Paying Our Respects to President Reagan

May 28, 2013

We said our grateful farewells to Lynne and Marc in the morning and started driving east. Many thanks to them for their generous hospitality while we were in the San Diego area, not to mention all of Lynne’s great planning for our special trip to Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs!

I’ve wanted to see President Reagan’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley for years, but this is the first time that our driving schedule has worked out. Simi Valley is a suburb north of Los Angeles, and the Library and Museum is on a beautiful site high on a ridge overlooking the valley. But it means braving Los Angeles traffic—one of our most feared and disliked things!

This traffic is at a standstill. No accident, it's just typical stop and go LA traffic on this 10-lane highway

 First, a stop at the 99¢ Store to stock up on a few things for the trip. This is Marc’s favorite store and he took Jack there while Lynne and I were off doing our spa stuff in Palm Springs. Where else can you get 3 bags of “stuff” for $10?!!

The drive up to Los Angeles isn’t too bad until we get past Camp Pendleton, the huge Marine base in San Diego County, but then it gets heavier, even though it’s after official rush hour. We make one stop for gas and a snack, and arrive in Simi Valley about 1:45 pm. The view is magnificent from the Library grounds and Jack takes some photos. 

We get senior tickets for $12 each and begin the tour. There’s lots to see here. The Museum takes you on a winding walk through President Reagan’s life and times, with archival film, artifacts such as the blue pinstripe suit that had to be cut off him after the assassination attempt (still has blood on it), and wonderful reproductions and interactive displays. 

The fullscale reproduction of the Oval Office with all of Reagan’s western art and décor is a real highlight. Also the actual Air Force One plane that was used for 7 presidents including President Reagan is housed dramatically in a giant indoor “hangar” that doubles as a meeting room. Click here for a panoramic view. Reagan’s sense of humor and big heart really comes through in the tour.

Riding with President Reagan.

Outside, we view a 9-foot piece of the real Berlin wall, that is bleak gray concrete on one side, and has a colorful graffiti butterfly and the word “Freedom” painted on the other side.

We pay our respects at President Reagan’s grave, which has a commanding view of the valley below. An inspiring visit, that has renewed and refreshed our great respect for President Reagan. We’re glad we took the time to see it.

President Reagan burial site.

Good question.

 It’s almost 5 pm when we’re ready to leave, so we know traffic will be much worse, and it is. But we bite the bullet and get through it. (Jack drives the whole way with me doing the white-knuckle navigating—thanks, Jack!) He did a good job—I only yelled at him 2 or 3 times. We finally make our way up Cajon Pass, a high mountain pass that takes us out of the “big city” suburbs and into an actual wilderness area with a few smaller towns. We decide to spend the night at a Motel 6 listed in Jack’s book that he picked up in Mammoth Lakes when he and Bud stayed at one—the Motel 6 in Victorville says  it has new, modern rooms so we pick that one. Very bare bones but clean and cheap accommodations--almost Scandinavian. The wind is blowing pretty hard up here and it has picked up a lot of dust so that the air is dark and hazy—a sort of dust storm, I guess.

Eerie duststorm sunset with wind generators in background.

 We work until 11 pm or so and then hit the sack. Tomorrow, we head for Utah…

Where we are: 

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird, loggerhead shrike

State count: 11 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California]  
       

Odometer count:

Surber, VA: 107,435

Victorville, CA: 112,961