Friday – January 8, 2010 –

Following a long night after the Rose Bowl victory, Dad and I decided to sleep as late as we wanted. After stopping at an In-N-Out burger in Long Beach for lunch, we drove through Hollywood to the valley on our way to Simi Valley, home of the presidential library and burial place of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

President Reagan’s grave

Air Force One

Dad and I really enjoyed touring President Reagan’s Library. No expense was spared, and we particularly liked the Cold War exhibits, Air Force, Marine One and historical information about Reagan’s childhood. The garden outside with the Pacific view was gorgeous. I also enjoyed seeing the piece of the Berlin Wall engraved with a quote from President’s infamous Berlin speech addressed to President Gorbachev.

Sunset overlooking the Pacific in Simi Valley

That evening, we stopped for gas with our Alabama flags and SEC championship stickers on our car. A USC fan at the gas station said “Good job beating Texas; we hate those guys!” We then drove past Pepperdine University and down Highway One in Malibu. We stopped to eat dinner at Duke’s our favorite Hawaiian restaurant. We had some pecan crusted mahi mahi and the famous Hula pie for dessert.

Rolling like we would to SEC games

Afterwards, we headed down to Santa Monica pier. We rode a few rides including the roller coaster and walked to the end of the pier to see where Route 66 ends. Then we drove up Sunset Boulevard, down Rodeo Drive and then on to Hollywood Boulevard.

We had a great day exploring LA and the headed back to Long Beach to get some sleep.

Santa Monica pier