joy to all! Folks selling holiday treats…read moreoutside their homes to add to the vibe. We got to hear some Christmas caroling. It was overall so clean too with trash cans lining the neighborhood. There is so much foot traffic and car traffic here so that was a surprise! I really loved seeing the canned drive container too! Thanks to the Gemini community for opening their neighborhood to us all! My only suggestion would be portapotties but I'm sure that would be an added expense. Maybe if it was token driven to help offset costs?

Wow! It was amazing! This is the definition of holiday spirit! The houses were decorated…read morebeautifully! Most had themes, and some of the houses really went all out! My favorite was the house with the dog theme, they even had pup Christmas carols playing! Some residents also get involved as part of the experience. One was driving an old style classic truck with a Christmas tree and Santa in the trunk bed. Another was dressed as Santa riding around on a Segway wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. There were a few food vendors, from residents setting up a stand to sell cookies and hot cocoa to food trucks. We started right as the sun set and it was the perfect time as there was less crowd. Although some houses had not turn on their display at that time we were able to see it on the way back to the car. I find it much more enjoyable to walk than to drive. You get an up close view and can really appreciate the efforts that is put into it.

16 different types of Munich beers, local micro brews and wines plus great music!…read more I came with a couple of friends to try the beer which were awesome - for $10 in tickets they give you 4 6oz cups to sample brews you basically can't get anywhere but Oktoberfest in Munich. These beers are STRONG, so after my second sample I needed a break. We bought a giant pretzel then managed to get completely lost in the giant corn maze for about an hour. By the time we made it out we headed for the wine tent and sampled a few awesome wines there. Insider scoop: apparently if you buy tix online it's cheaper. I've been to a few Oktoberfests, this is my favorite in California. It gets a cooler crowd than the Alpine Village kegger, and younger than Big Bear. It was basically a really good value, the vendors didn't over charge and the people were cool.

I ended up going to this last year and I had a blast, so this year I'm going to go with friends for…read moremy birthday. There were a lot of beers I'd never tried, and wine as well, which was pretty great, the cups were $10 for 4 - which was Ok, plus I understand it's a fundraiser. I gather it's a flat fee for unlimited samples this year which seems like a MUCH better plan. I'd rather just hang out and try everything without trying to get tickets or whatever. The one thing IT WAS SO HOT! But I can't blame them for that, but this year I'm not wearing the heavy german outfit, shorts and sandals for me! The airplane museum was interesting, but I think what really sold it for me was how festive it was. Everyone was just friendly, happy & cool - I ended up meeting some people I became friends with & who are coming this year.