I think my mom has found her new favorite place in California. Yesterday, I wrote about our first day experiencing the foodie adventures in Ojai. The fun continues as we hit the Sunday Farmer’s Market and take a cooking class at the Lavender Inn just steps away.
Sunday – Day 2
We stayed overnight at the Blue Iguana Inn, which is about 2.5 miles west of downtown Ojai. This was our first time staying here and can’t say enough good things about it. It felt more like staying in a private cabin complete with a kitchen, separate living room and bedroom. They also offered a breakfast spread with fantastic coffee (you can always tell how much a place cares about breakfast if they serve watered down coffee I think!).
Kevin and I enjoying breakfast on the patio at the Blue Iguana Inn overlooking the mountains
My mom matches the Blue Iguana fountain with her jacket
If you’re in Ojai on a Sunday, the Ojai Farmer’s Market located downtown is a must stop. It’s the place that brings together Ojai — whether it’s the LA entertainment types escaping for the weekend, the retirees, the new agers or the indie artists. We saw the olive oil farm owners, a woman offering to write poetry and even a stand where you could get a free hug (which we passed but saw plenty of people lining up!).
Lining up with the local Ojai residents for some fresh tamales at the farmer’s market. I almost wore that same outfit as the guy in front of me today! Okay, maybe not!
My mom thought she was being sneaky by pretending to take a photo of me, but pretty sure the “poet on commission” knew exactly what was happening (as she smiles of the photo opp)!
After an hour, we did a little more shopping before heading over to the Lavender Inn cooking class. The 3 hour class focused on sauces and dressings. A good thing, because we ate so much for breakfast then at the market! It’s pretty laid back – with our teacher Patricia demonstrating most of the steps as we sipped wine (though my mom did cut an onion). I pretty much just watched and thought of my contribution as the official “food taster.” Crutches and knives didn’t sound like a good idea to me!
My mom in the kitchen at the Lavender Inn class located steps from the farmer’s market.
My mom is hard at work chopping. While I’m more of an observer here… I’ll just blame it on my recent knee surgery
Class wrapped around 4 PM and sadly we had to say goodbye to Ojai. My mom is a convert. She’s ready to come back and already convinced my dad he needs to come too. So it’s time to hit the road back to LA — where my mom at least had a weekend away from the bumper-to-bumper traffic!
Here is the low-down on Ojai:
Blue Iguana Inn: Located 2.5 miles west of downtown. Rates vary from as low as $130 a night to $250+. Two nights minimum on Friday and Saturday nights. And book early during special events (such as the Ojai Music Festival every June).
Blue Lavender Inn: Right in the middle of downtown Ojai and steps from the Farmer’s Market. If you love B&B’s this place is stunning and offers nightly tapas with the rate. It’s also where we participated in the Ojai Culinary School. Rates for the B&B run as low as $135 to $200+. Like Blue Iguana, they require two nights stay on a Friday/Saturday (but I’d recommend calling if it’s an off time, you never know). The culinary school is about $65-$75 per person depending on the course and food you’ll be making.
Ojai Farmer’s Market: Open on Sundays only from 9 am – 1 pm. Pick up a bag of pixies (seedless tangerines grown all around Ojai) at Friend’s Ranches; sample cheeses, homemade granola and whatever is in season. It’s compact but great for people watching!
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