Wow! That really is a gorgeous area. Darn, wish I knew you were there at the time. Maybe we could've gotten together in person for a coffee while we were visiting CA. When did you leave California?
My husband spent most of his life in California - SF Bay Area (East Bay). He left in the mid-80s and has no desire to return.
One thing we noticed on our last 2-3 visits at the Reagan Library: When you look out from the back terrace, the lovely view was just pristine hills and valleys. Now some private company has filled part of that area with a solar farm. The view is *really* marred by those ugly solar panels, now, unfortunately.
We left in 2010. Every time you went to the Library between 2002 and 2010, you drove by our house.
We were there when RR died and the shuttles taking mourners up to pay their respects passed by our bedroom. Made it hard to sleep, shifting gears going up the hill.
One year, a group of FReepers went to visit the Library. We all met for breakfast (at Marie Callendar’s, I think).
I’m pretty sure that solar crap wasn’t there when we left. How awful. The view WAS stunning.