Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

If you are ever in the Los Angeles area and planning on driving up the 101 towards Santa Barbara you should make a small detour to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It would actually be a rather large detour because you need 3-4 hours to see everything in the great museum.

   

             

The museum guides you through the life and presidency of President Reagan. It includes memorabilia from Reagan's movie star days,  a replica of the oval office, a piece of the Berlin Wall, a few pieces of Nancy's clothing, Air Force One,  and even the clothes he was wearing when he was shot. 

Addressing the Nation...

 

The beautiful view of Simi Valley 

Jon and I in front of Air Force One that was used from Nixon through the beginning of George W. Bush's terms.

Jon going for a ride with President Reagan on his ranch in Santa Barbara... wait-  his horse doesn't have legs?!? 

We really enjoyed learning all about President Reagan and the great things he did for our country. We spent a little over 4 hours in the museum and probably could have stayed at least another hour to see the traveling exhibit, but they kicked us out at 5:00 PM. It is worth your time and very educational. 

Thanks to the sweet, retired teacher I met at brunch the day before for sharing this gem with us. It was perfect for this girl who, at the time, was stuck with a wheelchair/crutches. 

What best friends are for...

Thank God for this girl!! Not only did Erica come to visit us in Santa Barbara, but she also kept me occupied with our numerous texting sessions. I literally do not think I would have survived last summer without her texts, phone calls, and her visit. 

 Erica had already planned her visit pre-accident and was sweet enough to still come even though I wasn't even able to go to the beach. She arrived on Thursday, July 3rd for a long weekend visit.  We took her to our favorite spot, The Sand Bar, for a late lunch and she even kept me occupied in the car with Jimmy Fallon YouTube clips while Jon went into the DMV to get a handicap placard (which just expired in December).  She was such a trooper that day even when I got sick from all of my meds.

                           

 On the 4th of July Erica and I ventured out on our own to the parade. I swear, every weekend in the summer Santa Barbara has some kind of parade.  It was festive and gave us a good opportunity to sport our July 4th tanks that Erica brought us.

 We were super excited about the firework show over the ocean. It is really huge and you have to go early to get a good spot on the beach. Poor Jon and Erica dragged my wheelchair through the sand to a great little spot, close to the water, to wait for the show.

 If you have to spend the 4th of July in a wheelchair, Jon and Erica are the 2 people that you want there to entertain you. They are so crazy together and for the first time I realized that I married the male version of my best friend since we were 2.

 We waited on the beach for about 2 1/2 hours just to watch the fog light up with color. The picture below is the most fireworks we saw the entire night. The more fireworks that went off the foggier it became.

After 2 full days of activity for me (probably the most I had done since my accident even though it wasn't really that much), I needed a break.  Erica and I had all these great plans, but we ended up laying around and watching Netflix all day. Sometimes you just need a day on the sofa with your BFF. 

On Sunday, before catching her flight back home, we took Erica to brunch at a great little spot on the beach. Her and Jon were able to walk down to the point to find a few shells and driftwood. 

Thank you Erica for being such a great friend and making the "summer of the boot" so much better! 

I just wanted my mama!

You never really know how much you rely on friends and family until you need them and they are thousands of miles away. Jon and I experienced this the hard way in Santa Barbara. Praise God for kind neighbors and strangers that were there to help when we needed it the most, but nothing is as good as your mom and grandma.
About a week post accident we realized it was not going to be an easy road to recovery. This is when my mom and Granelle decided to bring us a car. Jon's mom was able to keep Zoey for a week so Granelle could ride to California with my mom. At the time, we did not realize how sick my mom actually was with stomach ulcers and how badly she needed surgery as well.
They arrived about an hour after I came home from my second surgery and brought me my gowns as you can see in the pictures below (those of you that know me well know just how happy this made me :) ).

By the lack of color on my face you can tell just how terrible I felt.  I was trying to be a trooper, but 2 major surgeries in less than 2 weeks just takes it out of a person.  When I woke up from my first surgery I had a little bit of pain relief so I was expecting the same when I woke up from surgery number two.  BOY WAS I WRONG! I woke up in terrible pain! Since the pain was so bad I had to start taking pain meds around the clock again. 

The first night my mom stayed with me at my apartment and Granelle stayed at their hotel room. The  second night I decided to stay at their hotel with them. That night with air conditioning spoiled me. This Texas girl does not do well without A/C and not many homes in Santa Barbara have it. 

*We bought a portable A/C they day after they left*

Jon and I drove Mom and Granelle to Los Angeles to spend one night near Manhattan Beach before they caught their flight back to Texas. This 1 1/2 hour car ride was rather uncomfortable for me and the awkward way I had to sit/lay in the back seat of the car, but the meal we had at The Strand House was incredible with an amazing view. 

The next morning we had a sad goodbye, with lots of tears on my behalf and Jon took them to the airport while I kept my foot elevated in the hotel room. Their visit went by so quickly and I didn't feel well enough to enjoy it as much as I wanted, but we were so grateful to have a car for the first time while in SB. 

I didn't realize how much I missed these 2 until I saw their sweet faces. I'm very blessed to have a wonderful mother and grandmother.