Hi Ojai, Oh Hi, Ojai

Margo and Judy. Photo by Diane Arbus. Not.

Another in a series of Margo and Judy Journeys

Our Avatar. Not us. Painting by Franky Beiser

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

     After a week of attending a conference in downtown Los Angeles, suffering through a 13-hour flight to get there, and spending a day in the hotel room with food poisoning, a weekend at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa hit the spot. But I think it would hit the spot even if you went there cheery and relaxed. Despite its resort label, I think of it more as a convalescent home. A glamourous, top notch sanitarium.

The Ojai Spa

     Within an hour after arrival, we were in bathrobes checking in for our appointments at the Spa. There was some confusion about our spa reservations. They thought we were Debbie and Susie. With such white bread names it is no wonder they got us confused, and thought Judy (Susie) had the facial and I (Debbie) had the massage. It was hard to be annoyed with the staff in such a padded environment, with soft surfaces all around to cushion your aggravation.

     It reminded me of what one of my black girlfriends in Tucson, Kiki, said once when she couldn't remember my friend Karen’s name. “Debbie, Susan, Linda,” she waved me off with her long slender hand, “all those white girl names sound alike to me.”

Often Rescued by the Cart

     Any time we walked the grounds, a young man in a golf cart would screech over and offer us a ride. This was helpful, because neither of us have a very good sense of direction, to put it mildly.  We’ve spent more time correcting our course than we have getting to our destinations over the years. 

The Sign at the Spa

     There’s a good message. But feeling slighted restricted by this mandate at the spa, we spent the next day at the pool being very unquiet. We had conversations about disquieting subjects, artistic philosophies, and the good old days. A man sitting near us briefly left the pool for lunch, and when he came back he said, “Are you two still talking?” We learned that he and his wife are a double decker of doctors—she a psychiatrist, and he an emergency physician.

Pool Indigo, Mood Not

The convalescence at the Indigo Pool could not have been better. We had the medical specialists nearby. The pool dude adjusted our umbrella throughout the day. He brought us small plastic containers of sun screen, and ice cold water.  When it was time for lunch we each got our own bed tray. We ordered a crazy combo of a raw vegetable plate with a side of fries and guacamole. 

    So what the heck is Ojai, and why had I never heard of it, much less learned to spell it, until a few years ago? Ojai was settled in 1864 and laid out in 1874. It has been a popular getaway from the LA hubbub for ages, and is home to many celebrities.  

Pinkish sunset

     Ojai is a Goldilocks sort of town—not too high, 745 feet above sea level; not too big, population of just over 7,000; not too far from the ocean, 15 miles; not too hot, well, maybe in the summer a little bit.  The climate is very much like my hometown Tucson—unobstructed sunbeams by day, followed by a precipitous temperature drop of up to 30-40 degrees the minute the sun goes down. The Topatopa mountain range runs east to west, unique according to our cab driver Steve. (Or was it Greg? I faced Kiki’s dilemma.)  And so you get all kinds of interesting angles of light, resulting in a pink glow just before sunset.  Judy got us a room with the pink moment view.  Fresh from this afterglow, you put on a big sweater and see a million unobstructed stars in the sky and go to a lovely dinner at either the Olivella, or al fresco with heat lamps and blankets at the Oak.

The Oak Restaurant

     The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is solid, as the kids like to say. There is a bowl of apples in every lobby. There is flavored water and strong coffee.  There are three national newspapers delivered daily. The service was solicitous, if a little less than sharp. Sometimes the staff's responses were curiously laconic. We are still waiting for that bucket of ice in Room 151. We figured that the employees were victims of their own environment, had been overexposed to the mellowness at the Inn and Spa, and as a result were not able to be ruffled by much of anything.   

Outside of Indigo Pool

     But that, after all is raison d'etre of the place. I remained relaxed for days after my stay.

     So, say hi to Ojai, call it Hi-O, if you must. But go.