DAY 109- New Orleans to Biloxi...

I woke up early to wonder around the French Quarter.  The only people I saw out were on their way to work, out doing their early morning runs, walking their dogs, or on their way home after a very long night.  The latter group threw me a quizzical look when I cheerfully wished them a good morning.  I think the hangovers were starting to set in.  The streets were wet and later as a street cleaner drove by on another street I saw why.  I think they wash the streets every morning here.  I imagine that otherwise there could be quite the “build-up” on these streets.  Shop owners were also hosing down the sidewalk areas too.

Photos- Cute little houses in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Photo- The front of the St. Pierre Hotel where I stayed in the French Quarter.

I walked over to the river area and walked along it for a while.  I then decided to be fair and compare Café de Monde’s beignet to the Café Beignet’s beignet.  So I sat at a table and ordered coffee and beignet from a paper hatted woman.  Well, truth be told, I think I like the Café Beignet’s beignet. (Try saying THAT five times fast. Ha!)  But I will say that the view from the Café de Monde is better.

Photo- A foggy misty morning along the Mississippi River near the French Quarter.

 

Photos- Beignets and coffee and below the view from Cafe de Monde of street artists that sale their wares.

 

After a coffee and beignet, I wandered around the French Quarter some more.  I was mostly window shopping; most of the places don’t open until 10AM and I was early by about 2 hours.  I went over to the French Market which is an outdoor open air market.  Some of those vendors were just barely starting to uncover or put out their goods.  I was amazed at how many little restaurants there were where you could get breakfast.   I just wandered around and window shopped.  I also admired some of the houses in the French Quarter.  I had heard the day before that the average home in the French Quarter went for $400 per square foot; very pricey and parking would be a REAL pain. 

Photo- The French Market within the French Quarter where you can pick up all sorts of things.

Photo- The Cornfield Fence Hotel where the original owner had
the fence put in to make his Iowan wife feel more at home in New Orleans.

I eventually wandered into a souvenir shop and got some postcards but couldn’t find a bumper sticker that I liked.  I was hoping to find a bumper sticker that said something unique like…”New Orleans We Put the FUN in Funerals!”  But I didn’t see anything like that but there were tons of Fleur de Lis in either the Saints football team colors or the Mardi Gras colors.  I was disappointed.  There were a lot of good things said on t-shirts but not much for bumper stickers. 

With my big purchase of two postcards, I wandered back to my hotel with about 25 minutes to spare before check out time.  I loaded up the car and then went to the front desk to see about getting my car out of the parking lot.  A hotel employee needed to move his car and then he offered to back my car out for me.  I took him up on that because frankly I suck at backing up.  I gave him and the other guy that did hand signals for him a little tip and I was off.

I drove over to the Garden District of New Orleans.  I just drove through the big houses with the tree lined streets.  It was a wonderful area but I was unsure as to where to park so I just took my time and drove through the area.  It made for a nice late morning drive.

Next, I found I-10 and started heading east towards Biloxi which would be the next stop on my BIG adventure.  I passed the state line announcing that I was now in Mississippi.  Wow!  It’s the first time I had been in this state!  Shortly after that there was a rest stop with a Mississippi Welcome Center.  I decided I would stop and see if I could get a brochure or information about different areas of the state. 

I walked into the center and was immediately welcomed.  There were people taking pictures, singing, dancing, and handing out treats with coffee.  There was a huge hanging sign announcing that Mississippi was showing its southern hospitality.  I walked through all this to a bank of brochures along a wall.  As I was looking at them a gal in a wheel chair asked if she could help me find something in particular.  I talked with her for a bit and she was very helpful.  She even suggested a back way to my hotel that would be more scenic; giving me a map in the process.  I left with brochures and the map; rather looking forward to checking out the area and possibly visiting more of the state.  It was a positive experience which surprised me.

Photo- The beach front about 10 miles south of Biloxi, MS.

Another 15 miles down the road and I found myself driving along a white sandy beach.  I stopped for a bit and just sat on a bench to admire the beach.  It was rather windy and a bit on the chilly side but it was a wonderful view to admire.  I eventually got to my hotel and got checked in.  I went out after a bit and just drove along in the city areas of Gulfport and Biloxi.  There were a few casinos along the shore and it looked like there was an Air force Base nearby.

DAY 100- Sunrise and Never a Sailor…

I got up early in my north Padre Island hotel to watch my first sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico.  It was something unique having never saw a sunrise over an ocean area.  Living in the west, I had seen sunsets over the ocean.  It was still dark out when I was putting my shoes on but the sun was rising steadily as I walked out to the beach with my camera.  I wanted to capture the moments.  I wasn’t the only one out there.  There was another gal in a cowboy boots and hat with a fancy camera.  I said hi and she walked away from me.  Okay, maybe not a morning person that talks; oh, well.  I just watched and enjoyed the silence as the sun rose.  It was beautiful and I’m glad that a friend had suggested that I do it.

Photos- Of the sunrise I watched over the Gulf of Mexico.

Later on, I was heading south on Padre Island for the Padre Island National Seashore which is part of the National Park system.  I got to use my annual parks pass again; bonus!  I’m always amazed at how many National Parks or Landmarks that I just stumble across and am able to use this pass.  It’s the best investment that I could have done during this adventure.

I drove to the visitor’s center after showing my annual pass at the entrance gate.  I walked into the visitor’s center and there was a group with a national parks employee going through a display of unique things that people had picked up along the beach.  I joined in with listening.  The coolest thing I thought that was on the display table looked like a piece of petrified wood but it wasn’t.  It was fused sand from a lightning bolt that had struck the beach.  You could see where seashells were captured in the fused sand.  All kinds of things wash up onto the shore of Padre Island because of its circular coastline and the ocean currents there are thing that come from Cuba, the Caribbean and South America; most of the items on the display table were seed pods, nuts, or coral.  

I walked around the visitor’s center a little more.  They had samples of the Kemp turtles that had been almost extinct but with help from programs and local support they’ve been assisted in the protection of their birthing places and releasing them afterwards the numbers are slowly rising.  They had one of the large Kemp turtles on display but I guess that currently they were releasing smaller ones in the early, early mornings at this time of year. 

Photo- Butterflies and flowers on the way to the beach.

I went out towards the beach area.  On the way, I saw a grouping of yellow wild flowers where there were quite a few monarch butterflies landing and flying around.  I stopped and watched for a bit.  While watching I also saw a small sand crab run across the sand and into a hole.  I walked along the beach for a while.  Down a little ways there was a father and son fishing along the beach area.  I watched them for a bit and then continued walking down the beach.  I saw all kinds of birds and a couple of Portuguese-Man-O-Wars that had washed up on shore.  The day before near the hotel beach I had seen a jelly fish washed up on shore. 

Photos- Father and son fishing on the beach and their catch of the day.

I must have walked a couple of miles and decided to turn around.  The father and son were collecting their gear and as I got closer I could see a line full of fish that had been caught.  I commented on their catch and the father said that it was just the first catch of the day.  There was a campsite nearby where I guess they were staying.  I wished him a good day and continued on.  I went into the gift shop and looked around for a bit.  Then, I figured it was time to head north to Corpus Christi for my next planned visit of the day.

I followed the Google directions to the USS Lexington Museum which is in a bay area near downtown Corpus Christi.  The USS Lexington War Ship is an actual warship that has been permanently made into a museum.  I paid my entrance fee and got a token for the parking lot across the street.  I hung out looking at displays in the Hanger Bay #2 area while I waited for the next film to start in about 10 minutes.  There were a couple of restored planes, some airplane motors that were on display; along with some game like things to interact with.  When they opened the theater a few minutes later, I took the 3D glasses and found a seat.

Photo- The outside of the USS Lexington from the shore.

The movie was focused on air races and restored planes.  It had some cool effects with the 3D.  A row back a woman said she thought that the movie would be about ships since we were on a ship.  Her husband nicely told her that it was an air carrier ship and that’s why the movie was about planes.  Oh, she said.  She still sounded a bit disappointed.  I just chuckled a bit.

Photo- Inside the USS Lexington in the Bay #4 area.

I next went on one of the four other tours where you go through parts of the ship.  I did the #2 Tour which was the officers’ quarters, a Pearl Harbor Exhibit, and anchor equipment.  I climbed in and around and up into the upper deck areas of the ship.  It was like chutes and ladders with a bit of a maze thrown in.  I was finding it fun and I looked out at the outside windows as I went along.  Next, I did the #1 Tour which was the flight deck.  I went up and out onto the open area where they had old restore airplanes, anti-aircraft guns, the plank, and the navigation bridge area.  It was all pretty fun and I was having fun going through rounded doorways and up and down the stairs that were like ladders.  I did Tour #3 which was the combat ready rooms, the library, and the Captain’s Cabin.  I was amazed at how much room the Captain of the ship was given.

Photos- Stairs and doorways in the USS Lexington.

Then, I thought I’ll do the last of the tours I hadn’t done which was #4.  This tour was the lower decks where the engine room, sick bay, dental clinic, crew’s galley, a POW Exhibit, and a Chapel was.  I climbed down to the lower deck and started to look at some of the crews small areas where they would sleep.  Yikes, these were rather small and cramped.  I went by the barber’s chair area.  I then started going through some of heating and cooling equipment that was on the ship; that was rather cool because I used to be a secretary in this line of business.  Then it was an exhibit on Pearl Harbor Exhibit.  It was about this time that I really started to feel claustrophobic. 

Next, I walked into the sick room area and I could feel the sweat just dropping down my forehead.  I was starting to have a hard time breathing.  I sat down for a bit and put my head between my legs because I was getting light headed.  Oh no!  I might be leaving something behind in the sick room if I didn’t get out of here soon.  My stomach was starting to act up too.  I started to look for a way out.  Shortly after this I ran into a young married couple that had been in the theater the same time as me.  I asked if they knew where the exit was because I was starting to get claustrophic.   They helped me out and then led me over to one of the wide door bay areas when we reached the main floor.  They were both very sweet and asked if they could help or get me anything.  They encouraged me to sit down.  I sat down and just took large breaths of fresh air.  Well, I guess I’ll never be a sailor!

I left the ship shortly after I managed to feel normal again.   I was back in my car and heading north to Bay City which was a halfway stopping point between Corpus Christi and Galveston, TX.  As I drove north the sun started to set behind me and the moon was starting to rise in front of me.  This moon was HUGE and kind of a yellow orange.  It reminded me of the moon in that late 1980’s movie called Moonstruck in which Cher and Nicholas Cage starred.  It was HUGE and I sometimes found it hard to keep my eye one the road because I was watching the moon.

It was as I got to Bay City that I discovered I didn’t have the paper of which hotel I would be staying at for the night.  Ooops!  I pulled into a McDonald’s hoping that they had free Wi-Fi.  Nope!  I drove around and then saw a Chili’s and I thought I would ask there while I grabbed a quick bite to eat.  I just realized I never ate any lunch and I was surviving on a Bit of Honey bar that I bought at the National Park Visitors Center earlier.  I asked the server if she knew of any places with Wi-Fi nearby.  Nope!  Okay, this was not good. 

I looked through my phone when I remembered that I had called hotels.com earlier in the week when I made an error on an on-line booking.  I found the number and rather quickly found out which hotel I would be staying at, the address, and the phone number.  I was back in business.  Yeah!

DAY 99- Missions and on to the Beach...

I totally decided not to visit the Alamo while I was in San Antonio.  From what I heard it was expensive and you couldn’t touch or really look at anything in particular.  It was being treated as too much of a Shrine and I’ve seen enough of those plus, I still had three other Missions in the area that I could visit for free and be able to take pictures of.  So I packed up my car and headed to the first one of the three which was Mission Concepcion.

Photo- The outside of the church at Mission Concepcion.

There was only one other car and myself there at 10AM.  The church was open and I walked around and read all of the historical signage.  The inside of the church I thought was very beautiful.  There was a couple of people in a closed off section doing some masonry repairs/ restoration.  It was just a nice peaceful quiet area to be.

Photo- Repairs being done at Mission Concepcion.

Photo- The beautiful interior of Mission Concepcion church.

Next, I followed the signs to go to Mission Espada.  There I was greeted by a docent that gave me some extra literature about this mission in particular.  Then, she even offered to explain the statues in the church if I would like when I got over to the church area.  I thanked her and said that I would love to have her do that.  She was just so helpful and it was such a pleasure to have someone like her on duty at the mission.

Photo- The church at Mission Espada.

I waved at her as I got over to the church area.  She explained how this church was not what was originally designed for the area.  They had footings laid out for a larger church but it never happened.  There were a lot of issues with maintaining a constant Indian population for labor at this mission.  She also pointed out the door frame of this church.  It was rather Moorish in nature.  The story goes that the original mason got involved with a married lady and had to flee quite quickly leaving the work unfinished.  The underlings were left to finish the work and it’s believed that they tried as best they could but didn’t really know what they were doing and thus there are some “errors” with the door area. 

She went into the church with me and explained about the St. Francis statue that was in the middle was the oldest statue of the mission and that the gold leafing was what they discovered as they were restoring the statue.  The Jesus statue was made of corn husks and the Mary statue was only half that tall and was designed to be carried during festivals.  She also explained about how the window at the rear of the church was designed to shine sun on the St. Francis statue on October 4^th which is a special day in the Catholic Church.  I forgot which one and I’m not up on my Catholic holidays.  But it was all very interesting.

The docent left me in the church, inviting me to take pictures and to come over to visitor’s center.  She said she would be back by the entrance if I had any further questions that I had.  I thanked her for her time and took several pictures of the inside of this church. Then, I went over to check out the visitor’s center.  There was an older gentleman in a cowboy being the docent in there.  There was a puzzle of the door way of the church that you were invited to play with.  He told another story about the doorway of the church. 

Then the gentleman docent went on to explain the building that houses the visitor’s center which use to be used as a local Catholic school for the area.  They had photos and areas that were left like it originally would have been when it was used as a school.  There also was a different room that housed museum information.  What I found particularly interesting was that branding of cattle came from the King of Spain.  If the cow wasn’t branded then it was considered the King’s property.  This encouraged owners to brand their cattle.  One of the oldest brands that are still registered to this day is the Mission’s brand.  The docent also went on to point out how the term Maverick came into use.  There was a guy that moved into the territory after King of Spain lost power in the area.  This guy whose name was Maverick was quick to claim any of the unmarked cattle were his.  There by any of the unmarked cattle were called mavericks; kind of some fun history there.

Next, I headed to the Mission Espada.  I was walking along taking pictures when out of the blue walks Nanette the same national park employee that gave the tour yesterday.  She said I recognize you from yesterday.  I had asked a couple of questions during the tour yesterday and another afterwards.  I guess I might have been memorable.  I ended up talking with her for a while.  It was just myself and maybe one other couple on the grounds of this mission.  It was rather fun talking with her and I explained what I was doing with my road trip.  She thought that was neat and mentioned that she wanted to try to explore more of Texas with her husband when they could because Texas had a lot to offer.  She wanted to do Stay-cations.  I thought that was a wonderful idea and thinking more people should really try to do that.

After talking with Nanette I went through the museum part of the mission and then ended up talking with an older gentleman docent who happened to be a member of the mission parish.  He explained how they were fixing the church which was leaning very badly.  He also pointed out another structure on the property that was a house that was made from the original stones from the mission.  Quite a few of the stones ended up being used for that and that’s why some of the missions are not as well restored as they could be because a lot of these stones were spread all over the area being used for other houses and buildings.

Next, I found myself driving south towards Corpus Christi.  I would be spending the night in a hotel on the north side of Padre Island which is just over a couple of bridges from Corpus Christi.  I managed to find my hotel quite easily which surprised me because there were so many bridges that I went over and over that I was afraid it would be complicated to find.

Quickly after getting checked in I threw on some sandals and I was out walking along the beach area of the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s the first time I had ever seen or been on the Gulf of Mexico.  I thought that was kind of cool; another first.  The sun was just starting to set and I kind of just hung out and watched it set as I walked up and then back down the beach about 2 miles in all.   It was very pretty and I got to watch the moon rise.  There were a couple of surfers out which surprised me because there really wasn’t much for waves at all.  One of them did manage to get up on a wave for a short little bit but most of the waves were just too small to do anything with.  I talked with a local couple that was seated along the wall.  They said they saw people all the time attempting to make something out of these small waves.  Some of the best competitive surfers they said came from the Corpus Christi area because if they could make something of smaller waves they could really make something out of the larger ones.  I wouldn’t know but it kind of made sense.

Photo- Watching the sunset to the west on water that was to the east.  An interesting sight.

Next, it was dinner time and I asked the girl at the counter where there was a locals place to go.  She told me Scuttlebutts and gave me a copy of their menu.  It had a lot of variety and was nearby.  Why not.  I washed the sand off my feet, changed into blue jeans, and I was off.  As I went down there was a guy in the elevator that I said hi to and then went out to my car.  I drove past the restaurant the first time and had to turn around.  This area reminded me of Utah in that you have to do a "U" turn to get any where.

I go into the pretty full restaurant and try to find a sit at the bar.  Whose at the bar but the guy that I said Hi to in the elevator at my hotel.  He pulls up a bar chair next to him and invites me to sit next to him.  He's a marathon organizer from near the Orlando, FL area.  On the other side I have a small plane pilot from San Antonio.  There's two different basketballs games on the TVs and then there's an old Bruce Lee movie in the middle of it all.  The three of us are laughing at the Bruce Lee movie; talk about BAD acting.  It was fun.

I order some Happy Hour appetizers for dinner and ordered a draft beer that was on Happy Hour special.  The pilot guy leaves wishing me luck on my road trip and I ended up talking with the other guy.  He ends up paying for my dinner and asks if I want to hit a nearby bar.  Sure, I say.  I follow him to a place not far from our hotel called The Office.  It was a nice little local bar and I had to laugh because the pilot guy was there playing pool with another guy.  I said hi and he teased me about stalking him.  I gave him a hug and we finally introduced ourselves his name was Ben.  He also teased me about still hanging out with the guy I met in an elevator and warned me to be careful.  He was sweet.

I sat down with Mr. Elevator guy and I had another beer while he had wine and we just chatted.  He bought another round of drinks and we continued to chat.  I finally bought another round and we continued to chat.  As he finished his glass of wine, he said he was going back to the hotel bar at our hotel to finish up the night.  He asked if I wanted to join him.  I told him I might after I finish this beer which was only half full.  But I knew that the hotel bar would be closed and he was basically calling it quits for the night.  I thanked him for my dinner and all of the beers.  I finished my beer after a while and went back to the hotel for the night.

DAY 56- Shopping, Getting Lost, & Monday Night Football...

The night before I went to do a bit of shopping and grab a bit of dinner at the District which is a shopping area in Santa Ana.  It is within a few blocks of the La Quinta hotel where I was staying.  I take a turn in with a left turn signal and get about half a block and stop.  It’s backed up traffic for the entire area.  I eventually get to a stop sign area where they have a woman directing traffic through the area. 

Then, I realized I am in the wrong lane to get to where I was going.  So I go back around and end up in basically the same place only one lane over.  But I’m just amazed with how busy it is and it’s a Sunday afternoon.  I have my windows rolled down because it’s beautiful southern California weather.  I say out loud,”OMG! How do they ever get any shopping done here?”  Next to me, an Oriental guy and his girlfriend in a black sports car just looked at me in a bit of disgust but didn’t say anything.  I guess I must have said the wrong thing?

Photo- The District shopping complex in Santa Ana.

I finally managed to park out in the boondocks of the Target parking lot and head in.  The store is literally packed.  I’m in a bit of cultural shock here; because if I was in Utah I would have any store that was open almost to myself.  I quickly found what I needed and headed to the shortest line in the place which is still 6 deep.  There’s 4 gals in their early 20’s who look like they are purchasing the entire stock of cotton balls that they have in the place.  A run on cotton balls?!??  That’s a new one.

Next I literally drive through heavy traffic again to get out of the Target parking lot and across the street to a brew pub where I decided to have dinner.  Almost 5 minutes later I’m parked out in the boonies of another parking lot and really questioning my own sanity for even venturing out; so much for the green energy efficient world.  The heffe beer was good and I had some spicy buffalo wings; all on special during the Happy Hour which I felt like this was the only thing that was going right for the night.  Back to the hotel, I went after all of that.

I got in my room and the front desk is calling to check to see if everything with my room was alright.  I mentioned that one of my key cards wasn’t working and the other one I had to play with a bit but past that everything was fine.  The next thing I knew the front desk gal was at my door with two new key cards and making sure they worked for me.  Now THIS is service!  In fact, the next morning I go for breakfast and the lady attendant offers to make me a waffle as I go through the door.  I was wondering if I had a “Need Waffles” sign on my forehead.  But I will say this, if you ever need to stay in Santa Ana, I would recommend the La Quinta.

The goal of this day was to find the Crystal Cove State Park which my friend Diane had recommended to me.  I got the directions off of Google again.  Yes, I know I have not had the best of luck with Google.  Well, this proved to be another failure of Google combined with me; not a good combo.  I skipped to the third line in the directions which was south on Interstate 405.  I asked the helpful gal at the desk how to get to I-405 South.  Next thing I know I’m zooming along south on I-405 looking for an exit number and street name.  Then, I’m looking at the exit numbers and discovering that they were getting smaller and I must have missed it in my skip forward area of the directions.  I turned around at the next exit; taking a right hand turn from the left lane in front of three other cars and no one honked!  DAMN!  These people are too nice or maybe they were glad not to be on the same road as me?

I head back north looking for the exit and the exit numbers jump a couple of numbers; completely skipping the exit number I need.  Oh, this is SO not good!  Okay, I know the general direction of which way I need to go and I see a Harbor Blvd exit sign.  I took it and hoped that it eventually ended up in a harbor by the ocean.  Yes, it’s sad to say but some days that is the extent of my line of reasoning.  I ended up driving west through Costa Mesa and ended up finding Hwy 55 which I found went in the direction I needed and took me to Hwy 1.  My screwed up logical way of thinking paid off. Yahoo!

Photo- The boardwalk path that leads towards the beach at Crystal Cove State Park.

I arrived at my destination and paid a state park fee to get in.  Later, I found out I could have foregone the state fee and gotten a parking validation to a lot more south and across Hwy 1.  Live and learn seems to be the way I go.  I parked the car, put sunscreen on, put misc. stuff in my mini backpack with a towel and off to the beach I went.  It was a gorgeous beach and Diane you were right; it is a relaxing haven along the coast.  I got down the path to the beach and decided to sit down and just relax for a bit.  I spread out my towel and watched a family of three boys with their parents along the beach.  I ate a sports bar and what was left of a diet soda.  I had a pesky seagull eyeing me and my food.  He kept edging towards me.  I put all of the food away and then the gull went off somewhere else.

Photo- Part of a family walking along the beach at Crystal Cove State Park.

Photo- The pesky seagull that was eyeing my sports bar.

After a while, I headed down the beach where I could see cottages and more people.  It was probably about a mile or so and I carried my sandals and walked along the edge of the ocean waves.  It was beautiful weather; blues skies with wispy clouds and right about upper 70’s.  What a way to spend the day, I thought as I walked along.  As I got closer to the cottages, I saw that quite a few of them were actually abandoned old cottages which were owned by the state park service.  There was a fence cording them off from the beach and warning signs were posted. 

Photo- A seagull army looking out to sea?

As I continued along, I saw a stand and a restaurant.  The restaurant was called The Beachcomber; how appropriate.  I walked up to the restaurant and found out that there was an hours waiting time for a table inside or longer if I wanted one outside. Whoa!  I asked if there was somewhere nearby that I could get something cold to drink.  Sure, just go inside and you can sit at the counter.  One, with no waiting! Yes!

Photo- The Beachcomber Restaurant where I had lunch at the counter. No waiting!

I ordered a diet soda and an appetizer of a pita pizza with bacon, sweet sun dried tomatoes, and onions with a bit of brown sugar on it.  Yum!  I watched the people all around in the restaurant and the kitchen staff too; who were right in front of me.  I turned around sometimes to look out the door to where the beach was too.  It was a busy fun place to be.  I watched two guys at a table near me playing rock, paper, and scissors for the last artichoke appetizer they ordered.  It’s so fun people watching.

After that, I headed down the beach the way I came.  I again passed a gal with a metal detector that I had said hi to on the way down.  I asked if she had found anything.  She just shook her head and said,” Just a few coins that’s about it.”  I wished her a good day.  The tide was down quite a bit from where it was on my walk down the beach.  I could see more of the rocks on the shoreline where before they were just bumps of a rock out of the water; now I could see almost all of the rock.  I walked along and heard a vehicle.  A coast guard pickup truck was driving along the beach.  He waved at me as he passed.

I headed back up the path to my car and left the park.  I turned south onto Hwy 1 and within a short bit I was slowly driving through Laguna.  I saw quite a few art galleries but I just wasn’t in the mood to stop.  I’m sure I already was a bit sunburnt even though I put sunscreen on.  I also wanted to get to my hotel in Chula Vista before it was too late in the day.  I wasn’t sure what to expect for traffic in San Diego. 

Photo- Monday Night Football rush hour traffic on the interstate
and motorcycles zooming between cars.

BOY, I was in for a surprise!  I ended up getting stuck in the middle of rush hour traffic for Monday Night Football.  I never thought to check the Monday Night Football schedule before heading into San Diego.  Note to self- check sports schedules the next time you go to a large city that has sports teams.  San Diego was playing the Bronco’s and it was a popular game to see I guess.  It was solid bumper to bumper traffic for almost 12 miles.  The only vehicles that were really moving were the motorcycles that were driving between cars.  That is the way to travel if you are in southern California on a nice day.  But I still found it unnerving watching them go along at quite fast speeds between the cars.  It was probably a good thing that I wasn’t wearing Bronco orange driving through this lot.  Then, I would have never been able to get over for my exit. 

Photo- An oasis from a stress filled day at the El Primero Boutique Hotel.

I eventually got to Chula Vista and got checked into my room and before sunset too.  Tonight I’m staying at El Primero Boutique Hotel which is located in the Third Ave downtown area of Chula Vista.  I located the hotel on the hotels.com website and looked small private and inviting.  The room certainly looked inviting tonight.

DAYS- 54 & 55 —Malibu, Santa Monica, & President Reagan…

I’ll admit that I’m getting a bit behind trying to keep with my write ups while on my trip.  I thought it would be easy but sometimes at the end of the day of sightseeing all I want to do is veg out a little.  So in an attempt to keep up, I’m going to try to combine two days into one write up.  So here we go…

DAY 54- Malibu Beach and Santa Monica…
I woke up with less than my usual 5 hours of sleep.  The La Quinta Inn where I was staying ended up being Grand Central Station for local college students in the area; particularly the third floor area where I was staying.  I called and mentioned the noise to the front desk at about 12:30PM and nothing seemed to happen.  Finally, I must have dozed off a bit because the next thing I knew it was 2:30AM and the college kids were still going strong.  Thank goodness I found my ear plugs from RAGBRAI with me.  I put those in and managed to sleep till almost 6AM.  But I definitely felt like I was dragging.  I went down to breakfast where there were a few married couples all looking like they were suffering from a lack of sleep.  I said to the room, “So, did anyone get any sleep last night?”  No answers came but a great deal of heads were shaking no in response.

The night before I was playing with the idea of hitting Venice Beach, running by Walt Disney Concert Hall, and then visiting the Getty Museum but I was thinking with a lack of sleep that might be pushing it.  I was also wondering what the traffic would be like in the area.  I decided that I might want to do a change of plan.

I still thought I would drive over to Venice Beach but I thought I would take a more scenic route and go by Malibu Beach and Santa Monica.  So after fueling up, I headed south on Hwy 101 to Westlake where I hooked up with Hwy 23.  Now this was an area where I saw a ton of cyclists; Hwy 23 wound up and down and around and eventually over to the ocean beach.  But meanwhile, there was low traffic and wonderful views to see.  It crossed paths with Mulholland Highway and that was where all of the cyclists were coming up from.  The road was very curvy and I drove slowly.  I had a couple of times where I pulled over into a dirt edge and waved motorcycles around me.  I was in no rush and I was very much enjoying the scenery and watching the cyclists.

Photo- Cyclist along Hwy 23's curvy and scenic road.

I took a left onto Hwy 1 and headed south.  In less than a mile, I was driving along the beautiful Malibu Beach.   According to the sign there was 27 miles of Malibu Beach, and I drove along it all.  I did get out at one area where there was plenty of parking off to the side of the road and I took off my sandals and walked on the beach taking photos.  I got back in my car and headed south.  I took the turn up and over to the Santa Monica downtown area. 

Photo- Malibu Beach.

Photo- Santa Monica Park- beach to one side & city to the other.

 

Between the downtown area of Santa Monica and Hwy 1 there’s a long park area that perched on the edge of the cliffs that Santa Monica sits above.  I had to check this out.  I found a parking spot, put money in the meter, and walked along with my camera.  The park seemed to go on and on and on.    It was a wonderful area to walk; on one side you could overlook the beach and on the other you could watch the city.  It was a hub of activity with people cycling, walking their dogs, running, and visiting.  I even saw what looked like a model shoot being done. About every block or so there were public restrooms and plenty of park benches available.  Periodically to continue walking along the park you would need to cross with a street light where the road came up or went down to Hwy 1 but those were only about once every three blocks.  I put away my camera for a while and just walked along enjoying it all.  I headed back to my car just in time to pull away from the curb before my meter flipped to red.  I drove through a bit of Santa Monica’s downtown area and it was stop and go traffic.  I was rather amazed that anyone got anywhere in this downtown with a car.  You could walk faster than you could drive.

Photo- Yep! Driving in downtown Santa Monica can get you very slowly somewhere. 

I proceeded to drive further south to the Venice Beach area.  It was very crowded and I couldn’t get very close at all.  Parking was expensive and then you had to walk almost ½ mile to get to the beach.  Nope, it was just too crowded and too expensive for me.  I went back to driving north towards Malibu Beach.  I had passed a sign that said US I-10 on the way south.  I figured I would see about catching that to go into LA and see the Disney Concert Hall.  I must have passed it or it wasn’t accessible from the direction I was coming. 

The traffic was getting to be stop and go all along Hwy 1 heading north.  I went by the Getty Villa that I had seen on the way south and I thought I might just catch that on the way back.  Nope, not today!  There was a long line of cars from there that was causing some of the backed up traffic on Hwy 1.  I continued north and thought I would see about catching another way back to Hwy 101.  I turned off a couple of times at street lights only to find dead ends within a couple of blocks.  But eventually I did find another two lane road that headed back through the mountains.  This one was still scenic but was not as curvy.  I easily found my way back to the hotel before sundown.  I also found out that it was a good thing I hadn’t gotten in line of cars for the Getty Villa earlier because they were taking timed pre-purchased tickets only.

DAY 55- President Reagan Library—
On the drive back to the hotel the day before, I had noticed a sign mentioning the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Air Force One.  I thought that sounded interesting and after finding about the Getty Villa’s pre-purchased tickets, I figured I had better find out more about ticket information with regards to the Library.  I also wanted to find out if it would be open on a Sunday.  They were open on Sunday and I could easily pre-purchase the ticket on-line.  I decided why not.  I always thought that President Reagan was more interesting than most of the presidents.  I also remember where I was the day there was an attempted assignation.  It was kind of like his presidency was a part of my life and that would make it more interesting to me too.

I purchased a ticket for the 10:30AM start time slot.  They recommended you get there 15 minutes before your time frame and I got directions from Google again.  So, I needed to make sure there was a good amount of cushion just in case.  I left almost an hour and 20 minutes before my time slot.  30 minutes later, I was parked in a spot outside the Library and Museum waiting.  I decided to just go in and see if it took any longer to check in because I was unable to print up my ticket this morning.  The printer at the hotel broke and they never bothered to get a replacement.  Can you say this La Quinta did NOT impress me and I was surprised because normally they are a consistent good line of hotels.

I went in with only a confirmation number; the gal behind the counter said no problem.  Before I knew it, I had my ticket, a sticker to put on my shirt, a receipt just in case I lost the sticker, and a collective little ticket to take home with me.  I was directed to the doorway where the tour started.

Photo- The beginning of the tour of the President Reagan's Museum.

The gal welcomed me and directed me further along the hallway while stating that there was to be no flash photography in the museum and no photography inside Air force One.  I checked to make sure that my camera was on a no flash setting and then proceeded down the hall.  Around the corner they were showing a four minute film as an introduction to President Reagan.  Another lady volunteer said that she highly recommended seeing the film and that it was very short.  Okay I said and I sat down on a padded bench as the film played.  It was a quick and emotionally patriotic film about President Reagan. 

I then continued down another hallway to where it was Reagan’s early years.  His history of being raised in Illinois, working hard and helping out with his family who were struggling to make ends meet.  In his later high school years, he acted in plays and found his love of acting.  It went on to talk about his first jobs in radio and how that helped him to become the great communicator later in his life.  I was surprised that he had a sports radio position in Des Moines, IA.  He started to get into professional movie acting by a chance run in. 

Eventually, the history of the museum worked its way to how he became the governor of California.  It went into detail on how he made his two terms in California successful.  Then, the jump he made to the national platform.  The microphone incident at one of the debates; they even had the microphone there. All those things that helped lead to him being the President of the US.   They even had a mini version of the Oval Office in the museum; an exact replica of how it looked while he was there.   All of those details they had down to the last detail with family pictures that would have been behind his desk at the time.  It started in with his early presidency and then you turned a hallway and headed down to Air Force One.

Heading down that hallway, all you could see was glass but you knew it was inside, enclosed in the building.  While going down that hallway, I made the comment how did they get that plane in here?  The volunteer standing by said that a whole book had been written about how they did that but essentially they moved it in one main section except for taking off the wings from the nearest airport. They had built some of the building prior to the planes arrival but the plane was assembled a bit when it arrived.  Then, they continued with finishing the building around it.  The plane was all intact except for the fuel tanks, which were no longer needed anyway.

Photo- Air Force One inside of a building!

I was in awe when I came around the corner and saw Air Force One in this large room with a HUGE glass window its nose pointed towards.  I walked around it and headed to the entrance to go on it.  It was here that a volunteer stood and took your picture as you entered.  She said to wave and smile as I enter.  She gave me a card with my photo number to check out later.  I went on the plane.  This was SO cool.  Presidents have been in this same plane as what I now was walking through.  There was the communications board area, the President’s temporary Oval Office, the First Lady’s office, the White House Staff area, a galley area with Presidential china on board, and an area for other guests of the president’s.

Next, I was downstairs and directed to the area to look at my photo.  It wasn’t too bad and I was wearing red.  I looked rather patriotic and had a good wave down.  Oh, why not?  I spent the money and purchased the picture.  How often can you say you’ve been on an Air Force One and have proof that you actually was.  It was priceless!

Next, the museum continued with Reagan’s presidency and the Berlin Wall.  They showed the famous speech he did at the Berlin Wall, and talked about the negotiations with Soviets.  Then, they went on about the history of the Ranch in California and Camp David.  Next, it was some more history about him in the white house and his relationship with Nancy.  It even talked about Nancy and showed some of her clothes and the sense of style and practicality that she had in helping him out.  She was a true partner to him.  Then it went into the AL timers and his death with films of the funerals. 

Then, you were at the gift shop which was the end of the museum for Reagan but there was a special display that was being shown in the museum by D23 which is the Disney Official Fan club, or so it stated.  This display talked about Walt Disney and his early years then took you through some of the early films through displays of the costumes and drawings and movie posters.  It brought back a great deal of fond memories of growing up.  And I really thought that it was fun to see some of the real costumes that were used in the movies.  Then, the display continued downstairs where there were more recent movie memorabilia and costumes that could be seen.  This was fun to see too.  It's as I'm leaving and go outside to my car that I pass by where President Reagan was put to rest.  It rather felt strange to think of him lying here but there was a wonderful view and maybe that was why it had been chosen.

Photo- President Reagan's final resting place.

Photo- The view out over Simi Valley from near President Reagan's final resting place is.

Next, I found myself on down the road heading into downtown LA to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  I rather thought that this was appropriate after what I just saw.  The traffic wasn’t all that bad.  I guess Sunday afternoon isn’t a popular time to be in downtown LA.  I was able to find the Hall pretty easily as I got off the freeway ramp.  I pulled for a couple minutes into an illegal parking spot off the side of the road and took pictures of the Concert Hall.  I just LOVE the look of this building and it was one of those things that I just HAD to see in real life.  Wow!  That was cool!  Then, I was off and on my way to Santa Ana for the night and hoping that this La Quinta hotel was better than the last one.

Photo- Walt Disney's Concert Hall in downtown LA.