destination ojai! wheeler gorge and rose valley falls

we took dylan camping to ojai last weekend. wheeler gorge was perfect---no crazy, loud, neighbors or blasting heavy metal or oompah music; everyone was respectful of each others' space and privacy. sites were spacious and shady, which i loved, and our site was right next to the creek! those are the good--now the bad: poison oak, bugs (a few flies and mosquitoes), the vault (stink-y) toilets and the absence of showers. but those were minimal discomforts.

seriously---what's not to love than sitting under leafy oaks, listening to rushing water, reading a book, cooking outdoors, or just doing nothing. 

we had just dug out my dad's old coleman tent from my parents' garage--so we had to take it out camping, natch. it felt great to be able to camp in the same tent we used when we were kids growing up. i have fond memories of my dad and his love of camping. stuffed into the boxes of old tents, poles, sleeping bags, stoves and vintage lanterns was even an old map of ojai wilderness that he had saved.

so this past weekend, we found ourselves driving up highway 33, past ojai and up to los padres national forest.

setting up the tent couldn't have been easier. here was the view of the creek from inside the coleman tent--its upright walls made it feel more like a 'house' than a tent.

resurrecting old memories and my dad's old camping stuff was like him being there for us all over again--and finding that old ojai camping map--i could feel his guidance as if were handing us his blueprint for adventure and happiness.

his happiness is ours!

i miss you dad and dylan misses his papa! we appreciate all the love and affection you generously bestowed onto us while you were alive on this earth. we miss you greatly, every day, and feel your presence always.





django rock-hops up to rose valley falls--the trail to the falls is easy, only one mile in and is accessed from lion campground in the los padres national forest.



here i am, trying to climb up the falls--one slippery, mossy rock at a time. i imagine in winter and fall, after the rains, the falls is lush and spectacular. in early june, the falls wasn't so much a rush but trickles and then streams cascading over mossy rocks. still very pretty and worth the short hike in. lots of people were picnicking and kids were splashing about in crags and little caves here.



dylan climbs up the highest peak at rose valley falls with a friend and chats up the locals.



django fiercely guards against the occasional redneck happy camper crashing our site. good old django!



the creek was just steps down from the creek and dylan managed to have a hella good time trying to catch all sorts of bugs.

right now, we're wishing we're back in ojai, catching bugs with dylan and chatting with campers.   a weekend convening with nature always allows us to press the 'reset' button on our lives and our souls. happy!

see more photos here and here.

le shack: our new vintage trailer!

we did it--john, dylan and i are now the proud owners of a very old camping trailer. we now have a surf shack and cabin on wheels.

i'm still in disbelief we did this--after searching and trolling ads for months, we ended up buying a 1973 constructam caravan, originally made in belgium, shipped to california years ago that eventually found its way on craigslist.

before taking it on its maiden voyage last weekend, we were fraught with questions--will we be able to tow this thing around? have we lost our minds? will it be fun?

a resounding yes, yes and yes.

we usually visit ojai in the fall, and we ended up taking 'le shack' to camp comfort since it's located a mile from downtown ojai--i imagined if anything went wrong or we needed supplies, we wouldn't be too far from civilization.

so the experience was all very civilized...



thank goodness the camp had electrical hook ups--we were able to plug in a coffee maker, toaster oven, ipod player, and of course, laptop for playing DVDs for dylan.

driving up the 101 wasn't too bad; we did lose a cracked skylight on the way (yikes) and it did start  raining as soon as we hit the campground. john put up a tarp, and the rains fell like mad. we fell asleep listening to the thundering rain--and thanked our lucky stars we brought along that tarp.

mini kitchen

dylan plays sommelier and waiter for mom and dad. he had a ball. 

in the morning, we woke up snug, warm and dry. nothing really works on the trailer--the sink needs to hooked up for running water, the european mini fridge runs on 240 voltage and needs to be replaced with a u.s. model, no bathroom on board; the trailer is rusty and crumbly and it will need work, inside and out.

but we absolutely adore it.

our site at camp comfort was nice, next to a babbling creek and john and dylan built a fire--what is it about men and boys and fire? the camp host donated firewood, and some of the other campers (who brought huge rvs complete with satellite, big screen tvs, etc.) shared firestarter and they were all very friendly and convivial. some even complimented our little trailer.

snacktime under the trees. those granny curtains will have to be replaced, asap! 

i couldn't be happier.

kickin' it: ukulele and story time in the 'dining room'

being goofy, our dylan

dining room turned into bedrom

the other dining area turned into a sleeping area

camp comfort: like a glorified parking lot, but peaceful and quiet. 

dylan had the most fun being tarzan--getting dirty and wet, and dragging everything through mud and soot and just having the time of his life. that's what happens when you go camping in the rain--the experience was akin to waldorf preschool--letting a kid run wild through the forest. it's just what this kid needs.

at this very moment, i'm impatient to hitch up 'le shack' and head out again--to the desert, beach, mountains? and we keep asking ourselves, why didn't we do this sooner?

ojai how we love you so

autumn means one thing: road trip! and this time we headed out of the madness of the urban sprawl that is the city and into the wilderness of ojai and the los padres national forest. dylan absolutely, madly, positively fell in love with ojai, and of 'our house' or as dylan now calls it, 'my house!'

ojai has always had a special place in my heart ever since i had the chance of going to school here many many years ago. i look upon that year with fondness and i appreciate the tie i have to this picturesque town and its spiritual centers, meditation retreats and orchards. i wouldn't have a problem, say, if i had to live here again, especially if i owned this house we stayed in. and what a house.

here's a picture of 'our house' (oh we wish, we wish...) or rather the view from one of the many windows. you can see a small section of a walking trail that leads to soule park in the middle of this photo. the parks, trails, bike path and downtown were mere steps away from the house, though it looks as if we were miles from civilization.

it's officially 'our house' now. i think we fell in love, not with just the house itself, but with its views and peaceful energy.  i can dream forever of the grove of trees spiraling into its little canyon and creeks. 

here's a view of the house from the walking trail. 

like i said, dylan fell head over heels for the house the minute he stepped in. he didn't want to leave and spent hours gathering sticks, rocks, playing in the grass, exploring the magical attic room, its gardens, and of course, playing on the furniture.

the house was a pristine, restored craftsman from the 1920s. i could not get enough of the house, the stunning setting, the french vintage pieces, the european bathroom and fixtures, and on and on that made the house such an architectural gem. we thoroughly enjoyed nestling into the 'bones' of the house -- and seeing the details that makes a house a house; we could feel the love and passion and time the owner spent in making the house not just a collection of rooms, but into a story---the collection of vintage pieces lovingly restored back to life, the art on the walls, the bob dylan poster in the basement, the pool table, the old california pottery collection. the more i pored over everything the house had to offer, i could feel the house saying, here's my story, my history, my place. here is how the house should be used, here is where one thinks, where one is inspired, where one relaxes and heals and rests. and how does one do that in a house. very carefully, i imagine. i imagine the owner just pluckily, luckily, LOVING the house, as she culled each unique piece and curated each room, one by one, with patience and devotion. yard sales, travels, antique stores, found objects...the house was absolutely loved. the owner wanted to tell a story by filling a beautiful house.

we also delighted in watching dylan explore the house and its grounds. everything to him was a game, a fairy tale, or a railroad; he'd sit under the trees and re-enact stories, recite songs and plotlines from the hundreds of children's stories we read to him at bedtime, says john. and that was pretty magical to see. it's as if the the trees were a canopy for his imagination and his wondering.

every morning, the mountains were misty (view from the ojai sunday farmer's market).

and every morning, we soaked in the greenery of the outside and inside. 

it made me wonder, how come we don't get out of town more often? (terrible traffic.)  how come we don't have fresh organic fruits and produce and baked goods from the best farmer's market ever? (BEST EVER IN CALIFORNIA, in my opinion, anyway.)  how come we don't breathe in fresh, clean, mountain air every day? 

and how come we don't stop to notice the little things, like how delicious a frozen grape is for breakfast, and how smelly a dog can get after a wet rain. well, actually we notice our smelly dogs often, and it's pretty pungent. 

of course, django and dylan fell into a predictable routine at mealtimes. django would beg for scraps, dylan would munch happily away, and django would subsequently drool on the carpet. home sweet home. 

we did a lot of exploring around the valley. we love small towns, and ventura county has got some gems. fillmore is an agricultural town situated beneath the topa topa mountains, and is true-blue working class; whereas ojai's art galleries attract a yoga-fied, crunchy-organic, hippie-chic glamour retiree set, fillmore is totally old california at heart: miles and miles of citrus orchards, vineyards, fruit stands, some rough neighborhoods, and dazzling sunsets over the topa topas. fillmore also means one thing for dylan---the old train museum at the fillmore railway! 

all aboard! dylan and john ran into a one 'conductor charlie' who was getting ready to run the diesel engine for that night's 'murder mystery' dinner train. when john explained that dylan loved trains, charlie was nice enough to give them a birds' eye view from the cab of the engine. they also toured the kitchen and dining cars as the crew prepped for the mystery dinner. the mystery train sounds so kitschy and so 'medieval times' that we've got a hankering to come back one of these saturday nights and experience the campy theatrics (and the food on the train) for ourselves. 

stay tuned for more 'ojai road trip part two'!