One can only stay home for so long until Magic begins whining about getting exercise;-) Since April contains a birthday AND an anniversary to celebrate – what better time to hit the road?!?!

The first week of April, Magic was packed and headed west – to Ojai, CA and the Malone’s. There was a lot of catching up to do, along with playing golf, eating and just goofing off. Even though there were two great, beautiful venues to provide the golf – Soule Park and Ojai Valley Inn – the golf sucked!!

So – a little break from golf was in order. This required a jaunt down the freeway about an hour south of Ojai to Simi Valley. Here the Reagan Library sits on a 100-acre campus overlooking the topography of Southern California. The incredible, picturesque views reach out to the Pacific Ocean and rolling hills. In the lush gardens and serene settings one can even find the final resting places of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Or walk through the replica of the Rose Garden.

Inside the museum there are 24 galleries exploring the life of Ronald Reagan – from the early years of his life through the Presidency. Of course, there are the many gifts received while in office, the dish ware utilized for State dinners and dresses worn by Nancy for those events.

One can also enter a full-scale reproduction of the Oval Office just as it was during Reagan’s tenure – complete with the jar of jelly beans! Or perhaps stand on the podium to be installed as the next President of the United States – – –

The most dramatic part of the museum is the 90,000 square foot Air Force One Pavilion where one can board Marine One helicopter for a ride to Air Force One – “The Flying White House” – and board the same plane that took Reagan to 26 countries and 46 states. The Boeing 707 flew seven Presidents, but the Reagan Library received it in a decommissioning ceremony in 2001. It was disassembled by the Boeing Company, transported to the Reagan Library by truck, towed inside 2 1/2 walls of the Pavilion and reassembled by the Boeing Company in ten weeks as the remaining walls were built around the aircraft!! VERY dramatic!

A BIG thank you to Rebecca and Jim for being fabulous hosts, entertaining us, feeding us and putting up with our sucky attitudes while golfing. On the way home, there was a quick couple of days in Ridgecrest to see Heather’s family. (unfortunately – no pics).

Not letting any grass grow under our feet – four days were all that were allowed for a few dinners with friends and to repack Magic and to be on the road again. This time the trek was to a new golfing mecca (for us)-Big Cedar Lodge in Hollister, MO (6 miles south of Branson). BUT, to keep the trip to and from interesting there were many stops along the way. First up – Winslow, AZ. And YES – we stood on the corner;-)

Route 66, or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the US Highway System. It was established in 1926 and has been commemorated in song, plays and movies. Route 66 also closely paralleled the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Therefore, in the 1920’s Fred Harvey, who developed and ran all the hotels and restaurants of the Santa Fe Railway, decided to build a major hotel in the center of Northern Arizona – at Winslow, the Arizona headquarters of the Santa Fe Railway. La Posada – the Resting Place – was to be the finest in the Southwest. The architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, was hired to design the hotel. Although most famous for the magnificent buildings at the Grand Canyon, she considered La Posada her masterpiece. The hotel has had several lives – not all good. But, it has been revived to a grand old state and we had the opportunity to spend a night here – in what purported to be the resting room of Howard Hughes!! You can also still board the train here after a nights stay. If you are passing through and can’t stay, at least have lunch in the Turquoise Room. Worth the stop – –

Time to move on – to Tulsa with a little side trip to Stillwater, OK in order to visit yet another college campus. Since we ‘camped’ on the Oklahoma University campus, equal time was needed at Oklahoma State campus (although no camping this time – just a visit). This really is a beautiful campus and our wanderings led to a nice lunch at The Rancher’s Club.

Big Cedar Lodge was now just around the corner. A remote haven of natural beauty spread over 4.600 acres tucked into the rugged landscape of the Missouri Ozark Mountains overlooking Table Rock Lake. Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, created Big Cedar Lodge as a destination for families and friends to connect in the outdoors. This includes setting out to create one of the greatest golf experiences in the country. But, first we needed a room – or a Payne’s Valley cottage. Equipped with a kitchen, fireplace, deck with rockers and BBQ grill AND a fantastic view of the rolling country of the Ozarks just above the first hole of Payne’s Valley course;-)

Once settled in the attention can turn to golf. First up is the Tom Fazio designed Buffalo Ridge Springs Course complete with buffalo. This was definitely my favorite – it was just a beautiful sight!

Another day – another course. Today Payne’s Valley, the new 19 hole course designed by PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods opened just 2 years ago. And, we got to sit above the first fairway in our little rocking chairs and watch the golfers go by – –

The third of the 18 hole courses at Big Cedar is Ozark National, a Championship design by Core & Crenshaw. If you are going to play this course, be sure your hat has a strap to keep it from blowing away!

Perhaps the most FUN – and very beautiful – was the Top of the Rock 9-hole par 3 course. The first ever par-3 course to be included in a PGA Tour event. Several of the holes look down on Table Rock Lake and the first hole passes by the charming Chapel of the Ozarks.

Top of the Rock is home to the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail, Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, Top of the Rock Golf, Chapel of the Ozarks, pro shop, gift shop and 4 restaurants and bars – including Arnies’s Barn Restaurant housed in a barn brought from Latrobe, PA!! What better place to chill and toast the evening – –

All of the grounds in the three different areas of the complex are stunningly beautiful and extremely well maintained. Even while doing laundry on a rainy day, the view was awesome – –

A beautiful week – but all good things must end and it was time to think about heading back west. However, just like the trip east – stops must be had to keep the trek interesting. So Eureka Springs, known for its hot springs, was a lunch stop. Cute little town, but the real purpose for the visit here was Thorncrown Chapel.

Jim Reed, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, had a dream to build his retirement home on the piece of property where the chapel stands. He met E. Fay Jones, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, and decided to have him build a chapel for all to share the beautiful location instead of his home. The chapel is 48 feet tall, contains 425 windows, over 6,000 square feet of glass and opened in 1980. Truly a beautiful, awe inspiring sight.

Bentonville, Arkansas is the birthplace of Walmart and its founder Sam Walton. Bentonville is all things Walmart and Walton – from the original Walton five-and-dime store to a family created Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The museum’s sprawling grounds include miles of forest trails, sculpture gardens, waterside pavilions and even a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house moved from New Jersey. Its architecture is something to see and an architectural tour is a must.

The discovery that Bentonville was only 30 minutes from Fayetteville gave the opportunity to see yet another college campus. So – off to the University of Arkansas.

Tornado season seemed to be on its way – so it really was time to head home. What a fantastic two weeks. All new sights and lots of new memories!

What more can anyone ask for???? A Happy E & G