June 2-4 On to San Diego and California

We got an early start from Will and Nancy's in Prescott Valley.  We said goodbye knowing we will see them soon when they come to New England to visit with their grandson, daughter and son in law.  We traveled south and west around Phoenix towards I-8 in souther Arizona.  When we got to Yuma, we stopped at the Bose facility and paid a surprise visit to Marc Pacaro who is a senior transducer designer who has the good fortune to be stationed in the Southwest.  He was very surprised when he opened the door and saw us!

 Traveling west on I8 we climbed 4000 feet over the mountains towards San Diego. On the way we passed a huge wind farm and Elaine was able to grab this photo of a windmill very close to the highway.  It was amazining how many windmills we saw.

 In San Diego we visited with Elaine's cousin Dan and his wife Rose Gizzo.  They just moved to San Diego from Connecticut last September.  They have a beautiful house on top of a hill just north of downtown San Diego.  The next day they took us to Balboa Park and Old Town for some sight seeing.  Here is Dan and Elaine in front of the fountain in balboa Park.

 Elaine and I at Old Town.

 In Old Town we found a stage coach that was built in Concord, New Hampshire. Here are Elaine and Rose in front of that stage coach.  My grandson's elementary school is named after the manufacturer, Abbott-Downing Coach Company.

 That evening we had a very nice time catching up with Mary, daughter of my cousin Linda who lives in New Hampshire, and her fiancee Rob. We met at a very trendy young folks bar and spent several hours visiting up on the second floor patio bar.

 The next day we bid goodbye to Dan and Rose, and headed north on I-5 for the Nixon Presidential library in Yorba Linda.  Although the library is undergoing extensive renovations, we were able to see some interesting history.

 On the grounds of the library is the boyhood home of Richard Nixon.

Also on the grounds is the Marine One helicopter, so Elaine and I did the presidential couple pose.

Also on the grounds are the final resting place of Richard and Pat Nixon.  I liked how he wanted to be remembered with the words on his grave.