Ronald Reagan Ate Jelly Beans to Give Up Smoking While Running for Governor in 1966

According to Reagan Library archives, when Ronald Reagan ran for Governor of California in 1966, he began eating jelly beans made by the Oakland based Herman Goelitz Candy Company. Why? To give up pipe smoking. It worked. 

He continued receiving Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans from the company for the duration of his two terms. Then he continued receiving shipments from Goelitz, which in 1976 launched a new brand, Jelly Belly. 

Then in 1981, 3 1/2 tons of red (Very Cherry), white (Coconut) and blue (Blueberry) Jelly Belly jelly beans were shipped to Reagan's Presidential Inauguration ceremony.

And the Jelly Belly jelly bean brigade continued for the duration of Reagan's eight years in office. His favorite Jelly Belly flavor was licorice.

And as many of you know, there's an image of Reagan done completely in Jelly Belly jelly beans at the Reagan Library. It took about 10,000 of them to complete this work of art.

More information at www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/jelly-bellyr-jelly-beans-and-ronald-reagan.

More on the Reagan Library at THIS LINK.

Jelly Belly is a privately-owned company based in Fairfield, California. Open for tours at www.jellybelly.com.

"You can tell a lot about a fella's character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful."  - President Reagan (in reference to jelly beans)

Tex Ward Point and Olympia Farms Area in the Rancho Potrero Open Space

Small amphitheater in the former Olympia Farms section of Rancho Potrero.

The Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA) purchased 638 acres of former Broome Ranch property in the Santa Monica Mountains in 1993. It transferred half the property to the National Park Service that is now part of Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and the other half to the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA). The COSCA portion of the parcel, which was funded through contributions from the Conejo Recreation & Park District and City of Thousand Oaks, is the Rancho Potrero Open Space.

Rancho Potrero is mostly unimproved grasslands and coastal sage scrub but contains miles of maintained trails used by hikers, cyclists and equestrians. The property also houses the 20 acre Rancho Potrero Community Equestrian Center, which boards horses and offers guided trail rides.

This footage shows a picnic site on a hilltop that overlooks the former Olympia Farms facility. There is an old asphalt road leading from Lynn/Potrero Road to this site that used to be the home of the caretaker of Olympia Farms. This site is dedicated to Tex Ward, who served as General Manager for 38 years and fought hard to develop parks and maintain open space in the Conejo Valley.

The second part of the footage shows development at the former Olympia Farms site that includes an area for horses, a drinking fountain (for people and horses) and a small amphitheater. Learn more about Rancho Potrero at THIS LINK.

Tex Ward Point at Rancho Potrero. Ward was General Manager of CRPD from 1968 to 2006 and was instrumental in helping create the Conejo Valley’s public recreation programs, park system and conservation of open space.

Casitas Springs in Ventura County was Home to Johnny Cash in the Early 1960s

Casitas Springs is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, located 1.2 miles east of Lake Casitas. Originally it was called Arroyo de Las Casitas (Creek of the Little Houses) in 1864. Its population is just over 1,000, located along State Route 33

All that aside, Casitas Springs is best known as the residence of Johnny Cash from 1961 to 1967. He bought a 5,000 sq ft home on Nye Road in 1961 where he lived with his wife Vivian Liberto and their four daughters. Liberto filed for divorce in 1966.

Driving Ventura Avenue north from Ventura towards Ojai, this sign near the juncture of Nye Road reminds us that the original Man in Black called Casitas Springs home.

Liberto continued to raise her daughters, Rosanne, Kathy, Tara and Cindy and moved from Casitas Springs to Ventura in 1968 after remarrying Ventura police officer Dick Distin in 1968. She passed away in 2005.

Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, four months after the passing of his second wife, June Carter Cash.

Join the Audience at a TV Show Taping in the Los Angeles Area

Hollywood is only 40 minutes from Thousand Oaks (depending on traffic). How many of you have been to a TV show taping?  It’s free and can be a lot of fun! Out of town guests? They'll love the experience of sitting in a live audience! Talk shows, game shows, sitcoms, you name it!  Here are some websites to visit to track down free seats in the Los Angeles area, along with currently available shows as of June 2022:

On-Camera Audiences www.ocatv.com - Currently available shows include American’s Got Talent, American Idol, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, Dr. Phil, So You Think You Can Dance?, The Price is Right and more.

TVTix.com www.tvtix.com - Currently available shows include Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, One Day at a Time, Mad About You, Man with a Plan, Sports Jeopardy and more.

1iota.com www.1iota.com - The Voice, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden and others.

Note: Each show has different age minimums, locations, timing and rules, so make sure to read the fine print. For example, if you want to be on The Price is Right, you must be 18 years of age or older and arrive 4 hours in advance of the 2 hour taping. That could be a long day!  Wheel of Fortune, filmed at the Sony Studios in Culver City, however, allows audience participants as young as eight.

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Train Serves Stations From San Diego through Ventura County to San Luis Obispo

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train can be seen here from the beach in Ventura. This was taken from the beach at the Ventura River Group Camp at Emma Wood State Beach.

The Pacific Surfliner serves stations in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. There are daily round-trips between San Diego and Los Angeles, with some trips extending up to Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo. It's a fun alternative to driving to Santa Barbara. There are local Amtrak stations in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura.

The Camarillo station to the Downtown Santa Barbara station is just an hour and 15 minutes. The Santa Barbara station is located on State Street, directly adjacent to the MOXI (The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation) and a few blocks from Stearns Wharf.

More on the Pacific Surfliner at www.pacificsurfliner.com.

There is a 15% discount available for travelers 62 and older on Pacific Surfliner trips year-round. (This is different than the 10% savings for ages 65+ offered by Amtrak nationally.) To get the discount, follow the instructions at THIS LINK.

Campgrounds and RV parks in Ventura County and nearby areas at THIS LINK.

Pillowy Clouds in the Skies Above the Conejo Valley on Saturday, July 30th

We had several days of these pretty clouds blanketing our local skies last week. The view above is from the top of the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, looking towards Tarantula Hill. A beautiful sight.

Purchase a Snoopy License Plate to Support California Museums

The California Association of Museums (CAM) has a program called the Snoopy Plate initiative. CAM has partners with the California DMV to issue a special license plate featuring Snoopy, the world's favorite beagle. Snoopy license plates are available at www.snoopyplate.com.

Proceeds from the official Snoopy license plate support California’s museums through a competitive grant program.

Each plate features a reproduction of an original Snoopy drawing by PEANUTS creator Charles M. Schulz. Snoopy will be doing his happy dance, probably in anticipation of a visit to a local museum in and around Ventura County (and other parts of California).

Standard Snoopy license plates are just $50 and $40 per year to renew. Personalized plates are $103 (as of 2022) and $83 to renew.

Go to www.snoopyplate.com today to sign up for your Snoopy license plate.