The other weekend I was feeling especially restless and wanted to get out of the house. Restaurants and some businesses had just started to open back up, and I felt the urge to do something a bit out of the ordinary. A friend recently told me that she had driven to Ojai (about a 40-minute drive) to go to the farmers’ market for a change of scenery. It’s such an easy trip and the idea of going for a drive and spending time somewhere different sounded incredible to me. I had also never been to the farmers’ market there, so I thought that it would be nice to have a new experience (since we feel that we are starring in Groundhog Day with Bill Murray most days now). Plus, why not get some produce for the week too? Win-win.
Post Cinnamon-Roll Sunday (a delicious but dangerous Sunday tradition as of late) we hopped in the car to drive to Ojai. It was a lovely day for a drive, and it felt so good to roll the windows down and have a mini-trip to look forward to. We arrived in Ojai and waited in a short, socially-distant line to get into the market. The market had arrows in place so you knew where to walk so that everyone could remain safely distanced. Everyone there was very respectful of the rules and kept a face covering on at all times. We purchased (see photo) some tangerines, coffee, tangerine juice, and hot sauce. We also were gifted duck eggs to try – they are definitely larger than chicken eggs. Ojai is known for its delicious pixie tangerines, so we had to load up on all-things-tangerine of course while we were there. Pro tip: apparently the tangerine juice pairs nicely with tequila. The juice didn’t last long enough in our household to make it to cocktails, so TBD.
After the market, we walked around the little downtown area of Ojai. We’ve been to the Ojai Beverage Co. before, so we decided to walk down to see if it was open. It was, and they had turned their parking lot into a very spacious, socially-distanced eating and drinking area. We ordered drinks and an appetizer and sat outside under our own shaded canopy. It was the first restaurant experience we’ve had in months, which was very exciting. I still felt comfortable because we could be outside and far enough from the other tables. I’ve never been more thrilled to have a margarita in a parking lot in my life – highly recommend.
As the pandemic unfortunately continues, I think we will take more day or mini road trips. It felt so refreshing to get out of our routine and have somewhere new to go (even if it wasn’t that far away). As more places open back up in Ojai, I think we will definitely head back for another visit at some point. If anything, we have to go back for a pixie-tangerine-and-tequila cocktail – a research trip, for all intents and purposes ;).
