Forgotten, broken-down landscapes inspire me too

I am back in my studio today after a bit of a mini getaway. Russ and I pedaled our way north from Ventura, through Santa Paula to Ojai and back. Nothing too wild and crazy, but I really needed a bit of a break.

As it turns out, there's a really lovely paved bike path that runs all the way from Ojai to Ventura. (And, even more lovely, if you ride it from Ojai to Ventura, not the other way around, it's all downhill.)

But, the most interesting thing to me about this path is that, somewhere along the way, you pass the remnants of some industry... old buildings literally left to decompose on their own, seemingly forgotten by everyone except the taggers and a few brave plants.