Like you I can get wrapped up in the hassles of daily life and forget to look up and smell the roses.  Or in this case, the salty air of the Pacific Ocean.  You remember it, right?  That huge body of water right at the end of our coast?  What a thing, to live on this coast especially on days like this and in April no less.  I got out of town for less than 48 hours, had a blast, relaxed and even spent some dreamy time staring at reflections dancing off the blueness. And all that while I was participating in Craftcation 2014, my pals Delilah SnellI and Nicole Stevenson’s indie biz conference. I love Ventura for the funky vibe you can still find there.  Here’s a sketch of my weekend.  Inspired by Ventura Food Tours‘ Alison Costa I choose to walk on the funky side during my stay.

Friday – -Drive from mid-city  in 1 hr 3 min. -Arrive at Crowne Plaza Hotel (no,they’re not paying me for this) right on the beach.  I love it there because it’s human scale and not overly corporate, yet still has everything you need. The bar food and drink is better than decent and you can sit and stare at the ocean from a couch inside the bar or a loungey chair outside by a fire pit at night.  And if you have a pooch there is a floor (the 4th) just for you.  Also you can walk almost everywhere you want to go. -Went to dinner at Cuernavaca, a hole in the wall Mexi place for Alhambres.  It’s always my first stop. -Then for drinks at VenTiki, a terrific newish Tiki Bar (that looks like it’s been there forever) and had one of the best mai tais ever. Realized that their menu of “pupus” would have made a great dinner.  File this away for another time. Saturday -Breakfast pastry and coffee at Sunflowers On the Square where Nancy Pedersen (formerly of Bon Appetit Magazine) makes really good pastry.  I had the lemony blueberry studded Biscone. A hybrid of a light biscuit and a scone.  It’s in a quiet courtyard off Main St. -A leisurely walk around Main St for shopping, both window and purchases.  You can go crazy in vintage and thrift shops here. -Drove for less than 10 minutes to the Jolly Oyster.  How do they get to park that truck right in the middle of a Beachside State Park?  What a perfect place to work or eat.  You could easily return several times for lunch and dinner to this place.  They feature oysters from their own farms off the coast of Baja but have plenty more on the menu than oysters on the half shell.  We had oysters on the half shell with the best sauces I’ve ever had.  One was a beet-mignonette the other a take on the Vietnamese dipping sauce nước chấm.  Kind of genius for oysters. You can even choose to buy the seafood raw and cook it yourself right there. Sunday -Spent time catching up with Natasha Case and Freya Estreller of Coolhaus who came up for the closing keynote at Craftcation.  The keynote was in interview format so I got to sit and chat with Natasha.  The first time I met them they dragged me out to see their as yet unrefurbished postal van with a lonely cooler on the floor.  Last year Coolhaus did $4 million selling ice cream sandwiches.  There is nothing like an indie success story to get your day going right. -After that inspiration infusion it was time to pack the car and head home.  But first a stop for a late breakfast at Golden Egg Cafe.  It’s a funkily charming family run diner in an old wood house with a wrap around porch.  My fave kind of place for breakfast when traveling.  No pretension, good people, great service, simple well prepared food. -Realized that the CiclaVia event in LA would cut me off from my neighborhood and require coming up from the South.  Perfect opportunity to take a drive on Pacific Coast Hwy home.  Wow we are lucky.  Total gorgeousness. -On way to fwy saw a McConnells’s Ice Cream shack, made a Uturn and got a cone for the road. -After an all too short, startlingly beautiful drive down the coast was home in time for a nap before dinner.