Today our travels took us to Vandenberg Village, Vandenberg Air Force base, Lompoc and Orcutt. It was another pretty and warm day and the first day of spring. With spring in California comes the wind. We didn't check the weather before we headed out but when we returned we heard that there was a wind advisory especially in the canyons. We could really feel the gusts buffeting the car as we drove through the canyons on the way to Vandenberg Village.
Vandenberg Village is a town of about 6,000 people, mostly white and we think it's the bedroom community for Vandenberg Air Force Base. Vandenberg AFB is huge and we think much of the land around Vandenberg Village belongs to the government and is not built on. There is a small center in Vandenberg Village with very basic banks, grocery and small shops. The average income appears to be higher than the CA average.
Lompoc is a city of over 50,000 people and was pretty sprawling. Now for some history on the city of Lompoc. First, Lompoc is pronounced "Lom-Poke"; not "Lom-Pock". The establishment of La Purisima Mission brought the first European settlers to the Lompoc Valley. But the very first known settlers were the Chumash Indians. Lompoc is a Chumash word which means little lake or lagoon. Lompoc was incorporated as a city on August 13, 1888. The city was once a temperance colony in the 19th century. The city was also mainly an agricultural one. As time went on, the economy began to grow as did the city. One of the main factors in Lompoc growing economically and becoming so diversified is that Camp Cooke was established. Camp Cooke is now known as Vandenberg Air Force Base. There are many strip malls in Lompoc and the prerequiste Walmart, Mervyns, grocery stores, banks etc.
Orcutt has about 20,000 people and looks very wild west and interestingly has a massage parlor on almost every corner! It is in what is known as unincorporated land of Santa Maria and it's known as a bedroom community of Santa Maria. Because of its affordability it is known as the fastest growing community in Santa Barbara county, that is before the recent housing bust.
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