Ojai, CA
Oh my, Ojai. You beautiful, sleepy, artistic little town. A bit hippy, a bit healthy, and a whole lot of fun. Every bit as lovely as the neighboring Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, if you are in search of a laid back escape, look no further.
While the valley had long been home to the Chumash Indians, the town of Ojai was not formally laid out until 1874. At that time it was known as Nordhoff, named after a German born American journalist. Anti-German sentiments surrounding World War I caused a swift name change in 1917, the same year a devastating fire destroyed much of the rustic Western style downtown. From the ashes a new Ojai arose, in all its Spanish Colonial Revival glory.
Edward Libbey, he of the Ojai Valley Inn, who had already fallen in love with the valley, funded and designed a new downtown, which included an arcade shopping area, bell tower and pergola flanking the city park. While you can no longer climb the stairs to the bell tower, and the pergola had to be reconstructed in the 1970s, the arcade still exists in close to original condition, and contains an eclectic collection of shops. No chains though, as Ojai doesn’t allow them. Which is awesome. What it does have is a lot of art galleries, boutiques, garden shops, and restaurants. Really good restaurants. Shout out to Suzanne’s, which has a wonderful back garden and amazing food. They really focus on local and organic in Ojai, and it shows.
Ojai is also home to Bart’s Books, which has been selling new and used books at their open air store since 1964. It is absolutely perfect, right down to the sleeping Maine Coon. If it looks familiar, Emma Stone stopped here for a bible in Easy A (“in the best sellers, next to Twilight“), which was filmed in Ojai, and is a fabulous movie. Really, you should watch it if you haven’t.
As charming as the town is, the big draw is the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Hiking and biking, meadows and farms, all at the foot of the Topatopa Mountains, which glow pink each day under the setting sun- the pink moment for the uninitiated. Everything combines to form a charming destination, one you will not soon forget.
