[[Tenebrous Dragon|Home]] / [[Τα ταξίδια|Travel]] / [[2026-03 Bakersfield|2026 Bakersfield, CA]] # 2026 Bakersfield, CA > [!trip] > ![[2026-03 Bakersfield cover.jpg]] > - **When** Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 March 2026 (home early Monday 9 March) > - **Where** [[Σάφτερ|Shafter]], [[Μπέικερσφιλντ|Bakersfield]], [[Βεντούρα|Ventura]] and [[Λος Άντζελες|Los Angeles]] > - **Why** Visiting my sister-in-law and getting some sun > - **How** [[Delta Air Lines|Delta]] from [[MSP]] to [[Lax|LAX]] and back, with a car for the drive north > - **Stayed** My sister-in-law's house in Shafter, and [[Comfort Inn and Suites]] in Ventura > - **With** My spouse > - **Carried** The [[Kanken loadout|Kanken]] %% Specific and sensitive trip details available in [[Trip reference numbers#Bakersfield 2026]] %% Four days, three cities, and one very delayed flight home that had us leaving LAX at 1AM on a Monday. We saw the ocean though. It was worth it. ## Days ### Thursday 5 March **LAX, then Shafter** I did emails at MSP and on the plane to get the inbox down to 15, and we landed at LAX around 9:30AM. [[In-N-Out]] in Culver City came first, for my spouse. Then I went to [[Flax pen to paper]] in Westwood. I only had blue and needed some other colours, so I came away with two Pilot Iroshizuku inks, a red and a green.[^bakersfield-inks] After that we went to [[Tortoni caffe|Tortoni]] in Sherman Oaks, where I had a cappuccino and it was good. The drive up to Shafter was very, very long. We got to my sister-in-law's around 4PM. I had agreed to help with her closet, but she had not shown me just how full it was. There was so. Sooo much stuff, and I noped out and was honest with her that it was a full week job. We ate at [[Eureka burger|Eureka Burger]] in Bakersfield, a standard burger joint. I got a salad that was supposed to be an orange citrus salad and it was mostly lettuce and nothing else.. mediocre, and I was unimpressed. We slept there. ### Friday 6 March **Shafter to Ventura** I did about 50 emails so there would be less to catch up on the next day. My sister-in-law, my spouse and I stopped at [[Shafters donuts]] on the way down to Ventura, and the old fashioned was too cakey and dense, though they enjoyed it. It was a quick stop, and I assume she goes there regularly, along with the Starbucks near it. The drive was not too bad that day. [[Palermo coffee and gelato|Palermo]] in downtown Ventura was first, where the cortados were strong and the cashier told us they got pulled over. Next was [[Boba by the sea|Boba by the Sea]] at Ventura Harbor for a strawberry matcha with boba at 50% sugar. It filled me up, and it was nothing too special, but the sugar reduction option is appreciated. She and my spouse had lunch at [[Baja Bay Surf n Taco]] at the harbor and would rate it a 3. I skipped it because I was not that hungry after the boba and did not want to eat on top of it. We checked into [[Comfort Inn and Suites]], where she had her own room, and then walked [[Ventura Pier]], which was very, very fishy, with lots of fish guts. That was fine, but it is an angler's pier, with nothing to see or do besides fish and no good sitting areas. We finished at [[Cafe Fiore]] in downtown Ventura, which was expensive but decent. ### Saturday 7 March **Ventura, then back to Shafter** The [[Downtown Ventura farmers market]] came first, and the strawberries and blood oranges were bombastic. We went to [[Cafe Nouveau]] next, where I had an avocado wrap and kept it light. I stopped at [[Barnes and noble|Barnes and Noble]] to look for Greek language books and came away with nothing, not for lack of trying. Then a quick [[Starbucks]], and we checked out and drove back to Shafter. I liked Ventura. It has a nice downtown and beach, but you can tell it is decaying, with many businesses closed, and people cannot afford to keep it alive. That evening we chilled out. My [[Sarkantu language practice|spouse and I]] practiced pointing things out and naming them, vehicles, cars, people, and objects. ### Sunday 8 March **Shafter to LAX** After a morning Starbucks in Shafter we left mid-morning, because we planned to spend the day in Santa Monica and Venice, and the drive was very, very congested. We started at [[Sprouts]] in Culver City for raw milk, then walked the [[Santa Monica downtown promenade]], stopped at [[Uniqlo]], and had dinner at [[Sushi Roku]]. In Venice Beach I took the palm tree photo with the purple sky, and we stopped at [[Its Boba Time]]. We tried for the Getty Villa as well, but the entry times were full. I ended the day at 16,000 steps. We made a late stop at In-N-Out, dropped the car off, and headed to LAX, where we stopped at [[Urth Caffe|Urth Caffé]]. The flight was delayed and our terminal got moved several times, and we left around 1AM Monday. ## Where I stayed > [!stay] Comfort Inn & Suites Ventura Beach > We stayed one night at the [[Comfort Inn and Suites|Comfort Inn & Suites Ventura Beach]] on East Harbor Boulevard in Ventura, only to sleep, and it was very comfortable, actually. We had a nice view of the.. In-N-Out right next to it. :) My sister-in-law had her own room. > > It is not easy to walk from the hotel to the harbor, the pier or downtown, but driving about 1.6 km and parking fixed that. I would stay again. > > The other two nights were at my sister-in-law's house in Shafter. There was no guest room, just her bed and an air mattress. :( ## Lessons > [!lessons] > 1. **Your relatives do not keep house the way you do** > This is not a judgement. Get the hotel anyway, or just meet my sister-in-law in Ventura. > 2. **Planning helped, and so did ignoring it** > Most of the enjoyment came from ignoring the plan. Both of these things are **fine**. > 3. **Southern California is a lot of driving** > I forgot how much there is, and it was too much. Pick one place next time. Ventura. > 4. **Look at Turo for a hybrid or electric** > Check it before booking the car next time. > 5. **Book the Getty Villa ahead of time** > The entry times fill up, and ours were full. > 6. **Always spend some time at the beach** > Even on a trip this full of driving, the ocean was worth the time. [^bakersfield-inks]: Pilot, [Iroshizuku ink](https://www.pilot-custom.jp/en/ink/)