This vintage 1892 house was the home of successive generations of the Dudley family up to the…read more1970s. The house was originally situated at the corner of Telegraph and Ashwood. The old girl is in remarkably good condition for 131 years old (I think she's had some work done). The interior is set up to reflect daily life in Ventura in the early 1900s. Many of the furnishings inside are original pieces the family used in their daily routine. One imagines the difficulty of cooking a meal on the vintage stove, or how exhausting it would be to iron clothes with a pair of ten pound irons (they had two so one would always be hot, forget taking a break for two damn minutes), or making a phone call on the old crank style phone (the Dudley's had one of the first telephones in Ventura). The house is open to the public on the first Sunday of every month. Admission is free. You can learn a lot about the Dudley family and life in turn of the century Ventura from the docents on duty. The docents here are very informative and exceptionally good at contextualizing everything you see. They share as much about the Dudley family as they do about the house. Attired in appropriate period clothing, their narrative really captures and holds your attention. All of the above is why I rate The Dudley House five stars. I encourage you to visit. But this place isn't for me. This place gives me the creeps. See, as it turns out, this is a haunted house. This isn't something that is well-known at all. But I tell you, I knew before I even set foot on the property that there was an evil presence here. Yet, whatever presence I was sensing didn't seem malevolent, so I ventured inside. I took the tour. Just after the tour started, I was surprised and a little shocked when one of the other guests straight up asked the Docent if the place was haunted. It seemed like the question came out of left field. Sure, people often ask that question about any old wood frame house. But I've gone on a great many tours of historical homes and adobes across the Southland and I've never heard someone ask it during any other Docent's spiel. And just to reiterate, this site is not at all well known for being a haunted house. I've read a lot about the house online and there's no mention of the house being haunted. Even so, as I said, I had a sense about the place from the get go. And then, seemingly from out of nowhere, this question from another guest. The question surprised me, but the answer didn't. The Docent answered Yes. According to our Docent, some people say that The Dudley House is haunted by at least two ghosts. I mentally patted myself on the back and said, Mikey, you totally called it. (Lol) But then I come to find out the evil here is much, much than just a couple ghosts. And it's personal. See, this was a farm house, or ranch house, whatever way you want to call it. The Dudley's grew walnuts. On the other side of Telegraph Avenue they had a sprawling walnut orchard. In addition to walnuts, in the fertile fields where Ventura College now stands, the Dudley family grew Lima Beans. The Dudley Family made their fortune growing and selling Lima Beans. Hearing that made my skin crawl. Immediately I knew that was the dark presence I sensed before I sat foot on the property. Lima Beans. Lima Beans were once one of my most despised vegetables. I say "once" because now, as an "adult," I love Lima Beans. But when I was a kid I was haunted by the damned things. Because more than once they were the vegetable in the old "You're going to sit there until you finish your vegetables" game parents used to like to run at Dinner Time. I don't think many parents play that mess these days, but when I was growing up it was a thing. For so many years I considered Lima Beans to be concentrated evil that it's impossible to shake that association. It doesn't matter that I like them now. I'm still haunted by the things. And there I was. I was standing in the house of the guy that grew the beans that I hated so much for so long. It was chilling, yo! Not taking any stars off. It really was a great tour led by a very knowledgable Docent. But this place ain't for me. Mikey C says: You go ahead inside, Ima sit in the car and listen to the radio.

Plan ahead to visit this gem in eastern Ventura. They're only open to the public on the first…read moreSunday of each month for guided tours of the Dudley family home. While the clan's land holdings were once large, as befitting a farm family, the Victorian home they built was adequate, not a big mansion. The house features Victorian-era craftsmanship, highlighted during our visit with bunting ahead of the 4th of July holiday. The docents all dressed in period costumes to further highlight the times when the home was built. Many Dudley family possessions are displayed throughout the house. Though it's a museum, it doesn't feel fussy. Its aura is that of a well-loved family gathering place with music and games in the parlor, and scratch-made biscuits in the kitchen. The docents are delightful - knowledgeable and welcoming. They bring humor and life to the tour around the common rooms and five bedrooms. Tucked into the largest bedroom downstairs sits a small gift shop. I understand their pride and joy is their holiday boutique in December. They decorate the home for the occasion and it must be all volunteers on deck for the event. We'll have to check it out this year. Very glad that the Passport 2 History led us to Dudley House.

Love Port Hueneme. I often take walks on their beach…read more I went to school in this city. Spent tons of hours at their library and so many of my relatives held parties at the spot next to the Library. There were Quinces, Weddings, Baptisms .,etc! So many memories and nostalgia! Happy 75th Birthday Port Hueneme! You are such a huge part of my childhood.

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Grow your business by referral by making MANY new local business connections! Visit…read moreVenturaChamber.com and scroll through the events and register yourself for the next CONNECTION BREAKFAST. Usually happens on the 1st Friday of the month. By registering in advance, you get listed on the coveted HOTSHEET for everyone to have your contact info. Then JOIN the chamber to continue this on a monthly basis.

The Ventura Chamber of Commerce has been a great way to get connected to the community at large…read more The members are very welcoming and ready to accept new faces. Glad to be a member!

There are plenty of things to do in TO. I love the mall there and diff eateries. I prefer The Oaks…read moreMall over The Pacific View Mall though I live closer to Ventura. I prefer smaller cities and TO is definitely not big. There are tasting rooms, Wineries , Gardens of the World, Museums , Breweries and etc. I really enjoy hiking Paradise Falls. I do like staying on the other side of Ventura County ( close to the beach ) during the summer . TO tends to get too hot for my comfort.

We drove from the Valley to get married here but everything is so much smoother and easier to do in…read moreVentura County. Was very quick and no line. Eventually a year later when we were ready to buy a house, it was a no brainer to buy in Ventura:)

My friend and I stopped by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Interagency Visitor…read moreCenter this morning to pick up a trail map before we went running at Malibu Creek State Park. I expected a small office with a single desk where I'd request a map, pay my money, and be on my way. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a well-stocked gift shop with books, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area souvenirs, clothing, and other local gifts. They had Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area sweatshirts and t-shirts by American Apparel. They even had Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area magnets, water bottles, and water bottle carriers. Art pieces from local artists were also featured in the store. I had initially planned on picking up a $3 map of the Santa Monica Mountain trails but the helpful docent showed me some beautiful waterproof and tear resistant plastic Tom Harrison topographic maps. I ended up buying two - Malibu Creek State Park and Topanga State Park. They were $9.95 but I felt it was worth it - I figured I'd end up killing less trees in the long run if I could re-use the maps over and over. My friend picked up a jar of locally grown and made Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange jelly. I picked up a jar of locally grown honey. I'm not sure what the daily hours are but she said they were open from 7 am to 5 pm today (a Saturday). They also had very well maintained bathrooms so you could always swing by here, check out the awesome store, and use the facilities before you hit the trails. They also have free events that are open to the public: http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/events.htm

Love the view from here! The views are breathtaking and peaceful. A wonderful place to get a view…read moreof the mountains.

A nice little quaint suburbs tucked away in the hillside. Well where we were. A few miles from…read moredowntown but hidden away from the hustle and bustle of traffic. As you enter, you feel that calmness approaching with the serene of the mountains in the background. There are a good amount of hiking trails surrounding. A cute park that's tiny but does pack a major punch. And of course the sound of wild peacocks. Just don't be surprise when you drive slowly down the roads and you run into one. They're there and it's their road...lol... Slowly approach them and they'll likely walk away. Always nice for a lounging session or bubbly session with friends. Good food, great company, amazing sunset and warm evenings on the patio looking out to the mountains. A view that's worth it all. But if you're in downtown Simi, it's whole different vibe but somewhat the same.

My family and many friends live in Simi. Just of the 118 this city is in between the SFV and…read moreVentura county. A little different vibe than the Valley for sure. I am a regular visitor. Clean streets, bustling neighborhoods with kids playing outside. A nice city, lovely parks and lots of restaurants and retail shopping options.

My favorite Lookout spot look at the ocean from above Temescal Canyon. This is an awesome place to…read morereally watch the coast and understand the Bay of Santa Monica.

A big shout out to the organizers of the Little House event, glad we all paid to wait in line for a…read moreover an hour. This feels like it was planned by a chamber. Not prepared.

Unfortunately the LHOP event was an epic fail. Extremely poor event planning and organization -…read moreworst I've ever seen. They clearly oversold the event, made promises on promotional materials that were not kept, and charged significant ticket prices (we paid $200 per ticket), but this was operated like a small local fair put on by the Rotary club. But it wasn't a local fair, it was tens of thousands of people they collected money from, and there was no event coordinator, non-existent signage, confusion and chaos, and thousands of ppl wandering around not getting what they paid a small fortune for, esp if you traveled from a long distance. Great show, not so great event.