Peacocks and Presidents!

December 2-8, 2021

Ventura Ranch KOA Holiday is such a nice campground!  Normally, I’m not a huge fan of KOAs, but this one would be a wonderful spot for families, especially during the summer season.  It has a high adventure feature with a zip line, rock climbing wall, teepees, and Conestoga Wagons to name a few of the kids (both young and old!) attractions.  Dick and I enjoyed taking Frankie for walks, watching the peacocks parade the park, and having conversations over campfires with neighbors from Washington state, Kelly and John.  Fun Fact:  peacocks roost in trees and can really surprise you if you happen to be taking your dog for a walk later in the evening!

Do you remember hearing about the Thomas Fire?  On December 4th, 2017, a resident living near this campground reported the fire.  Also located near us is St. Thomas Aquinas College, after which the fire is named.  Apparently, the Santa Ana winds blew down Southern California Edison power lines and ignited the fire.  Due to these record high Santa Ana winds, the fire spread quickly and reached Ventura, twenty miles away. That night, the fire destroyed over five hundred homes and killed two people.  After the fire was finally contained in mid-January, the rainy season hit, causing mudslides in the massive area where vegetation was destroyed from the fire.  These mudslides killed at least twenty-one people and destroyed another one hundred homes.  Today, there remain many reminders of this horrific disaster.  One of these reminders was located only a few feet from our camper.  The palm tree survived, but bears the scars of the blistering, deadly blaze that originated only a mile away.  

Anyone know anything about the weed, foxtail?  I learned more than I cared to know when I took Frankie in for her vaccinations (rabies, not COVID!). Veterinarians are next to impossible to make an appointment with, but fortunately, Jo (a friend we met from Soledad Canyon) had told me about Petco’s program, Vetco!  I was able to schedule Frankie to get into the Petco in Port Hueneme where they got Frankie up to date with all of her shots.  I had noticed a week earlier Frankie had a sore on the top of her hind, right foot.  I had been working at keeping Frankie from licking it, which had been no easy task.  Even with her “cone of shame”, she was able to reach her hind leg. I had assumed this sore was some sort of insect bite and other than keeping her from licking it, really wasn’t concerned about it.  Well, this injury did not slip past the veterinarian’s observant eye.  As a visiting Vetco veterinarian, she could only provide immunizations, but she did express concern that this sore was caused by the foxtail weed and strongly advised us to get Frankie into a clinic for treatment.  Telling her I had never heard of foxtail, she commented “Welcome to California.”  Apparently, this weed migrates once it has embedded itself and is extremely difficult to remove.  It causes infection and often becomes life threatening for dogs.  The next day we were off to a walk-in clinic where Frankie was treated, with care instructions given to us along with a nice, big invoice.  Lesson learned:  Frankie may not be able to play frisbee in California anymore!  We also discovered an alternative use for her Minnesota snow boots!

On the 40th anniversary of Dick proposing marriage to me, we drove the twenty miles to check out the lovely community of Ventura!  The visitor center was our first stop where we were pointed in the direction of their beaches and pier.  It was a pretty windy day, so while we enjoyed the views of the Channel Islands from the pier, we really didn’t dally much!  Surfer’s Point was another fun attraction to watch from the pier.  I bet there were seventy-five or more surfers out there waiting to take a ride on the perfect wave.  I was particularly impressed with them, as I was struggling to stay warm on the pier!  Those wetsuits must really do their job of insulating!  

Main Street was another fun area to take in.  It is lined with fun shops and restaurants.  You couldn’t help but be in the Christmas mood with all of the beautiful decorations up and down the street!

Note how the Ventura logo can also be read upside down!

Also located on Main Street is Mission San Buenaventura.  Yep, our tour of the Franciscan missions continues!  This was the ninth of the twenty-one missions and the last mission to be founded by Saint Junipero Serra.  In addition to touring the mission, we were also able to attend Mass here and found this church to be so very welcoming!  I especially appreciated the priest’s homily.  HIs focus was on community.  One of my favorite quotes from the homily is:  “We might not have it all together, but together we have it all!”  This little parish was named a Basilica on June 9, 2020 by Pope Francis!  Random note:  when we were strolling Main Street earlier in the day, we came upon a bride posing for pictures in front of the mission.  The train of her gown rivaled that of Princess Diana.  The photographer told us her gown weighed 20 pounds!  During Mass, the priest commented on the wedding from that afternoon, saying the actual wedding had occurred two years ago.  But, due to COVID, they were making their public vows now.  The bride had to be patient, but she finally was able to have her dream wedding!

When founding this mission, Saint Junipero Serra raised a cross a mile up the hill from the pier. This occurred 229 years ago, on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1792.   Although the cross has been replaced several times, the Serra Cross remains a cherished item for residents of Ventura.  Dick and I chose to hike up the steep hill rather than drive and again, we were reminded of the Thomas Fire as we hiked.  It had been four years ago to the day that the Thomas Fire reached Ventura and caused so much devastation.  As we were hiking, we could still smell the charred, ash smell of the fire and see vegetation destroyed.  Once we reached the cross, we could clearly see the effect of the flames on the cross itself.   

City Hall is another feature the residents of Ventura prize.  Its architecture is beautiful and features faces of monks along its walls.  We were challenged by the clerk in the visitor center to determine if we believe each face represents a different monk or if each of the faces is actually the same monk with different expressions.  I’ll omit our decision and leave the challenge up to you when you visit this quaint city!

Ojai was another “must do” day trip for us, as long as we were in the area.  It’s a small city set in the valley of the Topatopa mountains.  The downtown area has many nice shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed strolling the streets, dining at a delicious Mexican restaurant and taking in their park.  The park contained a tennis complex that would rival Wimbledon if it had grass courts!  It was fun stopping and taking in a match as we passed by.

Visiting the Ronald Reagan Library was my highlight of this stop!  I’ve only been to a couple of other presidential libraries prior to this, but am now inspired to add the remaining of these libraries to my bucket list! 

We started our visit touring the Mary Jane Wick Gallery, which is a section that contains rotating exhibits. Currently, “FBI – From Al Capone to Al-Qaeda” is on display.  There, we learned of the FBI’s beginnings and all about J. Edgar Hoover.  We also followed the investigation and capture of America’s most wanted criminals including Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger (they had his death mask!), Ted Kaczynski, and Timothy McVeigh, to name a few.  Many artifacts were on display, including the bullet-ridden car Bonnie and Clyde were driving when they met their fate, a structural beam from one of the Twin Towers, and a post card from one of the only three people to ever successfully escape Alcatraz.  The post card was addressed to the warden and says “Haha!  We did it!”  We also were able to participate in some of the training exercises FBI agents go through!  As impressed as they were with our (electronic) target shooting and as hard as they pressed to recruit us, we stood strong and are staying the course of our travels!

 

Ronald Reagan’s library was so very thoroughly put together!  It spanned Reagan’s life from his childhood through his death.  Much of it was interactive and very engaging!  We spent about five hours there and could have easily spent another five hours!  

Dick was able to stand behind the podium and reenact Regan’s inauguration.  I was able to go for a ride with the Gipper.  We were both able to visit Reagan’s Oval Office, board Reagan’s Air Force One, and touch a huge piece of the Berlin Wall that Ronald Reagan convinced Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down!  Side note on Air Force One:  this 707 not only flew Ronald Reagan, but Nixon, Ford, Carter, H. W. Bush, Clinton and W. Bush also used this plane during their presidencies!

Adding a seasonal touch to the tour, Christmas Around the World is currently on display at the library.  It features decorated trees from each of the twenty-six countries Air Force One flew Ronald Regan to.  We made a game of trying to guess the country by discerning the ornaments adorning each tree.  Amazingly, we were often able to figure it out!  Belgium tripped me up however.  Sorry Grandma Marguerite!  I promise to learn more about the country you immigrated from!  Goodness, my bucket list just keeps growing and growing!

Most surprising to me during this visit was a discovery we made as we strolled through a garden on our way to our truck.  This is also Ronald and Nancy’s final resting spot! The view from this garden was breathtaking.  In referring to the United States, Ronald Reagan often referenced John Winthrop’s quote of being a shining “city on a hill”.  Well, this mountain top library is certainly a shining remembrance of Ronald Reagan!  Inscribed on the horseshoe-shaped monument behind their gravesite is a quote from an address Reagan gave in 1991:    

 

“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.”

Boy, I wish more politicians had this positivity and energy today!  I remember being a fan of “The Great Communicator”, but had forgotten about all of the positive things he did for not only this great nation, but for the entire world!  Thank you, Ronald!

A section of the Berlin Wall

Next Stop:  Menifee, California