Santa Barbara

So, there we were in sunny Southern California, driving in to Los Angeles on the 5 with four lines of 60 mile an hour traffic. Out of no where, "Boom"! Turns out we touched mirrors with a tractor trailer. No damage and no harm, but it sure got our attention. Driving an RV takes a full time commitment, no letting you eyes wonder looking at the landscape. 

The plan was to meet our son Scott, his wife Leigh and our granddaughter Julia in Santa Barbara as they had rented a house there for a week. It had a rough start when we discovered the campground we had reservations at was far north of Santa Barbara on top of a mountain with no Internet, cell service or even 50 amp electricity which we need to run our air conditioners.  We quickly checked in, checked out, and headed back down the mountain. We were able to get the last spot in a campground in Ventura but we didn't get there until after dark. We pulled in and say that there was a party going on. Dozens of kids on bicycles with glow ropes on their wheels and musical entertainment. If we weren't so beat, it would have been exciting. As it was, they had a guide lead us to our space that required a back in. We disconnected the car and then spent 20 minutes trying to get into the space led by a kid who didn't know right from left. In order to get in, we had to drive forward between trees and twist back into the space. Ultimately, two guys came out of the RV's in the spaces on each side of us and within minutes we were hooked. RV folks are pretty nice.

Next morning, we drove up to Santa Barbara. Over the next few days, we did a lot of sight seeing and hiked to the top of a park for a great view of the Pacific.

We went on a whale watching boat ride but saw no whales, froze our backsides off, and turned off our granddaughter to boats probably forever.  

We strolled through Ventura and visited one of the early missions.

We had a nice lunch in the harbor in Ventura with great weather and terrific view.

The best surprise of this part of the trip was the visit to the Presidential Library of the "Great Communicator", Ronald Reagan. The library is atop a hill in Simi Valley that was one of the prettiest places I have seen.

Even though he wasn't one of my favorite Presidents, compared to Trump, he is looking a lot better. The library was wonderful with excellent exhibits and displays.

And to top it off, a visiting exhibit called Vatican Splendors was there as well. There is no way to describe it. Artifacts from the beginning of Christianity to spectacular painting, statuary and jewelry were all on view. Even as a non-Catholic, you couldn't help but be blown away.

 Words can't really describe it. We were lucky to have seen it.

Santa Barbara lived up to its reputation and we had a great time. Next stop, San Francisco.