Sailing California Style

On Sunday Rose organised a sailing trip with a friend of hers. This friend is a member of a sailing club which has a fleet of sailing boats to be booked and issued by the members.




The boat was a 22-foot Capri which sailed very nicely. The skipper (Pam, in the light blue) graciously passed the tiller to me for most of the voyage and who was I to refuse! The weather was perfect - a good sailing breeze, flattish sea and temperatures in the comfortable range. We saw dolphins, sea-lions and an oil rig. With a beer afterwards it added up to a perfect day.
Here we are.....
















On Monday, our last day in the US, we went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential library. We didn't see any books but we did find out what a 'wonderful' president he was. To his credit he slept in his car once rather than in a hotel that refused Jews. The setting of the library was absolutely spectacular.








This is Carolyn addressing the Republican convention. Or maybe she's accepting the nomination!




And of course, a replica of the Oval Office just like in the tv series West Wing!




I love this-it's the Gipper's portrait done in jelly beans!




This is the Air Force 1 Boeing 707 delivered in Reagan's time. Apparently reporters who came along were charged for their seats but I'm not sure who decides the fare and what class they were. In Reagan's time everyone was served the same food. We went into this and also into a one-time Marine One helicopter.




This was Kruschev's limousine on the right, next to Evita and Juanito Peron's Packard.
And so our time in California has come to an end. We fly home this afternoon. It's been a wonderful three weeks, and we look forward to the next time!

Location:Oxnard

Around Ventura County

We've been sticking closer to base, but this was one of the longer trips. The original idea was to visit Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens but they were closed for a fundraiser so we fell back on the mission.





Rose referred to it as the Queen of the missions and it is certainly impressive. This is the church.





This is the interior with its cloisters. It has been extended since it was built in the 1780s and rebuilt several times after earthquake damage but still has a feeling of antiquity rare in California.





We came home the inland route and spotted this much depleted reservoir - quite a view though.





Fancy a 1952 De Soto Firedome? This one's for sale.





Rose asked me if I'd take her TT Quattro for a spin because the clutch is too heavy for her so I allowed myself to be persuaded! We had a blast up the freeway - without exceeding the 65 mph limit of course!