For so many years, Ventura has been one of our favorite places. Long the little sister to the attractions of fabled Santa Barbara, Ventura is a little jewel of a town on its own.
From the quaint harbor to the evocative, yet somehow trendy Main Street, Ventura is a lot to like in a small and stylish package.
And frankly, Ventura, with its mission-style architecture and proximity to the water, just looks like California, ironically more so than the urban environs of Los Angeles, which can sometimes be construed as just so much North Hollywood or Houston or Toronto, but with palm trees. (Actually, roads north to Burgos from Madrid, in Spain, look a lot like the geography of the 5 North, just between Buttonwillow and Firebaugh. But I digress.)
Ill be the first to admit that the slow motion crawl known as the 101 Freeway North can be enervating, but once you crest the grade at Conejo, the roads seem to widen, the landscape pulls its curtains back, and Ventura is mere minutes away.
You could travel the additional 25 miles on to Santa Barbara, but its been done. Everything you need and more, frankly, is in Ventura. The easy pace and proximity to all your needs will make you a fan quickly. Stroll the strand from the Holiday Inn to the wharf, or stand atop the peak of Grant Park for an inspiring of the city and its coastline, and youll wondering why you were home doing nothing last weekend. I spent a recent weekend sampling an array of wares in town from restaurants to shopping to my new favorite activityKayaking.
Wed begin there, but first lets eat.
After drinks at the rooftop bar of the stylish and newly renovated Watermark on Main Street, I moved on to The Greek at the Harbor, a popular restaurant tucked into a knot of restaurants and shops in the harbor.
As servers brought plates of delicious salads, an assortment of grilled meat and some of the best calamari Ive enjoyed in a long time, I watched the unique entertainment.
A traditional belly dancer sidled up to the table and managed, with some friendly crowd persuasion, to convince me to join her on the floor, to my everlasting shame and delight. Then, Aris Mikelatos, son of owners Lynn and Makis, danced on to the floor, where he proceeded to carefully stack dining tables. And then lift them. With his teeth. He is one of the few dancers in America, his mother told us, to continue to perform the dance, which the Cal Poly SLO kiniesiology graduate learned in Greece. And his dentist says hes doing just fine.
I joined Island Packers early the next morning for a trip across the Santa Barbara Channel and the islands of the Channel Islands National Park.
The five islandsSanta Barbara, Santa Rosa, Anacapa and San Miguelwere established as a national park in 1980, with the waters surrounding each island designated as marine sanctuaries. The glassy blue and very chilly waters around the islands are the perfect combination of challenge and opportunity for the novice and seasoned kayaker.
Crossing the choppy waters in the early morning haze, our boat dipped and swayed, much to the consternation of the passengers making the 90-minute voyage. (OK, I came close to hurling only once and opted for sleep the rest of the ride.)
Moving against the wind and the ocean current, the morning ride can be a little bumpy, though the afternoon ride home is like sailing in your bathtub.
The captain cut the engines out in the middle of the channel to give us the opporunity to mingle with and gawk at the scores of seals gathered about the channels buoys. Cameras clicked and whirred as the playful animals dipped and dove in and out of the waters. Later, on my ride back, I was treated to a show of humpback whales in full feeding mode, moving along a current line and devouring their late afternoon lunch.
Once on the island, we gathered around our instructor for a brief demonstration on the art of kayaking. Now, he explains when youre in one of those caves, rocks can easily fall from the walls and the roofs. If you see them fall, dont look up, since youre not wearing the helmet on your face.
Words I would remember.
We rocked the kayaks as we sat in the bay, to get used to the feeling of them wiggling underneath out in the ocean. That fear mastered, it was sea cave time.
I paddled out for what would be a long morning in the saddle. Once properly situated, and once one masters getting in and out of the kayak, the craft is surprisingly nimble and swift.
We moved vaguely perpendicular to the current before approaching the first cave. The tricky thing about the waters in a sea cave is that those are ocean waves in there, just like waves breaking on the shore, but compressed into the small space of the cave, they pick up speed and power, and you can be tossed around a bit, if youre not careful. You can surf them in, or you can also find yourself paddling against one, as you exit the caves. And the first thing youll notice is the noise.
The sheer volume of the water banging hard against the cave shore can be frightening, actually. The cave acts as an echo chamber, and the volume increases as you negotiate the curve of the caves.
As I moved inside one through an even smaller opening to another chamber, a wave coursed through and snuck up behind me, pushing me hard against a cave wall. I used my paddle to push off against the rocks, as the water level rose quickly, raising me up and dropping me. My kayak was sturdy and faithful, stayed pointed in the right direction, and I got the hell out of there.
I traversed several sea caves that afternoon, each one a new challenge. As I entered one of them later, I saw what looked like pebbles and dust falling from the ceiling. Remembering my instructions, I looked forward, not up. Probably a good idea, since a closer inspection of my kayak revealed the identity of the debrisbird business. So, dont look up.
Kayaking is, of course, only one of a dizzying array of things to do in Ventura, not the least of which, is dining. Sprinkled along Main street, the harbor strip and beyond, are a host of terrific eateries, a number of which may be the finest places youll ever dine.
I splurged at Tuttis, a Montecito transplant specializing in high-end Italian fare. I fared on a host of captivating appetizers, and when my Cioppino arrived, it was a perfect end to a perfect day, cave waves and all.
Youll most likely do far less in a Ventura weekend than I did, and that sounds just about perfect.
The 411:
The Watermark on Main, 598 E. Main,St.
805.643.6800
The Greek at the Harbor , Ventura Harbor Viillage
805.650.5350
Island Packers
www.islandpackers.com
805.642.1393
Tuttis Off Main, 34 N. Palm St.
805. 643. 0880
