We hear about it all the time…
…the importance of getting out of the grind, your daily routine, the stress of city life and getting into nature, or even just getting out of town. It’s like something lifts off your body and you feel a release and peace. One spot to do just that is just outside of Los Angeles, it’s a quaint beach town without a lot of tourists and truly feels like a mini vacation as soon as you step foot inside of Ventura! My fiancé and I were celebrating our one year anniversary and decided this would be the perfect place to spend the day…
We started off the day doing some earthing at the beach.
Earthing: The Process of absorbing earths free flowing elections from it’s surface throughout the soles of ones feet.
There was NO ONE on the beach!! It was awesome, and felt amazing physically, mentally and spiritually. I truly feel like nature is the perfect place to release and surrender everything to God, to give up all your plans and let off your load. In that place, you often feel a realignment with your purpose, encouragement on your journey and an answer to prayers or questions that may have been lingering. It is healing in so many ways and part of living a healthy happy life! There is also a healthy dose of vitamin D happening here…
Next we took a lovely walk along the Ventura Pier. The weather was perfect.
We then drove around exploring the city and landed at a stunning spot overlooking the beautiful Ventura landscape from 367 feet above sea level, called Grant Park. This was during sunset and just over the opposite hill was a full moon! I had no idea this place existed and it kinda sold me.
After the park, we went to Mary’s Secret Garden for dinner. I had looked up Vegan spots in the area and this came highly recommened. It was delicious with a variety of hand crafted vegan, gluten free and organic options. It had a relaxed, homey atmosphere with affirming words on the walls and ceiling and an area where you can purchase in house recipes as well as other favorites.
We started out with the soup of the day, which was a “cream” of broccoli.
Next we had their homemade Raw Vegan Cheeze Trio Platter, which was a sample of their Raw Chipotlé Cashew Cheeze, Herbed Almond Cheeze, and Macadamia Chive Cheeze with tomatoes, olives and pesto, served with veggies and raw crackers. It’s so nice to go out and try vegan cheese, super flavorful, we ordered extra veggies and crakers.
For the main course we had vegan, gluten-free Pad Thai!! I have been craving this for so long, but it seemed like every place I’ve tried lately has been either/or vegan or gluten-free, so this was a special treat. There were so many different flavors in this dish each bite was it’s own unique experience. I enjoyed it very much!
Super crazy, but we were so full, we had no room for dessert!! Plus, I had my chickpea cookies at home…
Next we were off to get home to the doggies!
Great Day!! Looking forward to more adventures and vegan/gluten-free dining experience to come, and writing about them here on the blog! I’d love to hear your recommendations too!
~jess
