Family in Camarillo, CA

Once we got through Banning Pass with all the windmills, it was kind of nostalgic for me (Bob) to drive through the LA basin. I grew up in Thousand Oaks, which is about 50 miles north of downtown LA, and about 15 miles northwest of the edge of the LA basin. From San Bernardino to Woodland Hills it’s just one huge metropolis with nearly identical municipalities following one after the other. The same stores, the same restaurants, the same bland architecture, and the same bumpy concrete freeways. Yet, there were some highlights. Pasadena at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains is a green, well-treed Victorian oasis amid the urban sprawl, and it IS fun to see the famous vestiges of Hollywood wiz by as you drive down the freeway.

Once out of the San Fernando Valley, and into the Conejo Valley where Thousand Oaks is, it was amazing to still be able see the same undeveloped hills and trails where I rode motorcycles as a teenager. Spring is the best time in Southern California, especially, if they have had some rain and wind. The hills are green and the sky is clear. Southern California mountains are really beautiful when they aren’t all brown and obscured by the summertime haze and pollution.

North of Thousand Oaks, Hwy 101 drops down onto the coastal plain in Camarillo. This area was almost 100% agriculture in the 1960’s. It has seen a lot of development, but there is still a surprisingly large amount of agriculture still in operation. In the few days we were here, they were harvesting, celery, cabbage, broccoli and strawberries. And, everyone seems to have orange, lemon and avocado trees in their backyards.

We were here to visit my sister and nephew. My nephew’s fiancé recently passed away, and we wanted to spend some quiet time with them. It was good to just be with them for a while and offer some support. We all went out to Lake Casitas near Ojai for a picnic on the boat, but it was too cold and windy to go out on the water.

We’ll be heading home via Reno to visit my oldest sister and her two daughters that live in the area. We missed them last winter because of bad weather. We were going to take our time and stop in Bend, Oregon and visit Breitenbush Hot Springs, but Mary’s 18 year-old cat Lester is experiencing kidney failure and we will head right home after a couple of days in Reno.