Reagan Library

On Monday we drove out to the Reagan library in Simi Valley.  I had heard great things about it and we do like visiting presidential libraries.  This would be my fifth of the thirteen.  The library is on a hill and has spectacular views of the valley.  You can tell that Reagan had some very wealthy friends who donated money for this property and the building.

Here is the view from the building where Air Force One is displayed.

And here is the view from the courtyard where he is buried.

The technology used in this facility was great.  We purchased the audio guide to go along with our admission.  What they give you is a modified IPod that has a non-flash camera built into it.  You go along to the various exhibits and press the button on the screen for the exhibit and listen to the narrative (usually it is Reagan himself).  Then if you want to take any pictures along the way you use the device and at the end they email them to you.  The two pictures above were taken by Fran on the device.  This is one the coolest features I have seen in visiting many museums over the years.  It does cost and extra $7 but it was worth it to enhance the tour.

What I did find interesting at this library was the lack of any real “meat” to the exhibits.  It seems to be more of a glossy biography of Reagan.  As an example, at the Nixon library they have a detailed exhibit on Watergate even showing you the machine where the gap in the tape was made.  At the Reagan library I cannot recall an exhibit or any mention of the Iran-Contra mess. 

A really amazing exhibit is a scaled replica of the White House with one side cut away so you can see inside.  It is fully furnished and accurate.

The picture cannot capture how large this display is.  It has to be 30 feet long or more.

Hollywood and Wine

Like that!  I thought it was a good title for this post since we are in Southern California.

Come to find out Fran had never been to the observatory at Griffith Park.  Go figure as she grew up in Southern California.  So we went on Friday.  It had rained all night so it was a cool day and very clear air so you could see a long way.  While there we had someone take our picture with the Hollywood sign in the background.’

Here is the observatory.

The views of Los Angeles were spectacular.

There are miles of hiking trails throughout the park that we would have liked to explore but with all the rain lately they were a little soggy.  We will save that for another time.

That takes care of the Hollywood part.  Now for the wine part.  This is for our friends from the wine group we belonged to in Naperville.  With a mobile lifestyle and smaller living quarters we have not sacrificed drinking and storing wine.  I created a “wine cellar” in our fifth wheel.  Under the corner portion of the sofa was a very nice storage area that so happens to be the right size for wine storage (around 3 to 4 cases).  Here you can see what I created.

Being under the sofa and on the floor it stays cool and is protected when we are moving.   As a side note, on Friday we went to a local Trader Joe’s and verified that Charles Shaw wine is truly “Two Buck Chuck” in California.  It sells here for $1.99 a bottle.  In Illinois it is $2.99.

Southern California Wimps

So I am watching the local news tonight and they are reporting on the aftermath of the storm that passed through this area the last couple of days.  It dropped a significant amount of rain in Southern California but in the local mountains and over the grapevine (Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles) it dropped a fair amount of snow.  On the news they are showing homeowners shoveling what amounts to a few inches of snow and complaining how it is so horrible.  My gosh, the temperature is going to be in the teens.  LIfe is horrible, we must flee!  Wimps, I say.  What I saw was a “dusting of snow”.  I realize this is an unusual event for people in Southern California, but please, put it in perspective and GET OVER IT!

OK, moving on.  We took the trailer to the nearest Jayco dealer, which was in Riverside.  They were very helpful and immediately worked on our rig.  They found no leak (no surprise) so they replaced the propane detector and fixed a closet latch that had broken.  Very pleased with the response. We parked the rig in a Wal-Mart parking lot while we went to lunch with Fran’s brother and I noticed that the there were a couple of tears on the roof.  Very small, but bothersome.  The RV park we are staying at has numerous trees overhanging the roadway and I guess a limb must of scraped the roof.  So after lunch we went back to the dealer and got some repair patches.  IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING!

Put the patches on the roof and figure when we leave I will have Fran walk besides the trailer as I drive down roadways to exit the park to make sure I can clear the trees.  As Fran said, it is the same as when you get a new car and you get that first ding in the door.  It pisses you off.

One Month

We are coming up on our one month date of Life on the Road.  We are still in Southern California and probably will be here for another couple of weeks.  So far it has been typical Southern California weather, sunny and pleasant.  However, as I write this post it is raining with heavier rain expected on Sunday.

As it has been one month I thought I would give you a map showing our route to date.

Total mileage driven since starting is around 3700 miles.  Average price of gas, around $3.80 per gallon.  How much gas (diesel) used – A LOT!

An update from a previous post.  I had discussed what to do when we have to have a repair done to our rig and that I was not able to get into a shop while in Texas.  Well, there has been another nagging issue since we started and it involves the propane/carbon monoxide detector.  The propane alarm goes off once in awhile and it makes no sense why it is going off.  When the alarm goes off I vent the trailer, check the propane, and reset the detector.  The alarm will not go off for a week.  It will go off with the door open and the ceiling fan going.  If there was a propane leak I would think the alarm would go off when the trailer is closed up and would keep going off.  After buying the trailer the first alarm was left in the unit while they applied fabric protector and this caused the alarm to become defective, so they gave us a new one.  I am thinking that the fumes from that protector may still be causing an issue with this new alarm, but you have to play it safe and have the trailer checked for a propane leak.  This time I called my selling dealer and asked them about the issue and to help me get it resolved.  As we are in California and they are in Joliet, IL they said they would call the local Jayco dealer in Riverside, California to arrange something.  Thirty minutes later the owner of the local dealer calls me and I have an appointment to bring the rig in next week.

California!!!!

Due to a family medical issue (my mother) we decided to drive all day to get to Southern California.  This meant driving over 700 miles in one day.  Probably not a bad idea anyway as there is really not much going through New Mexico and Arizona (sorry to those who like those states).  We made it into Pomona, CA around 7pm.  We plan on staying here a couple of weeks or more.

On the way we used up a lot gas. Most of the stops we were able to get diesel for just under $4.00 per gallon but we did get HOSED at one station and paid $4.50 per gallon. 

I did want to mention two food spots while in California that are a must.  The first is actually for a drink, Hadley’s Orchard Stand in Cabazon, CA.  It is on the same exit off of Interstate 10 where the Indian Casino is.  Here is there website http://www.hadleyfruitorchards.com/.  YOU HAVE TO TRY THEIR DATE SHAKE!  You will thank me.  I found this place many, many, many years ago and remembered it but did not find it again until a couple of years ago when we were driving through.  It is worth the stop to get the date shake or the banana-date shake.  In addition their store is pretty neat.

The other place is In and Out Burgers.  They are in California and Arizona.  Order a double double with grilled onions, fries and a drink (their shakes are great) and you will thank me, but your arteries will not!

Oh yes, we did!

This post is for all those people, and you know who you are (Mark, Marty, Bob, Gregg and Kim) who kidded us about camping at Wal-Mart.  We drove from Texas until it got around dinnertime which put us in Las Cruces, NM.  As we needed to do some grocery shopping we thought we would just shop at Wal-Mart and then camp in their parking lot.  We did our shopping and asked the manager if we could camp and were told no problem, just park off to the side of the garden center.  We drove over to that side of the parking lot and there were already 4 other RV’s there and a formal greeter!  The Wal-Mart security patrol greeted us telling us where to park, where the good restaurants were and how to get into the store as it is open 24 hours.  Great service for no fee.  We cooked a pizza, drank some beer and went to bed and slept well.  We will probably use this option when doing a long drive.  Here was our view at night.

And here is our rig in the parking lot.

The big news of the day was that Fran took the wheel for a few hours of driving.  The lady can drive the big rig!

Although lets be honest she does look small in the drivers seat.

Texas BBQ

So while we have been in Texas we have tried two BBQ restaurants.  The first was in the Houston area, Rudy’s.  It was recommended by my niece.  The meat was good but I was not impressed with the sides.  I had the beef brisket and sausage and it was very good BBQ.

On our way out of Houston we stopped for lunch in Elgin, TX at a place called Myer’s.  It is a family owned restaurant that is supposed to be known for their pork sausage.  So, I had the pork sausage plate and it was great.  Fran had the pulled pork sandwich and said it was very good.  After leaving we discovered that there were three listings in our Road Food book for the town and Myer’s was not one of them.  It is our plan to try these road food places and are disappointed we missed out on the listings for this town.  Oh well, there is always another town and another diner!