ventura

Casual fall outfit and picture perfect ice cream

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged chloe / fall 2019 / summer 2019 / ventura by
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Wearing: pearl earrings / lipstick / sunglasses / black tee / nail polish / top handle handbag / jeans / belt / snakeskin boots (similar here) /

Our last day in Ventura was foggy, and very fall-like. I enjoyed it while I could since the next day it was 100 degrees when we got home! It was fun to play fall for a few days at least <sigh>. haha

My mom had business in Ventura, so I went to her meetings with her while my husband took our kids back to the beach. In the evening, we all met back up and headed over to The Village, which is a shopping area along the harbor.

The kids explored the arcade, but didn’t end up playing anything. I think I have spoiled them with the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Ooops! We ended up just taking a walk, exploring a sock store, and then enjoying dinner at The Greek Mediterranean Steak & Seafood restaurant. The food was delicious and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the harbor.

After dinner, we went to Coastal Cone for some ice cream. This wasn’t our first time there, we had enjoyed dessert there the night before too. They have the most instagrammable ice cream! My daughter loves to post photos of food on her Instagram, so as you can see, she was busy taking photos for her page.

In addition to the “Sea-Cret” menu, they have a large scooped ice cream menu, sundaes, and shakes. It’s really a fun ice cream shop! If you are ever in the Ventura area, be sure to drop in!

That was our quick road trip! It was fun to get out of the heat for a few days, and squeeze in a vacation before school started. Aside from a business trip to fashion week in September, it will be several months before we can get away again! It’s killing me, I have serious wanderlust right now! haha, let’s see when I can escape next. . .

Shop my casual fall outfit

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

casual fall 2019 outfit ideas

Exploring Mission San Buenaventura in Ventura

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged chloe / eileen fisher / marc fisher / outfits / summer 2019 / ventura by

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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!

Shop my little black dress look:

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

 in Fitness / Travel  tagged adidas / beach / hiking / ventura by

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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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