Mission San Buenaventura

This week's trip was a visit to Mission San Buenaventura in Ventura, CA.  As Wayne explained to us, these missions are an important part of California history - so go see them.

What I found interesting is that these are still active churches.  We tried to be careful as we walked around to ensure we didn't disturb anyone there.

We also took the opportunity to walkaround old Ventura, walk down to the beach, and visit the Ventura County Museum.  We found an olive oil shop that we'll probably return to and get some oil.  The shop was fascinating in that you got to taste any oil or seasoning before purchase.  You're also allowed to bring your own bottle(s) for oil (and bottles were available for purchase).  As the owner explained to me, there's no reason for you to walk out with the wrong seasoning or oil.  We even found a convenient place to park the truck, too!  (Note:  The California State Auto is the Toyota Prius...and most parking places are designed for that size auto.  So I take two to four spaces when we park the truck.)

Anyway, we've stayed at the CBC Port Hueneme RV Park the maximum 30 days.  So tomorrow is a mandatory move for at least a week (must stay away seven days before returning.)  We're moving to just north of Santa Barbara for two weeks and return mid-February for four weeks before moving to Pismo Beach mid-March.

We plan to head inland once we leave Pismo Beach.  Spring break starts right about that time, so we'll get off the coast for a week or so and take care of some maintenance stuff (tires).  We return to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area  for Easter where, hopefully, Terry & Forest can come out for a weekend or so.  After that, it's back inland passing east of San Francisco before gong back to the coast and head north.  At least that's the plan...until it changes.

Later, David

A visit to the Reagan Library & Paradise Cove

Entrance courtyard to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Last Friday Wayne took Donna & I to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library over at Simi Valley.  It's in a beautiful part of California and like most places of this type, one day isn't enough to see it.  Lots of stuff there.  Lots of kids and tours to contend with, but we enjoyed our visit.  According to Wayne, it wasn't crowded - sure don't want to be there when it is!

Tuesday we drove the Pacific Cost Highway (pretending we're in one of those car commercials you see all the time) and stopped at Paradise Cove in Malibu.  Nice area and a great restaurant, but not quite as much beach as we were expecting.  We'd do better if we'd stop at one of the state parks along the way and walk the beach there. Besides, I wanna check out some of the state campgrounds along the way, too.

Still more to see as Wayne's provided us a boat load of other places to visit.  We've got our work cut out for us!

Looking west form the library toward the Channel slands

Weather-wise, we've had excellent weather.  Unfortunately, rain started today and will be around for the next 4 or 5 days.  I know - no sympathy from you guys back east.  Spittin' rain and mid 60s isn't so bad as shoveling our old driveway back in Altoona subdivision.  Trust me, I don't miss it! 

Anyway, that's it from here.  Gotta go work on Wayne's list.  Later, David

Reagan's furniture from the oval office

Air Force One

Marine One

Yep, like most people out here, Reagan was a horse lover.

Piece of the Berlin Wall.

Paradise Cove (looking south)

Unique fence don't ya think?

The Seabees

After Santa Rosa Island, our next outing was a walk from the RV campground on base to the Seabee Museum next door to the base.  From June 1980 to December 1983, I was the 20th Naval Construction Regiment Supply Officer and made two trips out to Port Hueneme from Gulfport, MS.

Much of what we saw at the museum

(as well as on base) is familiar to me and brings back a lot of memories.  Troop formations with their "782" gear looks just as it did back then.  I don't recall details of the base from back then.  However, it's clear that when they took Point Mugu from NAVAIR in the early 2000s, they put most of their money into this base rather than Point Mugu (just as we expected).  They did a good

job with that money, though.  Too bad aircraft can't land here!

But I digress.  The museum does an outstanding job telling the history of the construction battalions.  Wish they'd had this at CBC Gulfport when I was there! It'd been real helpful to a young supply officer being around the Seabees for the first time. If you're in

Sample of wood pipe

the area, take time to stop by.  You don't have to enter the base to enter the museum and there's no entrance fee.  Plan on a couple of hours.

Later, David

Doesn't this guy look a lot like John Wayne?

...and did!

The Rates

Miniature of Seabee memorial

Santa Rosa Island, Channel Island Natl Park

Waves crashing on the north shore east of Black Rock.

Smugglers Cove, Santa Cruz Island

Today we took the flight out to Santa Rosa Island for a day tour of the island.  Just as our Tuesday trip out to Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa was a ranching enterprise and appears to be one of the last to leave after the Natl Park Service took over the island.  Buildings, while old, appear to be well maintained, but the equipment is very deteriorated.

And just like Tuesday, we stayed along the north side of the island.

On final for Santa Rosa Island

This time we got a "jeep" tour (Ford Excursion) to the ranch and back to Water Canyon, before departing on our day hikes.  Donna & I walked out to Black Rock for lunch (another Chumash Midden).  Then we walked east to the Torrey Pine Forest (only one of two Torrey Pine forests in the world) before returning to the plane.

From a big picture point-of-view, NPS stresses that a visit to the Channel Islands is a chance to see what California was like before Europeans

The ranch

came.  While that's probably true, what's being stressed is that you're really seeing islands recovering from over ranching. No matter, it's still
and arid environment and simply gorgeous views.

For those considering this trip, we took a Channel Islands flight out of Camarillo Airport.  The plane is a British Islander BN-2B, 10 passenger STOL aircraft.   Built in Britain,
it's designed for island hoping around the British Isles.  It's just not a

Torrey Pine forest

good sightseeing aircraft as you can see by one of the pictures.  The pilot also serves as your guide & naturalist and our pilot was excellent.

We see why people keep coming back.  When Donna & I were in Virginia our last 20+ years before retiring, we made Shenandoah our weekend trip destination.  If we were near here, we make this our destination.  We just have to learn to sleep in a tent! 

Torrey Pine

Later, David

P.S.  We did see one grey whale on the return trip back to Camarillo.

View from Torrey Pine forest

The plane!  The plane!

Black Rock

Roll Tide! (...plus a visit to Santa Cruz Island)

View west from Craven Point, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Island Natl Park

Ventura Harbor

We've had a fun first week here in Port Hueneme, CA.  First, we're at the military campground on the Construction Battalion Center (CBC) Port Hueneme for the month of January.  This is the home of the "fighting" Sea Bees and brings back a lot of memories as I was the supply

Ventura Harbor

officer for the 20th Naval Construction Regiment back in the early 80s at Gulfport, MS.

The RV park is really nice.  Interior roads are asphalt.  All sites are concrete with a side extension for your vehicle though our truck doesn't fit when we have the slides out (recall my "parking on grass" incident last week?)  I've yet to find the restrooms dirty.

Tidal Pool at the Visitor Center

As you're limited in your length of stay here, we see people moving in and out each day.  The commissary is new, large and well stocked.  The exchange looks the same, but we haven't roamed through it, yet. We're finding good 3G Verizon Wireless signal here though it does slow down during early evening.  WiFi is here, but it's weak and probably only useful in the lounge area.  The base service station has diesel and propane, but we're being warned not to use the diesel (dirty).

Our first outing was a visit to Channel Island National Park Visitor Center and Ventura Harbor to plan our visit out to the islands.  Then we drove down the pacific coast highway to Malibu, back up into a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains, and then back to the base to clean the salt spray off the windshield.  Donna broke a tooth at lunch, so it was off to the dentist for repair the next day.

Scorpion Ranch, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Island NP

We were able to meet up with Wayne ("Racebum" for you NuWa folks) on Monday for a great visit.  Then Tuesday we rode the boat over to Santa Cruz Island and the Scorpion Ranch for a day visit.  There we took a guided hike up to Craven Point (old Chumash midden), watched the grey whales travel down the channel, walked west toward Potato Harbor, turned back and finished the Craven Point loop trail and toured what's left of the Scorpion Ranch.  

Grey whales headed south to the Baja

We slept the whole way back on the return boat ride.  Saturday we fly out to Santa Rosa Island for their "deluxe" day visit.  I think "deluxe" in this sense is being able to stay about an hour longer on the island at four times the cost.  But we're expecting the air tour of the islands on the way out to be impressive! 

Anyway, that's it from here.  We'll leave the first of February and move to Santa Barbara for a couple of weeks.  The plan is to move back here for another month or so before heading north (all subject to change).

Roll Tide!  Go "Dores".  (Anyone notice that the final AP Football Poll had Vanderbilt at number 23?  Apparently, that success isn't carrying over to the basketball team, though.)

Later, David

Moved to Port Hueneme, CA

Escapees 2013 Rose Parade HOP

We moved from Castaic, CA over to the Fairways RV Resort located on the Seabee base at Port Hueneme, CA today.  It was a short one and a half hour drive after saying goodbye to all our new friends (see picture, above) from the Escapees group that we were with this past week.  These tours are call HOPs - Heading Out Programs), and this was our second one.

It's been quite a while since I've spent a lot of time on a base.  But it didn't take us long to get back into being on a base.  Within two hours of arriving, we were being yelled at.  Yep, I have a unique way of irritating base management personnel, always have...and it appears I haven't lost my touch!  All is well, though.  We had parked the truck with a couple of tires on the grass while we unloaded groceries before moving the truck to a separate parking lot.  (Yep, you're not to park on grass - only on pavement & dirt.)  I did the same thing while in flight school at NAS Meridian, MS and got the same treatment.  Some things never change!  Anyway, as you can see, we've already hit up the commissary for groceries and the commissary here is well sized, clean and well stocked.

The Fairways RV Resort is a nice little RV park stuck off to the side of the CBC Port Hueneme's golf course.  It's got about 30 spots, and there's another group of two to three dozen more spots under construction.  Sites are all concrete pads with 50 amp service.  All of it designed to blend in with the golf course.  Of course 50 yards away are the typical construction battalion warehouses, dirt parking lots, etc, that make this a true Seabee base.  As this is our first time to stay on a military base, it looks like we picked a good one.

Now, of I can just stay off the grass!

Later, David

Tournament of Roses China Air Float

How it looked on the parade route.

The second of two floats that Donna & I got to work on was the China Air Float.  On this one Donna put the popcorn on the bells while I got to put pistachio shells in somewhat hard to reach spots on the trees.  No matter which job you got, your "keepsake" from the float was glue stuck on your hands.  Yes, you could use - and they recommended - gloves.  May I suggest you try to pick up and align a kernel of popcorn or a pstachio shell with gloves on.  Go ahead, try it! See...easier to live with the glue!  But it was fun and rewarding to see it on the float.  David

How it looked in the warehouse.



You strat with your basic "bell", glue & kernels of popcorn



When Donna was done.



And on the float



Obviously, those pistachio shells are too well aligned to be the ones I stuck on.