Tag Archives: Valencia

Day 4 – ACA Pre-Rally – Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Valencia Travel Village, CA)

2015/03/26 davidhobden@mac.com 1 Comment

Warning! Another picture-heavy posting today – consider viewing on your computer or laptop instead of mobile device… todays destination was just too cool for me to be able to limit the pictures.

Author’s Note: Sorry this is a few days late, but it took time to sort and format the pics and meanwhile we moved to the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) Rally in Pomona with most of our Alpine Coach group and have been pretty busy. But more on that later – First, follow along now on our really neat trip to the library:

My new favorite day of the week (Monday) consisted of an awesome guided tour of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. We are now on day 4 of our Alpine Coach Association Pre-Rally which has not been disappointing in the least. Thanks again to our hosts/co-hosts (Tris and Carolyn Swan) & (Joel and Mary Langord) for a superb rally!

Here’s a copy of our Pre-Rally flyer:

Breakfast was on our own this morning, so everyone could carpool or convoy as early as possible to meet our 10:00 AM tour start-time.

Here’s the sign leading up the long winding road to the top of the hill where the library is situated. It took us less than an hour to make the circa 40 mile trip here from the Valencia Travel Village.

Route up the hill to the Reagan Presidential Library.

Road to Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Building at the top of the hill in the distance.

Our group gathered in front of the Library and waited for the doors to open.

A full size statue of our late – great president greets visitors at the entrance doors.

We didn’t have to pay the $16 pp entrance fee. It was included in our rally package price.

After the doors opened, we all gathered once again on the backside of the building and waited for our tour guide(s). There was an original section of the Berlin Wall on display to keep us entertained along with a nice view.

View from the back of the building, looking West.

Our tour guide(s) arrived and invited us to take a self-guided tour of the automobile collection that was temporarily on display until it was time for our docent-led tour of the library/museum itself.

And was this collection ever cool! More cars… Yay! And you thought it would just be a visit to the library today 🙂

It seems that the Petersen Museum is being renovated and some of their cars are on display here until they reopen in December 2015. Click HERE for more information on the cars in the Petersen Collection.

Some of the pictures are out-of-focus due to the inadequate lighting in the display area and the “no-flash” rule. I’m sure it’s better at the Petersen Automotive Museum where they all originally hail from. We’ll just have to go back, eh?

And who doesn’t love the Love Bug?

Does anyone remember this one from the movie ‘Grease’?

No intro needed for this next one, right?

Is this a treat or what! And we haven’t even started the tour of the library yet…

We walked down to a lower display area for even more cars.

I wonder if he’d trade in the Alpine Coach for one of these? A ’56 Chevy. As most of you know, I sold my ’57 a couple years ago… it still hurts 🙁

They even had a gold-plated De Lorean.

I don’t think I remember hearing about this one before – According to the placard; Elvis shot this Pantera with his hand gun when it wouldn’t start.

After the unexpected treat of the superb car collection on display, our group gathered again at the front of the building. The tour guide(s) then broke down our ~50 person group into more manageable 8-10 person mini-groups. Our mini-goup tour started off by going directly to Air Force One.

What a view out the huge window.

Here’s looking down into the lower area. We’ll be having our lunch at those tables later.

And here we are before boarding Air Force One. No pictures are allowed at the entrance or inside the plane. The library contracts out to a photography studio and they take your picture for a price $$$ 🙁

Informational placard on Air Force One.

After our tour of the plane, our guide took us to the lower level under the plane. And guess what? More cars! These are a permanent part of the presidential library.

Nice personalized plate, eh?

Our next stop was Marine One on the lower level.

We got to tour the inside the helicopter, but again, no pictures allowed.

And then we got yet another special treat! We couldn’t help but notice that NASCAR legend, Richard Petty was also taking the tour today along with his entourage. I snapped a couple pics but was too shy to ask for an autograph.

Richard Petty in front of Marine One at the Reagan Presidential Library.

He took the time to do a couple pics and autographs for folks that weren’t so shy. For those few that don’t know who “The King” Richard Petty is… click HERE for more info from my friend Wikipedia.

Richard Petty at the Reagan Presidential Library.

We continued on our tour. Do you think Stilla was feeling homesick at the Berlin Wall displays?

And here’s Richard Petty again! Most of our group was so distracted that we weren’t paying attention to our tour guide anymore 🙂

Richard Petty had a few words with fellow Alpiner, Mary Langord. Isn’t she special? 🙂

It was really neat to get the opportunity to see and hear Richard Petty up close and personal. What are the odds that he’d be here the same time as our group?

NASCAR legend, Richard Petty at the Reagan Library.

And back to the library tour:

We got the opportunity to take pictures in front of the podium. Mary Langord looks like a natural orator, doesn’t she?

I even took my moment.

And then our small group waited for our turn in the Oval Office.

Exact replica of the White House Oval Office with many original personal items from President Reagan himself.

Too bad we couldn’t take turns sitting behind the desk 🙂

Finally, we made it to our catered lunch under the wings of Air Force One. And what a good meal it was, with good company.

Here’s Stilla with fellow Alpiner’s, Gary and Renee, enjoying lunch.

After lunch, most folks went their separate ways. However, since we were distracted by our Richard Petty experience, we (and several other couples) went back through portions of the library/museum. We just couldn’t get enough of this really cool place that honors it’s namesake, Ronald Reagan. So here’s a few more pics for you to enjoy as we did…

Stilla even got to go for a presidential ride-along.

Ronald Reagan’s personal belt buckle collection:

We finally found our way to the gift shop. Lot’s of cool stuff.

Hidden around the corner of the building, we stopped to view the F-14 static display. I think a lot of folks missed this.

Picture of the back side. The Berlin Wall piece is in the center foreground.

Memorial around back.

And orchard.

And a fond final farewell to my personal hero – President Ronald Reagan. What a great experience! This is one of the neatest and most informative places we’ve had the pleasure to visit in our travels.

We made it back to the campground to enjoy yet another fine get-together with our Alpine friends. We had a nutritious dessert and some pre-packaged breakfast goodies to take with us on our morning trip over to the FMCA Rally.

Here we are, (with full bellies), getting our final words of wisdom before we pack up and head out in the morning for our next destination.

Hope you enjoyed the tour today. I know we did!

Check back in for a recap of our trip to the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) Rally in Pomona… We have to get an early start in the morning in order to arrive in time to meet up again as a group so we all get parked together.

California

Day 1 – Alpine Coach Association Pre-Rally (Valencia Travel Village, CA)

2015/03/21 davidhobden@mac.com 1 Comment

Yoo Hoo! We arrived safely at the Valencia Travel Village for the Alpine Coach Association Pre-Rally to the FMCA Rally in Pomona. We made it here around 3 PM on Thursday after successfully navigating the bumpy and busy LA freeways thanks to our Rand-McNally GPS. Whenever we get near a major city after being in the wide open southwest – it seems that all the drivers are impatient and in a hurry… common-sense and courtesy seem to be things that are reserved only for non-urban areas. Oh well… we’re here, with only a few frazzled nerves from the sudden traffic jams and lack of merge etiquette.

Here’s an awesome sight… a long row of fine Alpine Coaches. I think there are about 30 Coaches in attendance, (I’ll confirm that number later). Our Coaches filled up the first two rows near the entrance to the park and we ended up in the front row with a view of the pool and spa across from us. 🙂

Everyone gathered at the designated meeting spot for our “Meet & Greet Social”. Once again, it was nice to see old acquaintances/friends and to meet new ones.

After an hour of “catching-up” with folks, it was time for our catered dinner from Panda Express. Great selections, great food, great people!

After our fine meal, we finished setting up the Coach and relaxed for the evening. We were lucky to get a shot for the satellite dish through the tall trees around our site. I thought we might have to move forward or back a few feet but it worked out.

In case anyone’s interested; here’s a view of our schedule for our time here at the Valencia Travel Village:

Since Friday is a “free” day, we decided to check out some sights in and around LA. I thought about downloading the Harley, but decided against it after recalling our freeway experience(s) on the way in here. So, we jumped in the Silverado and plugged “Hollywood Sign” into the iPhone. What did we do in the days before GPS?

After 35 miles and about 50 minutes later, we ended up at the Griffith Observatory parking lot which is also on the road to the Hollywood sign (which is closed).

Here’s some pics of our time at the observatory:

Hollywood sign as seen from Griffith Observatory.

LA skyline through the smog, from the Griffith Observatory.

Hollywood sign in the background, picture is from the top of the Griffith Observatory.

Memorial to James Dean at the Griffith Observatory.

Plaque on the Memorial to James Dean at the Griffith Observatory.

We each took turns walking through the observatory because little dog, Coach, wasn’t allowed 🙁

Giant rotating earth inside the Griffith Observatory.

Giant rotating moon inside the Griffith Observatory.

Stilla and Coach greeted me outside the building after my fast-paced whirlwind tour. Pretty cool place… wish we had more time without having to worry about the dog… it was too hot to leave him alone in the pickup. Another must-see place.

After we left the observatory, we drove a little ways up the road to the Hollywood SIgn. A park ranger said that this is the first time in 20 years that vehicles can travel part way up the road. It’s still blocked off about 2 miles from the sign. Then we cruised around Hollywood and found ourselves at the La Brea Tar Pits.

The Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits was pretty cool. But as usual, no dogs allowed inside the museum. At least we were able to walk throughout the grounds with him on leash.

I’m running late this morning, so I’ll close for now and join the group for our scheduled trip to the Nethercutt Museum. Stay tuned for Day 2 of our Pre-Rally…

Arizona

Dirt Farming (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/03/19 davidhobden@mac.com 1 Comment

We’ve been hanging out at the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande for a couple weeks now. The name “dirt farm” is not meant to be derogatory. It’s the name my brother and his significant other, Cheryl, have given to their 5-acre homesite complete with horses and chickens. It’s actually quite green for the moment with the recent rains and somewhat cooler weather.

This is also where my mom and stepdad live in their separate, but smaller pre-fabricated house. Brother Steven and Cheryl have the “big house” – a super-sized triple wide home.

We’ve been parked in front of Mom’s house, where stepdad Jim just finished hooking up a 50-Amp receptacle in the garage. Now we, or anyone else for that matter, can mooch power from either house… just depends on who you want to visit. 🙂 Although, the houses are only a couple hundred feet apart, we opted to park at Mom’s because it’s fenced in. This is great for little dog, Coach. We don’t have to put him on a leash… just let him out the door in the morning to do his business. Besides, as I reported earlier, the ground at Steven & Cheryl’s 50-Amp pedestal was still soggy from recent rain when we first arrived here.

When we weren’t working on the “dirt farm”, we went out to eat a few times… but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been eating well at the farm too! We’re going to have to get away from here so we can go on a diet! Just kidding Mom 🙂

While enjoying all the good meals and the company of family, we’ve been helping out a little with all the on-going projects around here. Some of these projects include, but are not limited to: running electrical power and burying cable for outlying sheds and a casita; putting up or moving fencing; spreading gravel and leveling with the bobcat; etc., etc.,

Brother Steve and Stepdad Jimmy spreading gravel.

Mom’s future orchard… all leveled and ready for planting… almost…

Mom working on the future fruit tree orchard.

And the first fruit tree goes in…

Mom’s first fruit tree in the new “orchard”.

Earlier picture of Mom’s vegetable garden. There are now two rows of corn and one row of onions… more rows to follow…

I also used the time here to reorganize the contents of my cargo trailer and made room in my “Conex” storage container for more items. Now I can park either the ATV or the Harley inside the trailer, depending on which one we decide to haul around in the pickup with us.

The new Xantrex inverter/charger that I wrote about in my last post has been working as advertised. Although, when I did some checking, I found out that the technician forgot to tighten down the nuts that hold it to the basement wall. I guess he got distracted after finger-tightening the nuts… must have been tired from lifting the 75 pound unit into place.

Also, I think I need to come up with a junction box of some sort for the wire connections he spliced. I wish he would have taken the time to run new wires, the old ones (orange) were just a couple inches too short.

In other RV maintenance related news; I finally took the time to do something about the sagging insulation in the engine compartment. My stepdad had some super-sized washers that I was able to use after drilling holes through the closet floor (under the drawers). Don’t look too bad, eh?

I also fixed a support bracket for the charge-air cooler tube that had broken again. This bracket had been fixed once already by my old high school buddy and good friend, Mike Harris. My buddy Mike welded the bracket, but I think the extra weight of the sagging insulation that was laying on top of the tube was just too much for it. Thanks anyway Mike! 🙂

Oh, and by the way – the technicians at Speedco lied! They didn’t lube the u-joints on the Coach after changing the oil and replacing the fuel filter like they said they did. There was absolutely no evidence the dirt-encrusted grease fittings had been touched with a grease gun since last year. So I cleaned the fittings and lubed them myself while I was under there.

It’s been great spending time here at the “dirt farm’ with family. Thanks Ma, Jimmy, Steve & Cheryl! See you again soon… hopefully we’ll be back in time for some Easter fun at the farm 🙂

And now it’s time to move on… we’re signed up for an Alpine Coach Pre-Rally in Valencia CA that starts the 19th. After that, we’ll convoy to the FMCA Rally in Pomona. We’re looking forward to both rallies, there’s going to be lots of activities and new things to do and see.

Here we are at a rest stop by the Imperial Sand Dunes along I-8 yesterday (Wednesday) after we said our farewells and hit the road.

I decided to load the Harley and the bicycles for our next adventure in California. I parked the ATV safely away in the cargo trailer back at the “dirt farm”.

All loaded up for the rallies in California.

We found an overnight spot at the Red Earth Casino along highway 86 next to the Salton Sea. And the price was right, Free! We just had to stay at our $20 limit inside the casino…

Little Coach enjoying some California dirt.

We should make it to Valencia in a few hours after I post this. Check back in later to see what we’re up to. 🙂

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Tag Archives: Valencia

Day 4 – ACA Pre-Rally – Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Valencia Travel Village, CA)

Day 1 – Alpine Coach Association Pre-Rally (Valencia Travel Village, CA)

Dirt Farming (Casa Grande, AZ)

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