May 4th, you’re trying to tell me its May already? Oh man, its been over a month now that our town, country has been facing this worldwide pandemic now. Our new reality is waking up at 12 or 1 o’clock, jeez.

Me and a group of friends, as you can tell we are keeping our distance as we make our way through a trail to our destination, a huge dam in Ojai, in our hometown sunny Santa Barbara that is. As we took a quick road trip, 45 minute drive to this dam in Ojai where we can change up the scenery a little bit for a few hours while we deal with this worldwide pandemic. As we followed the trail ahead we finally reached then end of the trail, and approach the entrance to the dam. It was a lot hotter than we expected, guess we didn’t know that Ojai was 15 degrees hotter than our hometown. Thank goodness we were going to a water spot, I think we would’ve passed out otherwise.

Galen, Blake, Ryan and Steven are standing where we placed our belongings before we jumped in the water. There is about an 80 foot wall of rushing water coming down as you approach the center of the dam, lots of sharp rocks and graffiti printed on all the walls surrounding all corners of the huge dam. On the other side of the dam, is a marsh kind of thing where people have made ropes you can jump off of, platforms, and ledges, not too high but high enough to get that great adrenaline rush. I’ve never been to this dam before, but I would go back in a heartbeat, it is just such an awesome spot and distant from other activity packed with other people. Sometimes it’s good to just have a spot for only you and your friends and I hope this spot we can visit more frequently too and explore deeper.

This is Nojoqui Falls, closer to Solvang than our hometown Santa Barbara. It is a beautiful drive along the coastline and through the greenery of Santa Barbara that leads all the way up to Burbank, Solvang area.Me and my family along with our close family friends (god family) took this drive and minor hike to reveal this beautiful waterfall hidden in the mountains. As we approached around the corner I saw my parents eyes light up and I asked them, what’s that face for? They each said they came here with their friends in high school and college, which I think is a beautiful thing that our parents can reflect on these spots they had so much fun in a lifetime ago. Because us being kids right now, my generation has those spots too and I can’t wait to revisit them a couple decades from now and get great deja vu of the times spent in those awesome places. The drive to Nojoqui Falls is almost like we’re in a different state, a smaller cottage looking town with such different scenery almost lime a farm town. The people are so sweet, and I think I’m going to try and adventure further up here because it’s not too far from home, and a great getaway trip!

Stay tuned for more adventures during my quarantine!