Day 15 - San Diego to Anaheim

Another great day today that featured some random activities and unexpected events. I left a couple hours earlier than I really needed to this morning because the couple I was staying with both had to get to work. So that meant that I got to really take my time coming up the coast. My GPS kept trying to have me take I-5 up, but, instead, I came up whatever road was closest to the coast. There were some great vistas. I stopped for breakfast at the Americana Cafe in Del Mar, which was fantastic - it had this great casual California feel to it.

I stopped at 2 wineries - Witch Creek Winery and Laguna Canyon Winery. Both were good. I finished up listening to Harry Potter book 3, so before I got to the Nixon Presidential Library, I parked outside a Starbucks and used their wi-fi to download book 4. I can download the files via 3G, but it's using up my data.

So from there, I made my way over to the Nixon Presidential Library, where apparently, something was going on. There were buses and news vans everywhere, signs saying that the parking lot was full, and giant banners saying "Welcome POWs." Uh oh. I didn't know about any event going on, so I was pretty hesitant at first, but found a parking spot, went in and confirmed that they were open to the public. I have a friend at home who works at the LBJ Library and she got me an LBJ Library Membership, which gets me into all Presidential Libraries. So great!! I love presidential history. So it took me a while, what with the place being mobbed, but I finally figured out why it was mobbed. At the end of the Vietnam War, one of Nixon's big initiatives was getting all of the POWs home safely. Once they were home, on May 24, 1973, he held a big reception for them and their families at the White House. So today, they were doing a 40th anniversary reunion & ceremony honoring that event. So there were a lot of POWs and their families there. It was really special just to be around them. I almost burst out in tears a few times throughout the day. Despite the fact that it was mobbed, I still got to see everything that I wanted to, including going inside the presidential helicopter that transported President Nixon after his resignation.

I stuck around for the beginning of the ceremony and saw some of the fly overs. I didn't want to stick around too long because I had places I had to be and didn't want to intrude on their ceremony, but I was honored to just be in their presence for a little while. They are truly American heroes.

After I left the library, I checked into the place I'm staying for the next 2 nights and then headed over to Long Beach for dinner with a college friend of mine. That was fantastic. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it's so nice having friends scattered everywhere that I get the opportunity to see and catch up with.

Tomorrow - I'll give you 1 guess as to what I'm doing. I have to wake up at 5 AM, so I better work on getting some sleep.