Palm Springs

Our final destination is the greater Palm Springs area. Jerry joined the Elks because they offer quite a bonus: RV camping facilities. These are less expensive than campgrounds, nicer than Walmart (they have water and electricity and sometimes a full hookup) and located within towns. They have been our places of “abode”for most of this trip. The one in Palm Springs is well suited for our desert plans.

We reconnected with Fran and Bill from our Canadian Maritimes trip five years ago.

We enjoyed a delicious prix fixe dinner at Trios then wandered the Palm Springs Street Market.

Both the art and the participants were eclectic. Being with friends was the best part of the evening.

We wrapped up our trip with more dining and shopping. Anna Lee did have a problem. She brought sandals for the warm weather weather but, when she pulled them out, she found that she brought two left shoes. Oh well, its time for new ones anyway. Keedy’s was on Mark’s list for breakfast and the Yarn Shop was on Ellen’s list. We found both sites worth our time.

After a horrendous two hour construction creep along I 10, (two hours to move four miles) we are paying our respects to Walmart in Bakersfield and then on to home. Look forward to being with you all when we head out again in the spring.

Richard Nixon Presidential Library

Where the Reagan Library was a tribute to life of Reagan, the Nixon Library is a more balanced presentation of the man and his role in history.

The library is located in Yorba Linda on the farm once owned by his parents.

The original family home built in 1920 is still there for touring.

It includes many of the original furnishings including the bed in which Nixon was born and the piano where he learned to play.

A doll-house size model is near the entry to the library.

We began the tour with a movie that explains changes in the library including the addition of the Watergate Wing. Nixon’s philosophy of “never giving up” runs through the film and the exhibits. The film is a preview of the chronological exhibits as guests move through the museum starting with his election to Congress and membership on the House Un-American Activities Committee and culminating with his Presidency.

It also lists his accomplishments including going to China, naming the first woman to the Supreme Court, establishment of the EPA and support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

His famous and infamous speeches are presented as broadcasts on 1950s through 1970s vintage televisions reminding us of when we first heard them.

We enjoyed reliving the Kennedy-Nixon debates which are shown on a 50s style television. It was wonderful to see the candidates actually giving informed answers to the questions rather than a canned speech response.

The World Leaders exhibit has life-size bronze statues of such figures as Kruschev, Mao, and Churchill. Sadat and Meir are posed as if in conversation.

Displays around the room are filled with some of the beautiful gifts presented to the President and First Lady.

Anna Lee talked with visitors from China on their reaction to the exhibit on opening relations with their country. They, of course, affirmed the accuracy of the presentation.

Pat Nixon is honored with an exhibit on her role as Ambassador of Goodwill.

The newly opened Watergate exhibit pulls no punches.

Actually recordings from the notorious Oval Office tapes tell of his anti-Semitism, his knowledge of the coverup, Washington Post reports, and comments from investigators and judges. This library fills its roll as repository of the history of the later half of the 20th century.

Near the home is the burial site for Richard and Pat.

The 1961 Sikorsky King helicopter used by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford is open for touring.

We recommend a visit to both of these Presidential Libraries. Reagan’s offers the unique opportunity to walk on Air Force One but Nixon’s gives a less biased view of his history.

Reagan

Rain blurred our view down 101 to Greater Los Angeles and two Presidential Libraries. We start with Reagan.

While we may have some differing opinions on his career, one thing stands out: his sense of humor. Whether it was to lighten a political issue or react to his own personal life, he found a way to be amusingly charming. With Reagan voicing so many quotations from his early movie career, political speeches, or reflections on his life, he seems like a narrator in his own museum.

Among the movie memorabilia is his “Gipper” sweater from Knute Rockne: All American.

The duplicate of the Oval Office, including the Resolute desk from Queen Victoria, is impressive.

Along with the obvious displays on his life, career and political offices are small sections about the Challenger tragedy, the Grenada invasion and the Iran-Contra scandal. The most touching displays are his letters and telegrams to Nancy. The most dramatic are clips from the assassination attempt and the display of East Germany and the Cold War.

The walk through Air Force One was interesting. Unfortunately the US government does not allow photographs. His Cadillac Limo had the license plate “Gipper.”

Jars of Jelly Belly candies were readily available in the Oval Office and on Air Force One.

This photo is made of Jelly Bellys.

This piece of the Berlin Wall overlooks the Simi Valley.

Reagan is buried next to the library.

Back home there is no such thing as good deli, but we are near LA. Mark and Ellen have been raving about Brent’s as long as we have known them. This was the night for them to put the food on the table. We shared a platter of lox, white fish, herring and smoked cod. These we layered on rye bread and bagels. Oh, yeh, it was great. So good we bought more to have in a day or two.

This is the dessert Jerry was not permitted to enjoy.

Santa Barbara

We forgot to include Mark and Ellen’s photograph in the previous blog. Since we are traveling together for two weeks, we want you to know them.

The Presidio at Santa Barbara was the last and largest Spanish military outpost in Alta California.

We wandered through the buildings seeing exhibits of local Chumash pottery and Spanish goods such as this leather saddle bag.

We learned that the Mayan word kakaw and the Aztec word cacahuatl form the delicious word chocolate. A special exhibit on the old Japanese community provided a different perspective of this diverse town.

This wagon stands outside of one of the original buildings that housed an officer’s family.

We returned to the Santa Barbara Courthouse so Jerry could enter through the Lawyer’s doorway and visit the law library. Over the doorway are the words Reason Is the Life of the Law, a serious thought for all of us.

This time for lunch we took Guy Fieri’s (Diners, Drive-ins & Dives) recommendation and had a British meal in a Spanish town.

Mac’s fish and chips are delicious and disappeared before they could be photographed.

Highway 101

We are continuing our trip south on Hwy 101 with friends Mark and Ellen. Our first stop was in Santa Maria. Jerry and Anna Lee went into San Luis Obispo for another 10K walk. This one was rather ordinary and doesn’t even have a photo to commemorate it.

Today, Super Bowl Sunday, we are in Santa Barbara. For Chanukah, Cheryl and Dave gave us 1000 Places to See in the US & Canada before You Die. While it is fun to read about where we have traveled, we find the book has much to suggest as we continue on down the road. Our first proof of this was lunch at La Super-Rica Taqueria, a unique local spot with really good Mexican food.

After lunch, the four of us took a docent-led tour of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. This Spanish-Moorish style building is beautiful.

Ceiling, floors, elevator doors and even the drinking fountains are adorned with wooden carvings and ceramic tiles.

The tour started in the Mural Room where the history of California including the Chumash Indians, Missionaries, and US Statehood fill the walls.

Throughout the building the art styles of Sicily, Tunisia, and Spain blend creating one of the most beautiful courthouses in the nation.

In the afternoon, we returned to the Elks Lodge campground and joined their Super Bowl party.

Carmel

Our RV club has enjoyed the temporary addition of Paul and Carol from Rochester, NY and Rich and Manni from San Jose. As you can see, they fit right in. Today we bid them safe travels and hope to see them again on the road.

This was another fabulous day in Monterey County, blue skies, light winds, shirt sleeve warm. Part of our group went shopping, the rest went hunting in Point Lobos. They were successful and found whales, dolphins, seals and egrets. Paul, a most helpful docent, provided information on Monterey marine life.

For us it was perfect for another 10K Volksmarch. This one took us into Carmel. We climbed up a wooded trail to Ocean Avenue where we wandered past the exclusive shops. A luscious tidbit at the bakery kept us going to the beach where the surf churned and the water was appropriately aquamarine

We also found our next house and we don’t even have to change the street name. We thought we had a nice view from our Scenic Drive but it is dull compared to the one from the same street name in Carmel where multimillion dollar homes add a multimillion dollar panorama of the Pacific.

We finished with a walk past Mission Carmel. This walk rates in our top five favorites.

Our lunch of crab/shrimp Louis salad at Sea Harvest was delicious.

For our grand finale dinner the core Springfield RV group took a recommendation from the wine server at Ventana and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at Monterey Fish House. We all dined well on oysters, scallops, crab cakes and shrimp. And for those of you who have been wondering, here is our meal photo.