Ventura, California is a charming and laid back little beach town in southern California, with bustling businesses, well maintained and attractive homes and much to do and see. I spent a week here with a friend while visiting her daughter. The pretty downtown area is very pleasant to walk, with palm trees strung with white lights lining the streets. We viewed the city in all it’s splendor from atop Grant Park, which was just minutes from downtown Ventura. Also in the heart of the city is the Mission San Buenaventura, founded by Father Junipero Serra. Even the beautiful and historic City Hall, restored in the 70’s and gleaming white in terracotta and marble, is a sight to see.
Shopping and Dining in Ventura
The many fun shops give plenty of shopping opportunities in downtown Ventura. Funky and interesting, or fancy and unique little shops lined Main St. Shopping in Ventura provides a wide range of prices to accommodate every budget. In fact, the best shopping experiences I had were in the thrift stores we visited, whose proceeds aided the homeless, or battered women and children. In the Coalition Thrift Store alone, I found a Nordstrum’s suede jacket for under five dollars, a DKNY denim skirt for three dollars and a Tommy Bahamas men’s Hawaiian print shirt for under ten dollars, just to drop a few designer names. On Saturdays there is a Farmer’s Market, with it’s abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. Sadly, I couldn’t bring home those delectable fruits and veggies, but I consoled myself with purchasing a couple of homemade cheeses to share with family back home.
The Ventura restaurants where we chose to eat were all excellent. We especially liked the Anacapa Brewing Company for lunch and dinner. The Anacapa was casual and fun, their freshly brewed beer being their specialty. We had a delicious breakfast at the Cajun Grille. Drinks and appetizers at Erik Erickson’s was a fun place to view the spectacular Ventura sunset over Ventura Beach.
Fun and Recreation in Ventura
Ventura Beach was just a short walk away from our motel. Fun and fitness is obviously the theme of this California beach town, as manifested by the many bikers, walkers and skaters of all ages who passed us by as we walked to the beach every day. Once there, it was fun to observe the many surfers riding the waves of Ventura Beach. Not only were young men there surfing; particularly inspiring were the older men -and women too- of perhaps 40 or even 50 years old (now, that’s not old, is it?) taking command of the Pacific surf.
And LA is just One Hour Away…
About an hour away from Ventura, we drove our rented car to Los Angeles, by way of it’s famed 5 lane highways (and equally famous traffic.) On the way to LA, we stopped in Sherman Oaks for lunch with a friend and to visit shops and boutiques there. We went to Hollywood, walked along Hollywood Boulevard and saw the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are held. We saw Mann’s Chinese Theater, where we viewed the hand and foot prints of the stars immortalized there. We walked the Sidewalk of the Stars, and we saw the famous Hollywood sign. We visited Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, just to say we did. We checked out Venice Beach and saw the fun and often unusual sights there; the street musicians, acrobatic performers, and the bodybuilders of Muscle Beach.
As you can see, Ventura, California is not only a terrific vacation spot in and of itself, but is also close to many of California’s main attractions. No wonder so many people have discovered Ventura to be a great place to settle down and raise a family, and a great place to retire, too!
