Leaving San Diego for LA put us on those hectic freeways again. The speed limit is 55 for anything towing anything and I don't mind that except that being in the slow lane and having to change lanes for interchanges almost left raw skin on the steering wheel from gripping so hard. (White knuckles, you know). Incidentally, the freeways are referred to by their number and 'the'. So this day we took 'the 805' to 'the 5', 'the 405' and 'the 10' (yes that's the I-10 that goes through Houston - we went to the western end of it). We made it through LA and settled into a campground called Malibu Beach RV Park. It's on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean and was pretty spectacular. The RV in the middle has the prime spot. Malibu, you know, is the playground of the rich and famous, so we felt right at home here. We didn't make the big effort to get to the beach in front of the star's homes, in fact anything to the 'house' side of the high tide line is off limits. Anyway we had a list of names and addresses and we know we drove on the street side of Jane Seymour, Cher, Dick Clark, Mel Gibson, and Bruce Willis. Here is Cher's compound. On the way through LA, we stopped to check out the Crystal Cathedral, an active church and well-known landmark. It's spectacular and all glass. Services here must be spectacular. Since we both had been to LA proper, we chose to visit the 'Getty Villa' and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. J. Paul Getty was very wealthy from oil interests and did two things in LA. He built the Getty Museum which an imposing feature on a mountainside, and the Getty Villa near Malibu. The Villa is a replica of a villa in Pompeii, Italy. Buried under 75 feet of lava in ancient times, excavations gave inspiration and insight in how to portray this replica. No expense was spared and the most expensive materials were used, mostly imported from Europe. The front of the Villa. Even the lanterns are authentic reproductions. This floor is inlaid with several kinds of imported marble. More pics from around the Villa. From here we got on those freeways again (the 405 and the 118) going to the Simi Valley. The Reagan Library is on hill overlooking the valley and a beautiful setting. It's tastefully done and a real tribute to a great President. We got to see how a teleprompter works. In the photo below, you see the box with the script projecting it onto the clear panel above. Only the speaker can see the text scrolling along. The Presidential Limo. Notice the license plate. Older folks will know about that. A section of the Berlin Wall. Note the valley beyond. Beautiful setting. Another fascinating display was a scale model White House including both wings. This exhibit had been there for a year and is closing this weekend to be packed up and moved to somewhere in Florida. We met the man who made it as he was there to take it down. He said it took 50 years to build. All the furnishings are to scale and TV's, water, and lights work. It takes two months to set up, and two weeks at Christmas to redecorate with Christmas trees and decorations. The pictures don't do it justice. The west wing is on the right. (and look closely, there is a man standing on the right to give it scale.) The back side. Just a big doll house. The Oval Office is open and lighted center bottom in the west wing. Probably the highlight of the whole library is Air Force One. This plane was used by 7 Presidents, the last one being George W. Bush. It's a magnificent exhibit, mounted in take-off position behind a glass wall overlooking the countryside. This has been a long report, but there is just so much to share. Anyway, back to our mountainside perch after a good day. Tomorrow we move on up the coast. Stay tuned.
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Who Are We?
Chuck and Mary Lou have been traveling in their RV since 2002 and have lately been taking longer, extended trips. This is our way to share our experiences. Trip Reports
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