It took almost all day Sunday to move ourselves to our hotel in Ventura. There were no mishaps, but we were kind of tuckered out when we finally got settled.

Monday we went to the Reagan Library. It changed a lot since I saw it. One thing that didn’t change was the overpowering presence of the building. Besides being very impressive architecture, it is situated on the top of a mountain overlooking Semi Valley. Very impressive views.

The changes were mostly good. They used to display hundreds of the gifts that Reagan received from other heads of state. Most of them are no longer displayed. Instead, they did a very effective job of describing the tenor of the times, then described how things changed during Reagan’s presidency. I mostly appreciated their presentation. They included some things that were unrelated, such as a steel beam from the 9/11 attack on the New York World Trade Center. (GW Bush was president.) Understandably, they skipped over some things I thought were important. For example, they mentioned nothing about Iran-Contra, Oliver North, or North’s secretary (who sneaked classified documents out by hiding them in her underwear). A very nice addition was the plane Reagan used as Air Force 1. We spent most of the day in the library and felt it was time well spent.

Today (Tuesday) we did a walking tour of Ventura. The highlight was the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura. Strangest fact: this was the only mission that had wooden bells.

We’re going viral! When we were in Tucson, we visited a carriage museum. They were filming a short and asked if we would be willing to participate. You can see us in this 7-minute video. If you are impatient, skip ahead to 6:20.

Tomorrow we take our longest train ride: Ventura to San Diego.

Wednesday was a sea day. It was nothing to write about. Except for the 45 minutes we lost power very early in the morning. Other than that, a totally typical cruise day.

Thursday we saw two great shows. The first was an excursion to Puerto Vallarta. The excursion focused on tequila — how it is made, how to properly drink it, and of course how to buy it. I always thought there were two types of tequila — flavored and unflavored. It turns out that if you want to spend enough money, you can buy high quality tequila. I don’t even like tequila. But it was a way to get off the ship and enjoy the warm, sunny weather. The excursion included a dance show almost as a time filler, but Danita and I enjoyed the show immensely.

The show is called Mayaheul. Mayahuel is the Aztec goddess of the maguey plant, fertility, and nourishment. She is also associated with love, magic, and transformation. The show had the four Aztek elements of earth, fire, water, and air. Never mind that the Azteks never were near Puerto Vallarta. The dance was a riot of fun. Dancers were swinging from the ceiling, running up and down the aisles, using fire rings as hula hoops, and playing loud drums. I tried to get two quick pics. One of them came out reasonably well.

The other great show was the evening entertainment in the ship’s main auditorium. They had an illusionist who put on a fine act. He had rods with LED flashing lights floating in the air, rods turning into scarves, ropes turning into rods, and all manor of entertaining illusions. The illusionist will be back tonight. We’ll be sure to get good seats.

Today and tomorrow are sea days. Sunday we’ll disembark, then take the train from LA to Ventura. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Our mission today was to visit Spanish Missions. The first was San Diego de Alcala, near the port town of Lorreto, on the western shore of the California peninsula. (Mexican California, of course). This was a quick stop. You see the original church (circa 1650) with a new bell tower. (The original bell tower was damaged in an earthquake). I can personally vouch for the bells correctly clanging out the time.

Here’s an interior pick. Mexicans worship in and love these old churches. They don’t have a lot of money. We wouldn’t call the churches pristine. But the structures and decorations are all in good shape. The circle of blue light is a modern addition. LED lights appear to encircle Jesus.

The highlight was the Javier Vigge Biaumdo mission. This was located due east, near the east coast of California. To get there, we took a 45-minute bus ride through some fairly extreme mountains. The road was paved, but narrow with plenty of switchbacks, tight turns, and drop-offs — many of which had no guard rail. This mission is about 100 years newer than San Diego de Alcala. It’s located at one of the largest oasis in California.

Once a year, they have a huge celebration at this mission. People come from all around the area, mostly riding horses. Some folks are so distant that it takes 2 weeks to complete their horse ride. The road connecting the two missions is 700 years old. Back in the day, it took two days to ride between these two missions. The Jesuits built a “half way” house. It’s nothing but a small building. We didn’t stop there, but the door was open. I saw many decorations, flowers, etc, all in good shape. The building is obviously visited frequently. Here’s the inside of the mission church.

This mission was the first to plant grapes in America. They original grape tree is still there. This provided the first wine made in America. They still produce wine today.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We visited El Serpentine. It’s a site dedicated to preservation of endemic species, especially those species who are endangered. Our tour guide was Marcos.

The strangest critter we say looks like a worm. It isn’t a worm because it has two front legs and worms don’t have legs.

This center started out with a friendship between a local and a US citizen in San Diego. The US guy had money. Both shared a passion for reptiles. Together they partnered the San Diego Zoo to provide their expertise in animal care and exhibit structures. The US citizen visited Mexico and disappeared. The Mexican authorities couldn’t find what happed to him. The FBI came to La Pax and were equally unproductive. The US family withdrew the money. Today, this is a 100% volunteer organization. The Mexican owner is retired and has enough of a pension that he doesn’t need an income. His full time efforts go towards education and preservation. Our guide was one of the volunteers working at the site.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Our first stop is a tender port. It looks beautiful at night …

… and impressive during the day.

These rocks are famous.

If you aren’t into diving, deep sea fishing, or the Senor Frog bar, that’s about it. We also found the soup kitchen. I did not take pictures.

We had lots of fun with JaMMM. Hiding under bedsheets can be so much fun it’s literally a screem.

Reading is always a winner.

The ball pit was a real blast.

The surprise winner was a gravity well demonstration. It kept everybody in stiches for half an hour. I was too busy retrieving marbles to get a pic. Here’s one from the internet so you can know the very best way to entertain two kids under 4 for a good long time,.

All good things must end. We arrived at our hotel in LA just a short while ago. Tomorrow we start a 10-day cruise to Mexico!

We arrived in San Diego yesterday without a serious incident. We are visiting Mark & family through Tuesday. Traffic and parking in San Diego can be brutal. Danita’s hope to use the pool has evaporated. Rain and cool weather is forecast for several days. As they say, you know you live in a desert if a rainy day makes you smile.

It’s time to bid a fond farewell to Tucson. Tomorrow we fly to San Diego.

We visited a wagon museum this morning. It was quite entertaining. We saw everything from rough cargo wagons to luxurious carriages for rich folks. And of course, we saw more than one surrey with a fringe on top.

While we were waiting for the bus to take us to the museum, Danita noticed a neon sign. It was the sign that got Tucson to amend their sign law. Here it is, (The building is no longer a motel.)

We spent the afternoon doing laundry and packing. I hope this finds everyone doing well.