As summer vacation is coming to a close, we wanted to go on a trip with our good friends, the Bickhams. After going through many options of some great places to go, we decided on the Reagan Library and then on to Ventura Beach, CA for some great cool weather.
Anytime we head down south, our first stop is always a little shopping center in Valencia that has Noah's Bagels, Starbuck's, and Jamba Juice. We love to enjoy a little breakfast out in the patio area. From there we continued on to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA.
The kids were excited to get in to the library (I think they were expecting to see books even though it is really a museum) to see everything. They were especially excited when they found out they were going to get to see Air Force One. So after a few photos we got our tickets and headed to the first location of the tour. It was the Oval Office which is displayed exactly as Reagan had it during his time in the White House. They even told us that when they were building this office Reagan came in to check it out at he said that the ceiling was too low. They told him that the roof was already on so that they wouldn't be able to extend it up so they ended up digging down to make sure that the room had the exact dimensions of the original office.
Once we saw the Oval Office we continued toward the Air Force One exhibit.
This was the plane used for Air Force One during Reagan's time in office. It was very interesting to walk through the airplane which had all of the same set up as it did during the 80's. The kids especially loved going inside the plane but we weren't able to take any pictures inside.
We had a great time walking around and reading many interesting facts about Reagan during his time in office and looking at many items that represented his time as President.
For a few months they also have a special motorcycle exhibit that was inside this area that had many motorcycle from the early 1900's like this one.........
and then proceeding through the years showing different types.......
on into current motorcycles and some that were used in movies like Transformers
and the space motorcycle used in Bedtime Stories which the boys loved seeing!!
There was also a motorcycle with the Jelly Belly theme because of Reagan's love of the candy.
We learned about the story behind Reagan's love of the candy and how he always had some available whether it was in his office or in Air Force One.
They even had pictures made of him out of the candy.
From this exhibit we moved outside where we there was a piece of the Berlin Wall.......
and then on to the gardens where Reagan is buried.
As we continued on we were able to see a Fighter jet and then head inside to finish off the tour.
The inside exhibit had an incredible model of the White House. Every detail that is in the White House and around it is perfectly defined in the model.
On the back side of the model the rooms were open so that you could see all of the details. I think this was one of my favorite parts of the tour. I really enjoyed taking the time to look at all of the details.
We had a great time looking at all of the exhibits and reading the information that was presented. There was a large part of the library that will be finished early next year that we were not able to see but we enjoyed all that was available to see and it might give a reason to return again sometime.
CJ gave a salute to the President!!
After we finished at the Reagan Library, we ate lunch at Chili's down the street and then decided to head over to Ventura Beach to enjoy some of the cool weather before heading home.
It was a little cool to play in the water so we decided to walk along the beach and enjoy the scenery. While we were walking, we noticed a rocky area that had a bunch of rocks stacked up in different areas. It was a great little area where people tried to balance as many rocks as they could and/or create something artistic.
This was our great creation!!
It was also fun to throw rocks out into the ocean trying to see who could throw it the furthest or hit a certain target.
After a nice time walking along the beach and the kids playing on the toys, we decided to go to Golf N Stuff to play a little mini golf.
CJ was the only one to get a hole in one.......it was funny because Dan was offering the kids money if they made a hole in one (knowing it was not likely to happen) and CJ hit this crazy shot that bounced off of several sides and was going so fast then just dropped in the hole. CJ was SO excited and we all cheered for him!!
We had a great trip!!
We are so blessed to have great friends that we can make great memories with and enjoy such fun times together. We look forward to many wonderful trips with them for years to come!
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