STOATMOBILE WORLD TOUR! (all are welcome)

Originally called San Buenaventura, Ventura has a population of just
over 100,000.

Ventura has a reputation for excellent surfing, especially Surfer's Point. Downtown Ventura is home to the Mission San Buenaventura, museums, galleries, dining, and shopping. Primary areas of activity include California Street and Main Street between Ventura Avenue and Fir Street. Located in downtown is the historic Ortega Adobe, home to the Ortega family, now famous for their chile products. Numerous thrift stores contrast with high-end shops and restaurants. Downtown Ventura is also home to the Ventura's ornate city hall building with its signature statue of Junipero Serra.

One of the most recognizable land marks in Ventura is a site known as two trees. these are two lone trees that stand on a hill and can be seen from most of ventura.

Ventura is also home to Mission San Buenaventura



The founding of San Buenaventura Mission was foreshadowed well over two centuries ago on the Spanish isle of Mallorca, when a devout Franciscan priest, who was a brilliant scholar and professor of theology, earnestly prayed that he might be permitted to forsake his comfortable circumstances to take up the Lord's work among the aborigines in the New World. The hoped-for answer to his prayers came on Palm Sunday, March 30, 1749.

Thirty-three years and one day later the zealous priest, Fray Junipero Serra- who had been subjected to painful sufferings and several brushes with death during his missionary ministry - raised the Cross at "la playa de la canal de Santa Barbara" (the beach of the Santa Barbara Channel) on Easter Morning, March 31, 1782. Assisted by Padre Pedro Benito Cambon, he celebrated a High Mass, preached on the Resurrection, and dedicated a Mission to San Buenaventura (St. Bonaventure). It had been planned as the third in the chain of twenty-one Missions founded by Padre Serra but was destined to be the ninth and last founded during his lifetime, and one of six he personally dedicated.

One also can find tasty food in Ventura - as we found this Italian restaurant

http://www.fiorerestaurant.net/main.html

Staying close to the beach at the Marriott Hotel for example will give
you comfort and proximity to beach and town.

A last look back at Ventura by night....

Now back to ossobuco!

Am I looking at the Channel Islands? probably. I'm sort of dumb about the islands, though my ex, decades ago, wrote a script that had one of them as a location.

On the missions - I'm not a big fan of the mission movement or of Serra, though I was raised to be. I can understand being either one of the natives or one of the missionaries. Let's say I can see two or more sides to that, but I'm on one side - have listened and can only agree with Carey McWilliams in his Southern California: Island on the Land. In any case, I like the architecture.




Southern California: Island on the Land (a2k amazon link)

Oops, forgot to first say Thanks, CJane. Those canals/houses were entirely new to me. Don't mean to be snotty about the mission - just that I find it a thick subject.

I'll go ferret around to see if I can find any good photos of Ojai, will post if I do, with an anecdote or two, and then we'll dock the Stoatmobile on the beach for the night. Which beach? Maybe Rincon. Back in a bit.

And....


I/we forgot last night to welcome Diane to our Mobile Cushions. Diane, glad you're with us, and here is a nice frozen coconut ice cream bar, brand of your choice.....







(Diane and I are going to check out the paletas place on Central Avenue ABQ, one of these days).

OJAI -

at the time I knew it, in the early and mid eighties, it was sort of a sleepy looking place.

I don't really know how much it has changed.


But, here's a first google photo -





You can see its relative location on this Ventura County map -

When I was there, there was a quiet main street, with a few little shops (I bought a book in one, for a dollar, wonder what that book was - old, in any case).

I knew the town, to the small extent I knew it, because I did my final project in land arch school on a Neutra house there, for the woman who owned it. She was interesting and we're still sporadically in touch, both of us having moved elsewhere. She was a ceramic/porcelain artist and photographer, very talented. She sat next to me at a wedding luncheon in Los Angeles, and described her wishes for her property as a by the way, and I said, I'm a landarch student at the end of my courses, I'm looking for a thesis project. Thus gumming myself up in lots of work for no money. She wanted a new studio, the whole place to be a sculpture garden, a pond and more.

Making a long story short, I did all that, she liked the plans and was going to have them done. Yeh, you guessed it, she sold the place.

I mostly know Ojai from her goose chasing me while I pulled a grid and shot grades (this before laser, etc)... fear afoot on the land.

I don't regret a minute of all that.


One of Ojai's problems is that ingress to and egress from the town can get pretty clogged from basically one road. And since fire can be a threat, that can be more serious than just traffic-hours aggravation.

More to follow.

A spa of renown -
http://www.ojairesort.com/spa-resort.php
(I haven't been there, I'm not a spa person, but friends have liked it a lot.)


People love the Ojai Music Festival - (I probably would too)

And finally, lots of interesting stuff on Ojai in this Wiki link (including celebrity tidbits) -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojai,_California








Osso needs to beach our whale - next post.

Well, no clue where this is, but Ventura County -



(Rincon turned out to be further north. Osso disoriented from google time.
Needs respite. Grabs Stoatmobile pillow.)

The Stoatmobile rolls over on the sandy beach, rolls back on its belly, sets down front and rear sand-stabilizing shoes, activates Stoatmobile exterior sand rinsing system, all the while stoatmobiliers study their Los Angeles County map handouts.




This is some kind of water system map, but sort of useful for general areas...

Osso whines, "it was oddly hard to find a good map on google images that covered LA county, mentioned cities/areas, that wouldn't stretch the page. Or even would stretch the page; there seemed to be remarkably little map info for such a prominent county of a prominent state."

Osso pours herself a bit of the old malt on ice to recover.

Oops, wait, it's breakfast time, isn't it?

Osso pours herself some of that good champagne and looks around for some nice pastry fresh from Solvang...

She's so glad she took that jog along the beach. Champagne tastes even better than usual after jogging....



I think we need some LA music here, but I can't tell if any Stoatmobile A2Kers are awake yet....

Just catching up after a frantically busy week, unfortunately off the Stoatmobile. Excellent, interesting stuff, osso & Jane! You two oughta be professional tour guides!

For some reason, I have trouble accessing the stoatmobile. Bill Gates doesn't want me to take the tour, I guess.

Jane's and osso's places do remind me of this song by America. Are we allowed to sing?

AMERICA; VENTURA HIGHWAY

CHEWING ON A PIECE OF GRASS
WALKING DOWN THE ROAD
TELL ME HOW LONG YOU GONNA STAY HERE JOE
SOME PEOPLE SAY THIS TOWN DON'T LOOK
GOOD IN SNOW
YOU DON'T CARE I KNOW

chorus;
VENTURE HIGHWAY IN THE SUNSHINE
WHERE THE DAYS ARE LONGER
THE NIGHTS ARE STRONGER
THAN MOONSHINE
YOU'RE GONNA GO I KNOW

'CAUSE THE FREE WIND IS BLOWING THROUGH YOUR HAIR
AND THE DAYS SURROUND YOUR DAYLIGHT THERE
SEASONS CRYING NO DESPAIR
ALLIGATOR LIZARDS IN THE AIR
IN THE AIR

WISHING ON A FALLING STAR
WAITING FOR THE EARLY TRAIN
SORRY BOY BUT I'VE BEEN HIT BY PURPLE RAIN
A COME ON JOE YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR NAME
THANKS ALLOT SON JUST THE SAME

Thank you, Letty. Here's another Ventura Highway, that's 156 descending from Ojai to Santa Paula ...

I know that song!

Singing along - as we cruise through Cal!

Sooo many places......

Keep up the good work!

Letty, I sincerely hope that nobody has given you the impression that you're not allowed to sing!

Stoat: (on intercom) Yo, Vinnie!

VINNIE: Yo, Stoat! Sup wit chew?

Stoat: Vinnie, I'm just wondering, have you or Throkko been suggesting to passengers that they shouldn't sing? I've got a very nice and courteous Lady passenger here who seems unsure whether she's allowed to sing here on the stoatmobile.

VINNIE: What? Oh no, we never said nuttin' to nobody about singin'. Me an Throkko, we sing all da time down here in da transporter room. We sing da old Italian songs dat my Mama taught us. We don't have no problems wid singin'.

Stoat: Okay Vinnie, I'm happy to hear that. I was just checking, I guess there's been a misunderstanding.

VINNIE: Well, you know what Goethe said 'bout misunderstandin's?
He said dat almost all conflicts between people are due to misunderstandin's.

Stoat: That's beautiful, Vinnie. I didn't know that you were a fan of Goethe's.

VINNIE: Oh yeah, I read Goethe a lot. I like Kant better, though. Much more cerebral an' he don't take no BS from da pre-existentialists. Read one volume o' Kant's an' you'll never pick up Rousseau again....now Rousseau, dat was a pansy. No backbone at all.

Stoat: Vinnie, I had no idea that you read so much philosophy, you impress me all the time. We'll have to continue this conversation later though, it looks like my steak is ready to come off the barbecue.

VINNIE: Dat's fine Stoat, enjoy your steak and be sure to put some Bearnaise sauce on it....I love dat Bearnaise sauce on a good steak.

Stoat: I do too, Vinnie. See Ya!