post by leslie

This past weekend, I took a bit of a break from the cold and met a girlfriend in Ojai. Oh where? Ojai (pronounced Oh, hi). It's about 80 miles northeast of LA, and Jamie and I discovered this sleepy little town of hippies and creatives back in 1999 (you know, the previous CENTURY -- that doesn't make me feel old or anything) when we lived in LA.I wanted warmth and a little isolation and someplace to hike. I got two of the three.I mean, it was 60 degrees. It was warmer than Minneapolis, for sure! But let me explain. Last time I was there, it was in the 80s, everything was brown and arid like most of California and it was still lovely. This time? It was rainy and green as Ireland and there was humidity! What a weird spring they are having out here! But it's really great as they need a good recovery after last year's fires,  and I'm certainly not complaining about 60 degree weather.Anyway, these are a few photos showing the fog and clouds and greenery that stunned me as we drove into town.I have so, so, so much more to show you, but I haven't processed them yet because I'm still in California vacationing and soaking up the ocean breezes while I can. I promise to give you some marvelous highlights this week (wait until you see the house I stayed in!), but until then, here is the greenest most lush bit of Southern California that I've ever seen. Enjoy!