The
world's largest outdoor bookstore
It's a new year and I'm already out of
shape
Total: 262 miles
[ Friday - March
2, 2012 ]
October was just four months ago. That's when the Major and I did
our first 500+ miles single day ride to Sedona, AZ. Not only
does it seem so long ago, but today's ride to Santa Barbara, a total
of 262 miles for me and 290 miles for the Major, has me completely
beat at the end of the ride. Just four months and I'm already
out of shape. That's not right. Only half the distance
of that first day to AZ. How pathetic... we need more of these
day long ride to get our endurance back. The winter break
hasn't been kind to us.
What a beautiful day for a ride. The sky is a gorgeous blue,
but the winds are being playful again. The Santa Ana's are
back once more. At some point along the 126 Hwy, the winds
were gusting at 40 MPH. This makes for an interesting
crosswind ride.
The rain/wind blocker layer helps to keep the chill out.
Being a Friday, there weren't a whole lot of people on the
pier. Nice! It makes parking all that much easier.
Two tasty lunches.
After a wonderful lunch and a bit of ice cream, it's time to head
back. I mentioned to the Major that we'll be swinging by Ojai
(Pronounced Oh-Hi) on our way back. That's when he hit me with
a simple curiosity and recommendation. "I read about this
outdoor bookstore in Ojai. It's listed as one of the 20 most
renown/unique bookstores of the world," he said. "Let's stop
by and have a look." How can you refuse something like
that? It's not often that you get a chance to witness and
experience something so worldly. Not to mention the fact that
it's actually in our backyard. It's time for some light
duty/fluff adventuring.
A simple 35 miles East / North-East of Santa Barbara and we're
parked in front of Bart's Books.
What an interesting bookstore. They have older books on
bookshelves outside of the store. If you wish to purchase any
of them (even after hours), all you have to do is deposit $.50 in a
drop box. Here's what the inside of the bookstore looks
like. Wood beams and tin roofs. Pretty awesome.
Pose for the camera he says...
... and what book did he hand me? As if I want to read about
Gore and Bush. Yuck!
If you're wondering ... no. Not all of the books are used
books. There are plenty of new books on hand.
Right when I stepped out of the bookstore, with nothing in hand, I
can't help but feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of
books in the place. I was casually browsing for a particular
book on Japanese woodblock prints, from the likes of Hokusai, but
ended up giving up because I didn't know where to begin. The
final question before we packed up to head home was, "How to they
deal with rain and heavy rain? Do they tarp up the
place?" The books are in really good condition so something
must be done to prevent them from weathering. They can't
possibly move all of these books when inclement weather
approaches. That just doesn't make economical sense. The
question will not be answered any time soon because we didn't bother
asking the clerk.
Now that we have accomplished a visitation of 1 out of 20 world
famous bookstores, we have to at least achieve another 5%.
Where is that? Why, Downtown Los Angeles. There are only
two world famous bookstores in the USA, and they're both located in
Southern California. How convenient. 10% out of a 100%
is still better than 0%. As for the other 90%, we'll have to
really seriously think about that as it can get extremely expensive
to visit the other bookstores.
Written on: March 6, 2012
Last modified: March 6, 2012
