There's Gold in Them Thar Hills

Our anniversary was last month. For several years now, we've been taking a couple days and having a getaway. For the most part, we usually keep it to a couple of hours road trip. While we were leading up to it, my wife had suggested going up to the mountains again. We took our honeymoon there, and have recently been to Running Springs a couple of times. Early Autumn, I wasn't too sure how it would be. Probably no snow, but for sure it would cool off at night. Also, the amount of activities and dining there are a bit limited.

None of that made it a deal breaker, though, and I was taking a look at places we could stay there. The place we've stayed in Running Springs (which is a nice enough place) was still the best price, but I was looking around for any possible variety. One of the results was a Homewood Suites down in the flatland below the mountains, but it got me to thinking. We've stayed at several Homewoods, and have always enjoyed them, and they have the bonus of a nice breakfast included. Let me take a look at the various other Homewood locations...

There are a few not far at all, but located near airports in the midst of cities, as well as by the Anaheim Convention Center. No, thanks. There's one that claims to be in Redondo Beach, that looks to be on the border of Gardena, that has a price almost double the others. Another Nope. But I found one in Agoura Hills. Agoura Hills... I've heard of it, but couldn't have told you where that is. Turns out, it's the way we would go if we were staying in Oxnard (where we did a couple of years, but the place was taken over and refurbed, and the price is insane) or Ventura. Always looks nice driving through the foothills on the way, it's closer than some of the places we've been, we'll give it a try!!!

Taking a look on the map, one of the first things I noticed was a fondue restaurant, The Melting Pot, just a ways from where we would be staying. I think there used to be one in Pasadena, and I had always wanted to give it a try. Turns out, we weren't the only ones celebrating an anniversary!!! 50 years The Melting Pot has been operating, and they had and golden anniversary dinner offer that had it's last night on the night we arrived!!! It was too perfect to pass up, so that's where we went!!!

It's a four course dinner, with gold theming. Starting off, they melt up a cheese dip with gold flakes, and have bread and fruits for the dipping.

They follow that with a salad course, then the main entree, which you can pick from their regular menu. We both got assortments, with beef, duck, pork, salmon, and shrimp.

Desert course is a chocolate fondue, with brownie, blonde brownie, marshmallow, and rice crispy treat dippers. Once again, the gold makes another appearance, with gold flecked candied pecans, and they set the whole thing on fire!!!

What else is there to do??? Well, not far at all from Agoura Hills is Simi Valley, home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library!!!

This is another thing that's pretty close, yet we had never been there!!! Reagan was the first presidential election my wife had ever voted in. Because she was an aspiring actress, and she figured it would help her get into the SAG!!!

Out in the back, opposite the entrance, they have a piece of the Berlin Wall!!! One side was brightly painted, the other was plain, makes you wonder which side was to the East and which was to the West sides!!! Also out there are the final resting places of Ron and Nancy.

The library is laid out in a labyrinthine design which you progress through, which tells Reagan's life story. Roughly halfway, there's a full size replica of the Oval Office. Most of the tour is on one level, but for this area you proceed down a few steps. Turns out, the museum had been designed in Spanish architecture, and adding the required height for this area would have thrown the design off, so they lowered it instead!!!

The tour culminates in a large hangar area, which houses Air Force One!!! You are able to go through it, and see the design. In both the Oval Office and Air Force One they had containers of Jelly Bellies.

Beneath Air Force One they have the Presidential Limo (I don't think they had the “Gipper” plates on it when it was in service) and motorcade vehicles, and Marine One. It was a great tour, I was young when Reagan was president, and I'd forgotten a lot of the details of his presidency. He was a great president!!! We met a man from Iran while we were on the tour, and he told a story of how Carter had boned them on some oil deal, and Reagan had said that should have never happened when he became president, and all of the Iranians from his generation had loved him.

The advisement is to allow three hours to tour the library. We were on vacation, so we were taking our time, and it was late when we got there and we didn't have a full three hours, and we could have used the time!!!

The next day was go time. Something of a vacation tradition that we've been doing on several of our trips is to hit a local thrift store. There was a small Goodwill real close that we went to, and I found a couple of tee shirts, the aforementioned King's Hawaiian shirt, and a Detroit Muscle shirt. My wife found a nice pink sweater.

Another thing I'd found in the area, just across the freeway, was Paramount Ranch, which is now a National Park but was originally a filming location for Paramount Studios Westerns. There used to be a whole old west town (well, at least the facade thereof), but most of it burned down back in 2018 during a wildfire. There was a visitor's center, but it was closed on account of the Schumer shutdown. There's a church building that looks pretty nice, and the verdant wooded foothills surrounding the area make for a nice setting.

They (I assume the National Parks Department) are working on rebuilding some of the facade buildings, but it's a work in progress, and the construction area is off limits.

Good times!!!