A Glamping Getaway to Solvang and Ojai

We’ve taken a lot more mini trips this year compare to previous times, and we are constantly looking for new things to do locally that are both fun yet safe during the pandemic. So after random browsing of ideas online, we decided to take another weekend glamping trip in SoCal. After all, what’s safer than having your own space entirely and that is also located in an outdoor environment?

Solvang

We first visited Solvang back in 2017, and since then it has become one of our favorite cities in SoCal. This Danish town has its strong cultural characteristics, charming and unique, perfectly showcasing a historic European village.

The town has plenty of boutique shops, from ice creams to hats, toys, etc. There’s also this restaurant called Copenhagen Sausage Garden that Matt is so fond of. But our favorite part of the town has to be those traditional Danish windmills, a beautiful heritage of its culture.

Ostrichland USA, Solvang

A few minutes drive from the city center, we also paid a visit to this ranch that is home for some very big birds. Ostrichland USA is almost like a zoo of ostriches and emus, where you will get to see or even purchase food to feed them. Watching these big friends walk and dance (literally, dance) is unbelievably fun, and feeding them is another memorable experience - they are definitely some aggressive eaters!

We knew ostriches were tall, but guess we didn’t know they were this tall. This was such a wonderful close encounter with these animals, and it’s a place that’s surely exciting for kids and adults!

Caravan Outpost, Ojai

One of the reasons that this trip took place is because we came across this beautiful glampsite in Ojai named Caravan Outpost (click to proceed to its booking site). Glamping has become so popular in recent years, and we definitely understand why - it is happy medium of urban lifestyle and outdoor living. It’s quite easy to tell, we are also big fans of this perfect middle ground.

Upon checked into our fully functional airstream, we took a casual walk at the glampsite. Though it wasn’t a large area, every corner was beautifully decorated and furnished. There were around 10 airstreams onsite, but each with plenty of privacy and a little backyard that’s very much enclosed. There were also long tables in the common area, a little gift shop, and plenty of outdoor seatings, a nice and easy set up for various group sizes.

Though there is a functional small kitchen and dining area inside the airstream, this was where we spent most of our time hanging out at.

Ojai

Ojai is a popular vacation town, and if not because of various travel restrictions, no doubt there will be a lot more to offer than when we visited.

Starting our Ojai local day tour by stopping by at Bart's Books, an outdoor bookstore! Among all the bookstores we’ve visited, this was the first and only time we’ve seen one that’s almost entirely outdoor - something gifted by the geographic location of the city.

Our next stop was Ojai Olive Oil. Previously, the company offers onsite tasting of different olive oils, but that was temporarily suspended during the pandemic. However the shop remains open and you could still shop for their olive oil and related products. The garden area is also beautifully decorated with hammocks and string lights, making it a lovely place to relax.

Ojai is also famous for wine tasting, and that’s what we decided to end our trip with. Luckily, we had the whole outdoor tasting area to ourselves for a little bit before other guests joined. A perfect taste of Ojai, and a sweet ending to this weekend getaway.