Exploring Mission San Buenaventura in Ventura

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wearing: sunglasses / earrings / lipstick / necklace / classic black dress / nail polish / handbag / boots (color sold out, similar here)

One of the sites we always like to visit when traveling throughout California is the local mission; if there is one. The missions are part of California history, and an important part of how our state was settled and formed. Our kids learned about California history in fourth grade, but it’s great to renew those lessons by visiting historical spots and reminding them of their history.

The mission was founded by the Franciscan order with Fr. Serra to help spread Catholicism in the new world. It is one of the smaller California missions, and offers a glimpse into what life may have been like in the 1700’s and 1800’s. It was founded in 1749. It was then seized by the Mexican government in 1833, and then after the United States took over, President Lincoln returned the mission to the Catholic church in 1862. The only original structure on the site today is the church building and the garden. The museum, which is on the other side of the garden from the church building, contains original artifacts which are fascinating.

They have wooden bells! Apparently there were pirates in the area, and in order to keep the mission and it’s people safe from pirates who frequented the now-Ventura harbor, the mission rang wooden bells which could be heard by people staying in the mission, but not the outside world. I’m trying to figure out how a wooden bell could be heard; but apparently it worked like a charm!

The museum also contains items used in the 1700’s and 1800’s by mission residents and Franciscan’s. It’s really interesting to catch a glimpse from that time period. If you visit downtown Ventura, be sure to tour the mission and it’s museum. It’s a small site to see, packed with a ton of history. It should only take about 45 minutes to visit.

I wore this classic black dress which is great for travel. It doesn’t wrinkle and can be dressed up for dinner with heels, or worn casually with boots, sneakers, or flats during the day. There is a self-tie in the back of the dress which is great for helping to give it some shape. The cap sleeves are actually OK, my arms have a farmer’s tan, so my apologies if it throws off the look of the sleeves. haha I am looking forward to wearing this black dress throughout the rest of the summer season, and well into the fall season. It’s really versatile!

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Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more from my Ventura road trip!

XOXO
Cathy

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Emma Wood State Beach and hiking trail Ventura

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wearing: pearl earrings (similar here) / sunglasses / lipstick / green tee (old, also love this tee) / Chloe bag / nail polish / black wide leg workout pants (similar here) / black and white jacket (around waist) / adidas sneakers /

Anytime we travel, we always try to work in at least one hike. Since we love hiking as a family, we always enjoy checking out the trails in a new place, and being able to see the local vegetation and terrain.

Ventura is nice little beach town, so we thought it would be fun to hike on a trail which paralleled the beach. Emma Wood State Park is a huge beach area off highway 101 which includes camping, and hiking trails. We decided to go on a really easy trail with the kids which we picked up at the group camp-grounds. The trail was paved, and it attracted many families on bikes, as well as serious bike riders. Walking on this trail wasn’t as peaceful as we thought it would be since we had to be very aware of the bike riders. If you are looking for a more serious hike, there are plenty of trails away from the beach. If you just want scenery, this is a great trail for beach views.

The total hike was about one mile. It parallels the beach, and the railroad tracks, which is fun if you have a child who loves trains! Although my kids are on the older side, they still enjoy seeing a train go by. We saw two trains pass while we were there, and the kids stopped to wave at it as it went by.

This beach has a lot of stick structures which beach-goers have made over time. It’s fun to sit inside one of the tee-pees or climb on the rocks which line the back of the beach. If you are along the coast in Ventura, this is a fun beach day! You can do an easy hike, enjoy the scenery, watch trains go by, and enjoy the beach! We even saw people fishing, so I assume you can do that too!

Stay tuned for more coverage from our road trip to Ventura!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

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Escaping the heat in Ventura

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wearing: pearl earrings (similar here) / sunglasses / summer lipstick / fall long sleeve tee / nail polish / Chloe bag / fall jeans / espadrille mules (on major sale!)

Is it crazy hot where you live? It’s in the high 90’s, low 100’s here in the San Francisco Bay Area right now! It’s so warm, we are all melting! In order to escape the heat, and also take one last quick trip before school starts, we decided to take a mini road trip down to Ventura.

If you are not familiar with the California coast, Ventura is a small beach town south of Santa Barbara. It’s not super crowded, and it has a large harbor, good restaurants, and plenty of cool fog! Love fog right now!

Our first day in Ventura felt so good. It was roughly thirty degrees cooler than at home, and we actually felt a little bit cold. This was such a good thing! We left home in the morning and drove for five hours down the coast. We arrived in Ventura around 2:30pm and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton near the Village, which is a small shopping area next to the boat harbor. It has shops, restaurants, and a carousel which was closed-boo for us! It was a nice place to stay since we could walk to the restaurants, and enjoy harbor views.

We ate dinner at Water’s Edge, which is not in the Village, but a short walk on the other side of the harbor. The food was out of this world! I enjoyed the “Trophy Pasta” which was crazy good-and my family really enjoyed their meals too. If you are ever in the Ventura area, this is a restaurant you will want to visit! The views of the harbor are beautiful, you can watch the sunset, and the food is really yummy. Love that!

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We packed more into this weekend getaway! Stay tuned for more from Ventura!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Cathy

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