Worth the Drive: The Lavender Inn

Worth the Drive is NBCLA's twice weekly look at nearby getaways

Your job: Decide to get out of town and fast. Our job: Help you find where you're headed. This week, NBCLA's Worth the Drive takes us to...

The Lavender Inn: It was built in the last century -- wait -- make that the last century's last century -- so 1874 -- as a schoolhouse. Now the Ojai bed & breakfast has a cluster of rooms, each with its own nook-nice style.

Tree House Room: The large, leaf-breezy oak outside the window and the big sky/mountain combo in the distance will likely go along way toward alleviating stressful sitting-on-the-freeway-itis.

Cooking classes: In addition to being a cozy B&B, The Lavender Inn is also a cooking school -- the Ojai Culinary School, to be exact. If you stay at the inn with a group, you can arrange a private lesson (you'll need at least seven other people, but we're betting you know seven people who like food and the making of food). If you stay just by yourself or with a partner or friend, you can attend one of the public classes.

Upcoming public classes: March is Greek month at Ojai Culinary; Croatian foods come in April, and, just after, in June, is, wait for it, lavender. There will also be a "Grown in Ojai" series, too (think avocados). If you're a guest at the Inn, there's a sweet deal; you'll get 10% off your room for the night (just for one night, note).

Room prices: The Tree House is $130 on weekdays; the woody Craftsman room goes for $170 on weekends.

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