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| San Buenaventura Mission |
To make up for some other days, today was almost perfectly
planned. We started at San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. This is another
active parish, but was founded as a mission in 1782. We may have seen too many
missions by now, this one was not that impressive.
Then I took
a chance to visit the Channel Island National Park visitor center. I was hoping
for a good set of exhibits and a park movie, since a visit to the islands would
require an all day boat trip. We were not disappointed. The exhibits pointed
out that there are some 60 unique species that inhabit these islands. They also
had a unique Mammoth that inhabited the islands, about ½ the normal size of the
mainline Mammoths (since they had no enemies and food was scare, smaller size
helped). The islands now serve as a nesting area for birds and seals, and the
waters team with life in the kelp forest. The park movie was really good at
pointing out the unique features of each of the five islands.
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| Ronald Regan Library |
We then
visited the Ronald Regan library. The library had the usual plaques to read,
and lots of Regan artifacts, but they also did a good job of incorporating
video and audio – from his start as a radio announcer, to his speeches as head
of the movie guild, Governor of California, and President. It really emphasized
how both as governor and president, he reduced taxes and cut government
expenses, but increased revenues, using the cash for education in California
and military buildup in the U.S. It also emphasized his international
relations, particularly challenging the USSR to stop the spread of communism
and eventually negotiating nuclear disarmament treaties. We were surprised to
find Air Force One in the museum (a 707). And even better, they had a special
exhibit of Disney history on display from the founding of the studio to many of
the costumes and props used in his movies.
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| The Pearl from the Disney Collection |
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