Ojai

Spent 4 days in Ojai, two for work and two with Damon & Max. Such a beautiful, peaceful place.
I treated myself to two treatments at the spa: Watsu, a strange & wonderful massage while floating in a body-temperature hot tub. I imagine that's what it feels like to be a jellyfish. It was something between a massage, synchronized swimming, with a feeling of returning to the womb. Not terribly theraputic, but very relaxing. And I had a wonderful reflexology massage that took the kinks out of my feet.

But best of all I got to watch Max explore a new world. There's nothing more fun than getting to have new experiences through his eyes. The family pool had a 2 foot deep baby pool right next to it, and Max delighted in floating around in it. He found a little hourglass shaped foam float, named it Bulstrode, and rode it around the tiny pool like his own personal float. He also made a friend: Zeezee, a sweet, serious little girl a year older than he. Together they played boats, pretended to be seals sliding on their bellies, and played with Thomas trains in the shade of the canvas cabanas. He adored her, and I wish he could make friends at school so easily.

He also loved the golf carts - begged for rides whenever he saw them. He's going through a phase of being fascinated by vehicles and, as he says, what they take. "What does a golf cart take, Mommy? Is it natural gas or electric or stinky diesel?" When he learned they were electric, he had a whole other raft of questions. Where was the plug and why couldn't he see it? Where did they charge? We rode them any chance we got.

The Inn treated him wonderfully. Not only did they have a little toddler bed, just the right size for him, they also put a new set of sheets on it each night. Dinosaurs one night, Cars the next; he was delighted.

Like any posh resort these days, they had bathrobes for Damon and me. But unlike any resort I've ever heard of, they also had an adorable little robe just his size. Damon & mine were red & white seersucker lined with white terrycloth, and Max's was just like ours but in lime green & white seersucker. He wore it together with what he calls his "seacucumber shoes", and Damon called him the little king.