The Trip to San Diego & Reunion with Old Friends

We left Port Heuneme and drove the PCH- Pacific Coast Highway toward Los Angeles.
We passed through the gap at Point Mugu to head down some of the most famous seacoast in the world - the Malibu Coast!


The coast is dotted with communities right on the water - the famous Malibu beach houses.
We saw many work crews working among these houses to counteract the effects of the massive rainstorms from the previous week. While we did not see any houses that had slid down the hill, we did see some very serious erosion very close to some large homes.


Right in the middle of the Malibu coast is Pepperdine University - possibly the most beautiful campus anywhere. But certainly the hilliest! I think the only flat places on the entire campus were the ball diamond and running track!



The entrance to Pepperdine reflects its Christian heritage and the beauty of the campus.


As we get closer to LA, the beach houses get larger and more impressive.


Just before we reached the interstate, we saw this house overlooking an intersection. A sign indicated "Getty House" - maybe J. Paul Getty? (Once the richest man in America)


Then, the Freeway! No one in California refers to these highways as "I-405"
No, it's just "The 405"
This photo is taken just east of the John Wayne Airport in Orange County and reflects the fairly light midday traffic - all traveling at 75+ mph! It is nerve racking beyond belief to drive on these freeways! It takes over an hour from Santa Monica to Orange County. It's hard to comprehend the size of this city!


Finally in San Diego, we rendezvous with our good, life-long friend from Greensburg, Indiana, Patricia Halligan.
Pat was a classmate of Theresa's in St Mary's grade school.
When she went to Greensburg High, she caught Bob's (and most other boy's at GHS) attention!
(We always noticed the cute girls from St Mary's!)


After walking the dogs, Eric and Pat fed us some of the best chicken enchiladas we've had so far on our trip. then we relaxed as we watched the AFC win the Pro-bowl - a precursor of next Sunday's Super-Bowl where the AFC Indy Colts will defeat the NFC New Orleans Saints.

Hurst Castle + Solvang California

At first, we wondered if the drive from Oxnard (over 175 miles was worth the trip)
We decided to give it a go and headed north up the coast. We stopped at Morrow and bought some lunch, then stopped in Cambria, about 5 miles south of the Hurst Castle, to enjoy lunch along the coast.


With the camera zoom, we could actually see the Castle on the hills in the background.


The Castle is clearly visible from the visitor center - with the aid of a 20X zoom lens!


A 10 minute bus ride up the hill brings you to the patio where guests would be greeted.
The visitor center is in this picture but is so small as to not be discernible.
The deep water port was built to accommodate yachts and other ships.


The welcome plaza echoes Hurst's fascination with Mediterranean architecture.
Up these steps to the plaza that joins the three guest houses and the Casa Grande.


Just to the left of the welcome plaza is this pool. It is surrounded by beautiful marble statuary.
The facade contains columns from ancient ruins in Europe. As the need for more pool space increased, Hurst had the pool ripped out and replaced twice - this is the third pool!


The guest houses each have suites for each guest. This one has a view of the coast below and gets the Southern sun.


Above the guest house is this plaza that joins the three guest houses to the Casa Grande. Again with marvelous marble statuary! One sculpture is Egyptian and dates to antiquity.


The Casa Grande is patterned after a Spanish church that Hurst visited as a boy during an extensive tour of Europe with his mother. Note the structure is complete with bells in the towers.


And religious artifacts surrounding the main entrance. Note the Blessed Virgin above the door.


Just inside the main door, guests would gather in this main parlor, complete with tapestries and classic sculptures. The wood paneled ceilings were all fantastic. Along the wall are choir seats from European churches.


By traveling through hidden doors, guests would accompany Hurst into the dining hall with it's clear Mediterranean influence. The flags are reminiscent of the colors in the Sienna festival, where each family has it's own flag.


Beyond the billiard room, guests would gather in this theater (the largest room in the house) to view the latest from Hollywood - often pre-release films! Hurst sat in front with a phone. If the film dissatisfied him, he'd phone the projection booth and have them replace the film, possibly with one of Marion Davis (Hurst's second wife) starring.


The final stop on our tour was the indoor pool. The pool is 10 feet deep throughout, except in the alcove behind this diving platform.


The gold colored tiles are covered in gold leaf and protected by a layer of varnish! Supposedly this was often a place of late night rendezvous by the guests and was a very romantic setting.


Following the tour, we were treated to a 30 minute movie "Building the Dream" telling Hurst's story and the building of the dream castle.

Traveling back down, we made a brief stop in Solvang, California. The peopel who settled here were Danish and the architecture reflects that. Most shops closed at 6PM (we arrived at about 5:30), so the streets were pretty bare.


Windmills are commonly seen - and here I thought that was a Dutch thing! Live and learn!


As we reached the coast highway, Theresa caught this fabulous sunset with her new Canon pocket camera.


We reached Oxnard again at about 6:30, just in time for our first In N Out burger of the trip.
(Now that we've been to the gym and weighed in, it may be a while before we indulge again!)


Next, the drive down the Malibu coast with a short stop at Pepperdine University.

Ventura and Lunch on the Beach

We spent the day close to "home" so that we could make sure we got to the dentist on time.
Port Heuneme is home to the Navy Construction Battalion on the West Coast. When WW-II broke out, civilian construction workers were prohibited by the Geneva conventions from participating in the fighting. The CB's or "SeaBee's" were created to allow combat engineering in support of the Navy & Marine Corps. The Bee holding a Tommy gun in his front feet and tools in his back ones, symbolizes the dual role of construction and combat.



We drove to Oxnard's beach and we stunned at the beauty!
Wonderful sandy beaches and a great view of the Channel Islands off shore (plus a few oil drilling rigs!)


The beach hosts a number of very nice looking residential neighborhoods and some condos.
We didn't ask how much!


A few miles up the coast, we visited Channel Island National Park. This boat is used by the Parks Department to shuttle visitors out to the islands - which form the Park! Unfortunately, time did not permit us to visit the Islands.


From the top deck of the National Park Visitor center, we could see next ultimate destination - Ventura.


Our first stop in Ventura was Surfer's Point, where some of the best surfing in California is said to be had. The surf seemed pretty modest but there were an abundance of surfers to enjoy what was to be had.


This dude used a paddle to propel his board back out into the open water to await the "right" wave. He then used the paddle to chase the wave when it came along. He never had to be in the water (unless he fell, of course). Since we have learned this is the new way of surfing.


We traveled to the center of Ventura (named after Saint Bonaventure) to the San Buenaventura Mission Church which still serves a large parish.


The church is kept in wonderful condition yet still reflects its heritage.


Father Junipero Serra established many of the Missions along the coast of California and is revered by the faithful.


After the mission, we walked to the Ortega Adobe.
If you have ever eaten any Ortega brand Mexican food, here is where it all started!
This small Adobe Hacienda is the original home of this family and is preserved by the City, proud of one of it's favorite sons. The house is well preserved and outfitted with typical items of the era.
The bicycle leaning against the wall gives you an idea of the modest nature of the home.


At day's end, we visited Dr Priest who applied an epoxy seal to Theresa's broken tooth. He warned it was fragile, but would probably last until we get home in March - if Theresa was careful not to use that side to chew!

We made it back to the Navy Lodge in time to listen to President Obama's state-of-the-union address.

Tomorrow - Hurst Castle & Solvang!

Ronald Reagan Library&Museum

Note: the date of these posts is not the date we visited the sites - several days have passed!
We had a great visit with Bob Jacobson, Bob's college roommate who is a senior scientist at Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. The next day, we stopped at the Ronald Reagan Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. The setting is beautiful in the rolling hills above Malibu!
The museum itself has a ranch-like appearance reflecting Reagan's love for the land.


We arrived a few minutes before the 10 AM opening time, so we poked around a little, including a beautiful patio with flowering trees that we might have missed otherwise!


A life-size statue of "Dutch" meets you at the door.


Inside, his career is laid out with some of the humorous devices he used to make his point about wasteful government being the problem, not the solution.


This beautiful replica of the Oval Office is completely authentic.



The museum includes the aircraft that served as Reagan's Air Force One. A walk-through tour was included and showed many details of life in the air for the President.


On the walkway surrounding Air Force One are displays that highlight Reagan's greatest accomplishment - the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the nuclear disarmament that accompanied. Having grown up in the era of fear of being bombed by the Soviets, I really appreciated the peace between the super-powers!


On the floor of the annex, below Air Force One stands Marine One, the presidential helicopter.


The museum sits high on a hill overlooking some of the most beautiful valleys in California.


Finally, the museum notes the role that President Reagan played in restoring the US Military to a position of strength - one that Pres Carter had done much to destroy! This F-14 represents Reagan's contribution. A plaque denotes the air-to-air encounter two F-14's had with Libyan fighters - one in which both Libyans were shot down.




After a wonderful morning at the Reagan Library, we drove the short 30 miles to Ventura County Naval Base, as it is now called, to check into the Navy Lodge, Port Heuneme. While eating lunch, Theresa broke a tooth! We went to the Base clinic but the best they could offer was to make an appointment with a local dentist the next afternoon!! More in the next entry.