Going for the bronze.....

Our week in California gave Emily several opportunites to get up close and personal with a few famous and not so famous types.

I love that she never says no when I say...."go stand over there by that so i can take your picture". 

She's a good kid :)

Spring Break....day four

Wednesday meant it was time to head back to Arizona, but on our way back through LA we detoured a little north and checked out the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.  The library and museum were wonderful, we loved all the history it was such a great place to visit. 

 The film about Reagan's history with GE Theater was interesting, knowing my Grandfather was working at GE during these years.  My grandparents always had a picture of themselves at a dinner meeting Reagan on the wall when I was growing up. 

 You could read Reagan's inauguration speech on the teleprompters....remember when our Presidents only used teleprompters for big speeches?

 An exact replica of Reagan's oval office. 

 Seeing all the limousines and suburbans used during Reagan's presidency was crazy!! They looked SO old!   

Well we didn't get to 'ride' at Rancho del Cielo but we got to at the museum.   

 There was a section of The Berlin wall at the Reagan Museum in Santa Barbara and another here at the Library.  The 'western' sides were beautifully decorated the 'eastern' sides completely bare.  A great reminder of what the difference in life on those sides would have been at the time.  I was a sophomore at ASU when the wall came down. I vividly remember seeing pictures and news stories about the events around it.  It was so cool to see it in person. 

I also very much remember seeing President Reagan's memorial service on TV in 2004.  Being at this spot in person was very moving.   

We had a great time in California, thanks mom and dad for spending such a fun week with us.

Spring Break...day three

Tuesday was another beautiful day and we took a drive to the cute Dutch town of Solvang. 

 After a yummy breakfast we headed a little father north to the Foxen canyon wine trail for a day of wine tasting.  First stop the Firestone Vineyard. Started by the son of the Harvey Firestone the founder of Firestone Tires.  Later his great grandson and Bachelor contestant Andrew Firestone ran the winery until it was sold to another local Santa Barbara family. 

 They have a beautiful tasting room with gorgeous views.

 After our tasting we got to take a tour starting in this very cool courtyard.

 Their private tasting room, and keeping with our Reagan weekend, the guide told us President Reagan and many other celebrities have tasted here. 

 Next up was the Fess Parker Vineyard.

 Our little taste of Disney for the weekend. A cool print of Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, from the 1955 Disneyland TV show. 

Our last stop was the Tres Hermanas vineyard a small family owned spot where we visited with the owner who told us it was named for her three daughters.

Emily got to put in lots of driving time today driving through the beautiful canyon and taking us all the way back to Santa Barbara.

Spring Break ....day two

The next morning we walked on the beach and did a little exploring in downtown Santa Barbara. 

  The Santa Barbara Court House is a beautiful old Spanish style building with gorgeous tile work and painting and an amazing rooftop deck with sweeping views. 

 The main courtroom has a giant mural that surrounds the room telling the story of the discovery of America.

 We chose to visit Santa Barbara because a friend of my dad was able to get us a special tour of the Reagan Ranch outside Santa Barbara.  The Reagan's bought this beautiful 600 acre property while President Reagan was Governor of California and they spent lots of time there during his presidency and after.  It became known as The Western White House.  It was sold to the Young American Foundation several years ago so it could be preserved and used for teaching about Reagan's life and principles.  It was spectacular and we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit this special place and have a private tour. 

 The house is an old adobe structure and very modest inside only 1600 square feet.  President Reagan did much of the work on the property himself, including adding the covered patio on the front. 

 We couldn't take pictures inside the house but it was so modest and sweet with their personal touches everywhere, you can see some pics here.

 When President Mikhail Gorbachev visited the ranch President Reagan had him convinced every American home had their own gas pump. 

Lake Lucky, President Reagan built the dock himself.  On their 25th wedding anniversary, President Reagan took Nancy out in their canoe named the Tru Luv and proposed to her again. 

 Reagan's favorite red Jeep, every ranch should have a Jeep.

 His garage workshop reminded me so much of my Grandpa Brown's workshop, old peanut butter jars filled with every imaginable hardware, ready for any job.

 The tack barn.  Reagan loved to ride at the ranch, seeing all his saddles and pictures of his horses was very cool. 

 A funny movie poster, a gift from Margaret Thatcher. 

 There are still several horses on the ranch this one named Sugar was enjoying the beautiful day, so were Em and her Pepaw.

The Psalm 121 Overlook a short drive farther up the mountain.  The most beautiful sweeping views!

Spring Break in Cali....day one.

For the last several years we've done Disneyland for spring break....well this year we mixed it up a little bit and went a little farther north and took my parents along for the week.  Everyone was a little curious how this would all work out.....well I am glad to say we all survived!  We got to take regular potty breaks and food breaks and thankfully my dad survived being in California (next to Mexico, his least favorite place in the world) for 4 days!!! 
We left early (thankfully not too early) Sunday morning and headed to The Getty Center north of LA. 

 Emily contemplates Van Gogh's Irises

 Enjoying the view and the patio after lunch

 Everyone loves the views at the Getty on a perfect day!

 The gardens were closed for some work so we didn't get to walk through them, but we got some nice views from the upper terrace.

 Emily gives us her best King Louis XIV

 Emily always willing to pose for pictures for me recreates a pic we took last time we were in SB out on Stearn's Wharf. 

 Perfect views back to Santa Barbara from the end of the wharf. 

 We enjoyed some yummy seafood at a great little spot called Santa Barbara Shellfish Company.