Paint ceramics with your friends and family at Color Me Mine at 23641 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. Pick from hundreds of ceramic pieces for kids, the kitchen, bath, pets and more. Design and paint them any way you like.
More information at www.calabasas.colormemine.com or call 818.222.4922.
Casa de la Guerra is one of the most important remnants of Santa Barbara's Spanish-Mexican heritage, along with El Presidio de Santa Bárbara (1782) and Mission Santa Barbara (1786). This adobe residence was constructed between 1818 and 1828 by Josè de la Guerra, the fifth comandante of the Presidio. In addition to his military post, de la Guerra ran an active commercial trade enterprise and served as a patriarch for the community.
His home was the social, political, and cultural center of Santa Barbara during the Mexican period. Descendants of Josè continued to occupy the building until 1943, when the Casa was fully incorporated into the El Paseo complex. In the 1990s, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation restored the building to its appearance between 1828 and 1858.
The adobe is now a museum, containing exhibits on the history of the de la Guerra family and the building, furnished period rooms, and rotating exhibits on Santa Barbara and Early California history.
Casa de la Guerra is a City Landmark, a California Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museum hours are Saturday/Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Located at 13-15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara (just half a block off of State Street. Admission is Adult: $5, Senior (62+): $4, Children (under 16): Free (Note: Free admission to SB Presidio with purchase of admission to Casa de la Guerra).
Visit www.sbthp.org or call 805.965.0093 for more information.
El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara)
UPDATE: Location at The Collection at Riverpark closed in November 2025. Studio anticipated to open at a new location in 2026.
Are you looking for a creative way to spend quality time with the ones you love? Paint ceramics with your friends and family at Color Me Mine Paint Your Own Ceramics Studio located at TBD.
Color Me Mine is a ceramic painting studio where you drop by anytime and paint a pre-made bisque pieces. For the price of a studio fee and the item you choose to paint, you can paint all day using 60+ colors and supplies! They then glaze and fire your work in a kiln and your work of art will be available in 5 to 7 days.
In addition to a vast array of tableware, painters can select from a variety of vases, frames, jewelry boxes, figurines, and more!
More information at www.oxnard.colormemine.com.
Color Café Pottery Painting Studio (previously As You Wish) is located at the Simi Valley Town Center. This is a large, nicely appointed ceramics/painting studio where you select a piece of pottery off the shelves, paint it and a few days later pick up your beautiful, glazed work of art.
Great place for birthday parties, team building, family nights, fundraising and more.
Visit color.cafe or call 805.520.9500 for more information. Open seven days a week.
Firefly Ceramics offers paint-your-own pottery at 1580 Saratoga Ave, Suite C, Ventura, just around the corner from Buena Lanes and Golf N Stuff! Firefly is currently (as of September 2024) open Monday through Friday from noon to 6pm and Saturday/Sunday from 11am to 6pm. Visit www.fireflyceramics.com for more information or call 805.650.1468.
The City of Ojai has run the Ojai Trolley Service since 1989.
There are two routes - routes A and B, each with 10 stops, most overlapping. Route A services out to Gridley Road, including Whispering Oaks. Route B services the Ojai Valley Inn. All other nine stops on the two routes are the same, starting from Ojai Avenue at the Arcade.
It costs $1.50 to ride the trolley (as of March 2026) or $4 for a day pass. Reduced ($.75/$2) fares for 65+ seniors and disabled/Medicare. Free fares available for children under 45”, seniors 75+.
The trolley runs 7 days a week, every day of the year except Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Hours vary. Route A service starts at 6:36 am on weekdays and 7:06 am on weekends. Route B service starts at 7:06 am on weekdays and 8:06 am on weekends.
For more information and detailed route schedules, visit www.ojaitrolley.com. Fares at www.ojaitrolley.com/184/Fares.
The Lake Casitas Recreation Area is operated by the Casitas Municipal Water District, which supplies water to 70,000 people and hundreds of farms in western Ventura County, encompassing Ojai, the Ventura River Valley area, the city of Ventura to Mills Road, the Rincon and beach area to the ocean and the Santa Barbara County line.
Lake Casitas is a reservoir that was completed in 1959, with a capacity of 254,000 acre feet. The lake was used for canoeing and rowing events for the 1984 Summer Olympics. While swimming isn’t permitted in the lake because it serves as a water supply, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing are all allowed.
There are a lot of fun things to do in the Lake Casitas Recreation Area:
Camping: There are over 400 campsites at Lake Casitas. More information and reservations at www.casitaswater.org/recreation/camping.
The Casitas Water Adventure is a summer water park with a lazy river, splash pad, lagoon and aquatic play structure www.casitaswater.org/casitas-water-adventure
Boating and Fishing: Described above. You do need to have a fishing license if you are age 16 or older. Boat rentals, fishing licenses, bait and tackle and more is offered at the on-site Casitas Boat Rentals. casitasboatrentals.com
Picnicking: You can enjoy picnicking and exploring at 13 different picnic areas at Lake Casitas. it’s also a nice place for bike riding. www.casitaswater.org/picnic
Disc Golf: Coyote Point Disc Golf Course overlooks Lake Casitas and is set in rugged terrain with concrete tee pads. Free of charge. www.casitaswater.org/disc-golf
Pickleball: There are three pickleball courts at Lake Casitas. www.casitaswater.org/pickleball
Day use hours are 6 am to 7:30 pm daily. $10 entry fee for vehicles during off season (Labor Day to Easter) and $20 on weekends during “on” season (Easter to Labor Day). Or you can be a cheapskate like me and park on Santa Ana Road and walk in. Location is 11311 Santa Ana Road, Ventura. For more information, visit www.casitaswater.org/recreation or call 805-649-2233.
Front entry to Lake Casitas Recreation Area in the summer of 2022.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center is a fun, engaging, interactive marine education facility located on Stearns Wharf. The Sea Center fulfills the mission of the Museum to inspire a passion for the natural world.
This is a not a huge museum but is worth a stop by with the kids every now and then. There's a shark tank where you can interact with and pet the sharks and other sea life, a 1,500 gallon tidepool tank and various other displays such as an octopus, moray eel, jellyfish, etc. There's also an area of where they dredge up sand and sea life from below and let you sift through it, looking for interesting things under easy to use microscopes.
Make a day of it in Santa Barbara, have lunch, stop by the Chase Palm Park, ride bikes along the beach, shop and eat on State Street, etc.
The Sea Center is located at 211 Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara and is open daily between 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve (at Noon), Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. As of March 2026, admission is $17 for ages 18-64, $15 for seniors (65+) and teens (13-17) and $13 for children (2-12). Or purchase a family membership at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and get in FREE anytime you want to both museums!
For more info visit www.sbnature.org/seacenter or call 805.962.2526.
Lucky Strike Woodland Hills was previously Bowlero from March 2016 to February 2026 (and prior to that it was AMF Woodlake Lanes). It is located at 23130 Ventura Blvd. in March 2016. Lucky Strike is a high-end, retro-modern spin on classic bowling fun.
The venue features 32 lanes of blacklight bowling, state-of-the-art arcade with over 30 games, floor-to-ceiling video screens at the end of each lane, full bar and more.
Learn more at www.luckystrikeent.com/location/lucky-strike-woodland-hills or call 818.225.7181.
Libbey Bowl and Libbey Park are located in the heart of Ojai near the corner of Ojai Avenue and Signal Street. Libbey Bowl was originally built in 1957 and has been used for the annual Ojai Music Festival, Storytelling Festival, Ojai Day event, holiday celebrations and many other community events through the years. Beginning in 2008, the bowl was renovated and in 2011 was reopened with a new look and design. It accommodates 1,300 people. Learn more about Libbey Bowl at www.libbeybowl.org.
Both Libbey Bowl and Libbey Park are named after Ojai's greatest benefactor, Edward Libbey, a glass manufacturer from Toledo, Ohio. Libbey donated the park to the city in 1917. In front of the park is a shaded pergola along the main "arcade" section of Downtown Ojai.
The park contains a community playground that was designed and built with the help of over 500 volunteers in 2015.
This is a photo of the OLD play structure that was replaced in October 2015.
The new playground!
There are also plenty of benches and seating areas, restrooms, shade trees and tennis courts at Libbey Park. Learn more on the City of Ojai website at www.ojairec.com/460/Libbey-Park.
The Collection at RiverPark is an outdoor shopping center located on the northeast side of the 101 freeway in Oxnard, between the Oxnard and Vineyard exits.
The 650,000 sq ft center includes a combination of entertainment, retail, restaurants, various services, open space with fountains, parks and playgrounds and quality art. Parking is available on the streets as well as several parking lots.
Here’s a rundown of some of the businesses that operate at The Collection:
Retail: Here’s a small fraction of stores at The Collection - Carter’s, Cotton On, Ethan Allen, H&M, Lane Bryant, lululemon, MAC Cosmetics, Pandora, Pet Food Express, REI, Sleep Number, Soma Intimates, Target, ULTA Beauty, Urban Outfitters, Vans, Victoria’s Secret, Whole Foods Market, Pacsun, Roadrunner Sports, Tillys, Zumiez, and more.
Entertainment: Levity Live Comedy Club & Dinner Theater, Century RiverPark 16, Jump ‘N Jammin Indoor Play. Bowlero, Activate, Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen, Red Door Escape Room, The Mighty Axe, and The Slime Kitchen (coming soon).
Other: Bank of America, 24 Hour Fitness SuperSport, Massage Envy Spa, Ventura County Credit Union and more.
Restaurants include:
After’s Ice Cream
bb.q Chicken (Korean Chicken)
Bottle & Pint (at The Annex)
Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen
Five Guys Burgers & Fries
GEN Korean BBQ
GOM Snow Desserts
Gordo’s Hot Chicken -
Immigrant Son Caffe
It’s Boba Time
It’Sugar
Kabuki Japanese Restaurant
Larsen’s Grill
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar.
Love Pho Cafe
Luna Grill
Menchie's Frozen Yogurt
Mong Q Mongolian BBQ
Panera Bread
Pokeworks
Pizza Man Dan’s
Pokeworks
Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters
Red Robin
Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana
Silverlake Ramen
Starbucks
The Blend Superfood Bar (at The Annex)
The Cheesecake Factory
Two Hands Corn Dogs
Wetzel’s Pretzels
Whole Foods Bar Rincon
Yard House.
Also at The Collection: The Annex, a 16,000 sq ft collection of micro shops, boutiques and eateries (included above). Across the street from Levity Live/Copper Blues.
There is unique public art placed throughout the center, including metal sculptures, ceramic tile murals, fountains and more. Shea Properties has spent around $1 million on art, bringing in seven artists for 18 individual art installations. Artists include Frank Bauer with his ceramic tile murals and benches and tile sidewalk medallions, and Michael Amescua with his cut metal sculptures.
Visit www.thecollectionrp.com or visit their Facebook page to learn more. To get there from the 101 North, exit on Oxnard Boulevard and turn right. Turn right again on Town Center Drive.
Playground at The Collection
Places that have come and gone from The Collection: Toby Keith's Bar & Grill closed in Spring 2015. Sabra Fish Grill opened in 2015 and closed in late 2017. Famous Dave’s BBQ. Gandolfo’s New York Deli, ANGL. General Chow closed in October 2019, EMC Seafood, Maria’s Italian Kitchen (closed April 2020), Seoul Sausage Company, PokeCeviche, The Painted Cabernet, Ben & Jerry’s, Texas de Brazil Churrascari (2019-2024), Burrata House, Da Hickory House, King & Queen Cantina, The Container Store (closing in 2026).
The Camarillo Ranch House is a 3-story, 14 room, 6,000 square foot Victorian home built by Adolfo Camarillo in 1892. Adolfo is the son of Juan Camarillo, who purchased the land in 1866. Adolfo operated the ranch from the time of Juan's death in 1880 until 1948. Adolfo's name proliferates in Camarillo and the local high school was named after him after he gave 50 acres of land for that use.
The 4.5 acre ranch was given to the City of Camarillo by the Centex Company in 1997. Today the property includes the house, a historic red barn and a stable. In 2001, the City of Camarillo completed a $1.5 million restoration of the beautiful home to exhibit what it looked like during the 1914 to 1930 time frame. The Camarillo Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Camarillo Ranch is open to the public 7 days a week, 9am-5pm, unless there is holiday or special event. There is no charge to visit the property and walk the grounds during normal hours. The gardens have interpretive signs and there are also picnic benches available for use at lunchtime.
Docent-led tours of the house are currently (as of February 2026) offered on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (last tour starts at 1:30 p.m.). House tour fees are $5 per person (cash only). Children 12 and under are free.
The property is used for many special events and can be reserved for private events like weddings and receptions.
The Camarillo Ranch House is located at 201 Camarillo Ranch Road. Visit camarilloranchfoundation.com or call 805.389.8182 for more information.
Morton Bay Fig Tree
Founded in 1966, the Ojai Valley Museum at 130 West Ojai Avenue has an extensive collection of art, Native American baskets, pioneer tools and photographs of early days in Ojai.
The Ojai Valley Museum Research Library houses archives including historical journals that chronicle the events of early to contemporary Ojai Valley activities.
Suggested donations as of February 2026 is $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 6 to 18. Open Thursday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm and the 3rd Friday of each month from 10 am to 7pm.
For more information, visit www.ojaivalleymuseum.org or call 805.640.1390.
The museum is housed in the former St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. The beautiful 100+ year old building (built in 1918) is in the National Register of Historic Places.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
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