Kinda bizarre that I’ve lived in California most of my life and have rarely visited So Cal. The traffic is not for the faint of heart, but the weather makes you realize why California is such a popular destination.

Ventura is a sleepy, beautiful, and somewhat odd little town. Temperatures are mild and super pleasant. We rode our folding bikes and our Burley trolley (expensive but crazy handy) for grocery runs: just clip that bad boy on the back of your bike and you’re good to go. Got some excellent pickling in: four times a week at Harry Lyon Park. In retrospect it would have been much more cost effective to rent a car vs Ubering to the courts, which were not within biking distance, but hindsight and all … Met a super nice, welcoming, and age-diverse group of players. will really miss playing with them.

We stayed in Ventura for a minute. Docked there for about a week before and during Greece (September and October), then back in November through mid-December. Got comfortable with easy Amazon delivery, a variety of grocery stores, convenient bike riding, movie theaters, regular pickleball sessions, mani/pedis, laundry, showers, restaurants (big shout out to Baja Bay Surf ‘n Taco: they say they have the world’s best tacos, and I wasn’t mad at them …) Let me repeat: not a marina hater. At all

We’ve also found that the sailing community is relatively small and exceptionally friendly. We’ve socialized with more people since we moved on our boat than we had in all the years we lived in San Francisco. Our Ventura stay ended with the Parade of Lights — a lovely lighted boat show that culminated in fireworks rivaling any Fourth of July display — all of which we watched with unobstructed views from Sabine and Thomas’ slick catamaran Selador.