While in Simi Valley, California we decided to visit the Reagan Library. It happened to be the day after the passing of President Bush so many of the exhibits were moving as he was Reagan’s VP for two terms. We found the entire library to be fascinating and very well done. A bit pricey at $29 each but alas….
We may feel mixed about his legacy as a president, but he did lead an incredible life.Just trying Air Force One on for size…..you never know?Cannot believe this huge plane fits inside the library.Laurie awaits entrance to Marine One. I was close behind her.A very impressive helicopter indeed.Reagan’s presidential limo with personalized plates that read “Gipper”.As Reagan famously said: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall.”. Fittingly, now a piece of it stands at the Reagan Presidential Library.
We went for lunch at a place called “The Hat”. It is famous for its pastrami sandwiches. Oh my were they good.
Then for dinner, since the day’s healthy eating habits were all ready ruined, we went to Inn And Out Burger. Oh my do we need one of these back east!
Eric and Amy showed off this iconic fast food restaurant. Don’t we all look ready to eat?I had a “triple-triple animal style. That means 3 burgers, 3 slices of cheese all topped with caramelized onions and special sauce. The fries were animal style too.We thought this was a great idea except that “It never rains in Southern California” as the song goes.
As the holidays are upon us we will not be posting again for another few weeks. Off to Seattle to visit Ray and family for Christmas and then to Wrangell, Alaska to visit Collin, Ethel and Zak to ring in the new year.
A nice fire was warming up the home of Michael, Brooke and Lavender as we began our visit.A wonderful family dinner including all local foods. Michael caught the fish and they grew the vegetables on their 3 farms in the area.Roy has never filleted a rockfish before so Michael gave a lesson. Very good!Lavender had to show off her gecko in the aquarium.While the gecko was feasting on crickets we caught him licking his chops. Or was he sticking his tongue out at us?A family bike trip to Ventura Beach was in order on this warm December day.Lavender says “Uncle Roy, will you go on the swing sets if I do?”
She kept up her end of the bargain so…..
What the heck? The chains did not break this time around!Laurie asked an elder gentleman if she could take a picture of him and his bird. BONUS….She got to play with the bird for a while too.
After a great visit with Michael and family we decided to cycle the tandem up a bike path all the way to the city of Ojai. This is a quaint little town known for its artsy and craftsy shops. The restaurant scene is a big hit too. We spent the night up there in the Hummingbird Inn and went to dinner at a local Thai food place. After all, we earned our dinner with a few nice and long bike rides the past few days.
We are ready to head off to small town of Ojai, Ca. There is a bike path that winds through the hills for 15 miles or so. No traffic to worry about.We could have rented this bike in Ojai for a little shopping but…..On our way back to Thousand Oaks we passed by the Red Tandem Brewery. Had to have a picture even though our tandem is not red. We tapped on the car window and asked a lady if she would take our picture. As you can see, she gladly obliged. She was intrigued by our journey, so we chatted for a while and she even treated us to a homemade donut at the bakery next door.Back at our Bullet in Amy’s driveway. We were able to capture a picture of this iconic California sunset.
A beautiful view from the boardwalk. The picture was taken after getting off the ferry and while walking to our hotel. There are no cars, only golf cats and bicycles.A view from the rooftop barbeque area in our hotel. Cruise ships come and go everyday except Wednesday and Thursday. Half the town seems to shut down on those days this time of year.Nice sign to see on your way to the back-country of the island’s interiorThese containers were set out in many places. The Conservancy owns around 85% of the island and seem to do a nice job keeping it a nice place for folks to enjoy the nature of the desert island.A rose amongst thorns we say. The Wrigley Botanical Gardens shows off mostly different varieties of cactus.Check out this cute little guy (or maybe gal?. The fox in the gardens seemed to be very comfortable watching us stroll by. A typical view of the topography of the island. We hiked a very nice 5 mile loop hike our first day there.Another one of the awesome views afforded to us on our hike.We are still learning how to take pictures using the panorama setting. This was what was described as the “fork in the road” by locals. We took it.The next day on the island we took a nice long bike ride on rented mountain bikes through the island’s interior.A view of a hairpin turn on the way up the 10 mile uphill to the “Airport In The Sky”. A good name as it was a big flat spot on the interior of a very hilly island.The hills were so steep and windy (switchbacks galore) mirrors were placed on the turns for drivers safety never mind oursRoy is not too upset after hitting this washed out section of downhill and wiping out. Maybe I landed on the pack?We did not see any fox on this ride but…..A heard of around 250 bison roams the island’s interior. We found them near the airport having a little lunch. We also noted the ecotour jeep vehicle driving all the cruise ship folks up for a look at the bison. Those rides only run $70 per person.
A bald eagle is part of the conservancy’s effort to, well conserve.
This golden eagle lives next to the bald eagle in their little sanctuary.A scaled topo map of the island. Avalon is the main city and is located on the bottom right. The airport is in the center. One day we hope to come back and cycle up to Two Harbors which is on the right of the above isthmus (left of map)It actually rained all day long on our last day. We borrowed an umbrella and walked the city of Avalon. William Wrigley, the onetime owner of the Chicago Cubs owned most of the island way back when. The Cubs used to hold spring training on the island.
We will not discuss the ferry ride back to the mainland as it was awful! ALL passengers (and some crew) got seasick as the swells were absolutely monstrous. We have taken many ferry rides but this one was one to forget.
After a wonderful time camping with Amy, Eric and family for Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to see Eric in action as the Captain of a 46 foot sailboat. He took all the classes and passed the captain’s test a while back so off we went to explore a bit of San Diego Harbor.
The inspection of the 46 foot sailing vessel “Sea La Vie” is underway.Full steam ahead Eric!San Diego is a very pretty city……and the weather..75 and sunny in December!2 out of 4 ain’t bad! Can you guess which of the two we ignored?The happy sailing couple: Capt. Eric and First Mate Amy. Not sure if the port of San Diego is under pirate attack?This pelican seemed to think we were going to throw the shrimp tails overboard for a nice bird snack.Eric took this picture of the happy crew.We used this small island as a “target” for the day.Boy were the swells on the ocean this day a bit large. As the sun was beginning its quick winter decent we decided it was time to “come about” and head back to port.Somehow Captain Eric managed to squeeze the “Sea La Vie” into its narrow slip without even bumping the dock!After a nice sailing experience we found a “taste of home” here in sunny San Diego.Oh my were the pizza pies good!They were so good Amy & Eric decided to bring some home to the boys! The sixth pie is hidden.A quick dessert at Ghirardelli’s was in order. Complete with the best brownie sundae ever and Jamaican entertainment! If it looks like he is a bit blurry, he is as he was in constant motion. His suitcase was also filling up with tipsOh the Southern California traffic we are trying to get used to! We did eventually make it home to our Bullet camper in Amy & Eric’s driveway.
We can hardly believe that it is holiday time 2018 already! Years ago my sister Amy started a tradition of camping on the beach with family and friends for Thanksgiving. I told her that when we retire we will certainly be there for the festivities so here we are in sunny Southern California in late November and early December.
The happy couple wearing the tye-dyed shirts that everyone made the day before. The Family! Bottom (L–>R) Nephew Michael, Brook and Lavender, Nephew Jordan, Laurie Middle Row: Brook’s Mom Judy, Brook’s son Jordan, Nephew Stephen, Roy Back Row: Amy, Eric and Nephew RobertOne of the most adorable 2 year olds we have met: Lavender was the life of all our parties it seemed.Brook’s son Jordan provided some fiery entertainment around the campfire.Uncle Roy is still undefeated versus his nephews (except for one game of ping pong 5 years ago against Robert) Here Michael and Roy beat Robert and friend at a friendly game of horseshoes. Check out the form on that throw.Amy and Eric rent a U-Haul every year to lug the camping equipment to the beach. We did not understand the need for it until we saw it packed up!The firewood also used to fit in the uhaul but our truck provided the transportation this year. Think that is enough wood for 3 nights worth of fire?A beautiful moonrise from our campspot!The mess hall served us well during our stay. Must have gained 5 pounds over our 3 day stay.Michael took advantage of cheap labor to shuck this large bin of dried beans that he grew himself. We would later eat some of these beans for dinner after a half day of soaking and simmering. Awesome stuff!Not sure how Robert got up there but he had a great seat for the horseshoe tournament.
We made sure that while we were eating up a storm we took a few nice long hikes and a great bike ride, too. There are not too many roads along the Pacific coast but we found a nice one that wound up through the valley and dead-ended at a ranch/theater?
We have seen this sign many times while driving a car but the bike thing was new to us.Just had to stop the bike for a picture of these two different types of palm trees.Our nephew Michael showed us around the paths of Southern California. This hike was about 4 miles as we created our own loop with a bit of bushwhacking.A view of our hiking path heading back to the ocean.As the sun set over the Pacific Ocean on our last day we will remember the Thanksgiving camping trip fondly for years to come.
After a few weeks of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona we tried out the Mojave Desert in Southern California. We are not huge U2 fans but certainly know the classic Joshua Tree album from years ago.
The trees do not provide much shade.
While in the park area we managed to get in a few nice hikes and a long and hilly tandem bike ride. Here are a few nice pictures of the hike to the Lost Horse Mine we took on day 1:
The mine did not look like much from a distance but it did seem to be quite the operation at one point. the placard said that there was never really too much gold in them thar hillsWhat a gorgeous view. Note the awesome little cairn in the foreground.What a beautiful landscape here at Joshua Tree NP.Check out the daring rock climbers. What some folks will do for a thrill?We simply imagined that this was all that was left of a home that housed the miners back in the day. Can’t believe the mattress has deteriorated to this point.When was the last time you saw one of these pop top cans? It even had the steel rivets going up the sides. Beer or soda??
After a nice hike to the lost mine we decided to take a nice bike ride the next day. It was only 20 miles to a short hike we had planned so why not take the tandem out for a spin you say? Well, the entire 20 miles was up, up and more up! We love riding up and down the hills but this was a bit ridiculous. It took us 3 hours to reach the hike by 2:30. This left us 2 hours to do our 3 mile hike and ride the 20 miles back down the hill to town. Needless to say, we did not finish the hike but did reach a spot of nice elevation and wonderful views. The ride back was a bit chilly but we made it back to the Bullet just before sunset and in time to head out to a drive in movie in town.
Not quite like crossing the Canadian border but we still had to wait in line to show our National Parks Pass. If we did not have one they would have charged us $15 to ride into the park.This pretty awesome flower was blooming brightly on the side of the highway in mid November.We used our Bob trailer to tote all our hiking gear up that 20 mile hill. Even Bob needs a workout every now and again.
We even had enough energy to head out to the double feature at the local drive in. We did not, however, have the energy (or desire) to stay and watch the second feature movie.
We had not been to a drive in theater in years so why not? We can tell you that we don’t even remember the title of the movie but it was not very good. Nice experience though.
Here are some shots from our other hikes through the park:
