Ten Towns Less Travelled: Part Six - Ventura, California

By June of 2001, I'd lost my telecommuting reporting job because the company filed for bankruptcy. However, prior to then, I'd been groomed to advance with them and interview for a regular job. This was a New York-based "dot com" as they were called, and I was living in Ventura.

After news of the bankruptcy late that March, I had the opportunity to change my plans and not visit New York. After all, there was no job to interview for, and I'd be better off staying put in my one bedroom just a mile from the beach. What wasn't to like? Tanned, relaxed, meeting deadlines remotely. Life was sweet.

But I wanted more.

"You should stay in California," my producer Matt said. "It's a much easier lifestyle."

Turns out, Matt was right.

But I wouldn't change what happened in my life for anything in the world. And what happened was I left Ventura June 3, 2001, my cat Wendell and a Nissan Sentra's worth of possessions in tow. I honked and waved goodbye to friendly neighbors, palm trees, the sea breeze, and my perfect tan. ...

Looking back, it's not hard to see why Matt was urging me to stay or why everyone I met on the east coast, seemingly, told me I was crazy to leave California. So here's what you should see in Ventura:

1) The beach, the beach, the beach. It's not the fancy schmancy beaches of Santa Barbara, some thirty minutes to the north, but it's real and you'll find your share of beach bunnies and beach hunks here.

2) Outstanding Spanish architecture. I love the old California look of this town, from missions nearby to beautiful homes.

3) Poetry readings. I read my poetry once a week at a funky used bookstore in town.

4) Art scene. Is it any wonder such a beautiful place acts as a muse?

5) Santa Barbara. I loved Ventura because it was far from the glitz and sometime madness. But from spas to restaurants, orange trees to tanned celebs (Oprah, Rob Lowe, etc.) Santa Barbara is intoxicating. I once met Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue")here!

Surf's up - have fun!

PHOTOS: Top to Bottom - from Wikimedia Commons Images: 1) Century Theatre (built 1998) — in Ventura, California 2005; cropped slightly. April 7, 2005, source: http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/pplot/13700/13725/01306v.jpg by Carol Highsmith; 2) Downtown Ventura, 2016, Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/133696888, by Sergei Gussev; 3) Loop's Restaurant, Ventura, California, Extent: (postcard), Accession #: 06_10_010274, between circa 1930 and circa 1945, Source: Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection #87551 by Tichnor Brothers, Publisher; 4) Ventura, California, Sept. 4, 2009, by D climacus.

Tomorrow: Part Seven - Milford, Connecticut

To contact me visit my website or write to me at lauriewiegler@gmail.com