July 11-12

Well on Sunday morning, we got the Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church experience...they have a very beautiful church and friendly congregation. For about 1 1/2 to 2 hours after church we stood and sat under the huge pepper tree in the parking lot chatting. For many of their congregational members, this is the only time during the week when they get to see each other because they live far away so they make the most of their time together.

After lunch, Sarah and I ventured off the church/parsonage "compound" and walked to the store. For me, walking anywhere as a destination is a treat because where we live, you can't walk to any type of store or location due to the busy highway we live on. Well, the "street" they live on is a four lane one and I think the cars go just as fast, if not faster, but there is a sidewalk which makes a huge difference. Plus, there are things within easy walking distance. For example, from their backyard over the bushes, you can see a Japanese grocery store and a CVS. A few blocks down is a grocery store, so Sarah and I walked there to get a few groceries. We had to be careful not to overload our cart or we wouldn't be able to carry it all! It was a great experience and I got to see the local flavor of their neighborhood.

The four adults went out for dinner at C & O Trattoria near the Venice pier. It's a family style Italian restaurant and it was very good! We walked out on the pier there after dinner and saw the Pacific Ocean!
But it was very chilly! I wish I would've brought some jeans, but I couldn't find them at my house before we came out here. The thought of wearing jeans in FL during this time of year is nauseating, so it was really hard to pack for this trip! We had a nice time out, just the adults!

On Monday morning, Mark and Steve's parents flew in and after getting them settled, we headed out to see Reagan's Presidential Library.


It was only 44 miles away, but took us over an hour to get there because we took the scenic route up the Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH for short). We went through the Santa Monica Mountains up to the library. It was a pretty drive...more so on the way home because the "marine layer" had burned off and the sky was bluer and so was the water. The traffic here still amazes me!
The library is more of a museum than a library. We saw a replica of the Oval Office and then we saw the actual Air Force One plane in this huge building. It's hard to believe unless you see it.

We came home and my college friend and roommate, Gina, came over for dinner. She enthralled us all with her Army and job tales. She's doing really well and it was so great to see her again!