Historic and Iconic Baseball Artifact Exhibit at Reagan Library, April 4th to Sept 4th

Baseball Artifacts in “Baseball! The Exhibition”

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

April 4 - September 4, 2014

Babe Ruth bat (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Running through September 4, 2014, Baseball is a 12,000 square foot exhibition featuring over 700 artifacts, including some of the rarest, historic and iconic baseball memorabilia from the largest known private collector in the U.S. The exhibit displays extraordinary artifacts from Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and scores of other historically important players and organizations. Also featured will be rare artifacts related to Ronald Reagan and baseball from his days calling Chicago Cubs games, to signed balls and jerseys he received while President.

Joe DiMaggio jersey (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)Honus Wagner trading card (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)The exhibition celebrates the great American pastime of baseball by showcasing the glory days of baseball from the first balls, bats, gloves and uniforms ever used, to bringing together the most iconic pieces of baseball history, such as Joe DiMaggio’s record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak and Babe Ruth’s 1939 uniform from when he coached the Brooklyn Dodgers.  

Featured items on display in Baseball! The Exhibition include:

• An exhibit dedicated to Babe Ruth, which will display his traveling trunk, including his 1939 uniform while coaching the Brooklyn Dodgers, his baseball bat and his famous fur coat
• A Honus Wagner trading card - the rarest and most valuable of all baseball cards
• Jerseys/uniforms worn by Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Don Sutton, Orel Hershiser, Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Fernando Valenzuela, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and more
• Baseball hit by Barry Bonds (the homerun ball that tied Hank Aaron’s record), as well as a Hank Aaron-signed ball
• Baseballs from Joe DiMaggio, including his record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak as well as the ball that ended the streak
• Baseball signed by Pete Rose that broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hitting record
• A special section featuring the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their legacy in Los Angeles
• Some of the first historic bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, stadium items and folk art related to the sport as well as an unmatched collection of rare baseball cards and photographs of all the astonishing athletes who played the game
• And much, much more

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is closed only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  For General admission is currently $16; $13 for ages 62+, $9 for ages 11-17 and $6 for ages 3-10.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.  For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/baseball.

Parkers Brothers Game Box (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Ventura Beach This Past Father's Day

Local realtor Jeffrey Diamond shared these great images at Ventura Beach from this past Father's Day weekend. Great colors!

For more on beaches within close range of Ventura County, check out these highlights of beaches in Ventura Harbor to Carpinteria, Oxnard to Malibu and the Santa Barbara area.

Artist Explores Modern Womanhood at Buenaventura Gallery in Downtown Ventura

"No Women Allowed" by Gwenlyn Norton
Buenaventura Art Association will exhibit recent works by Gwenlyn Norton in a solo show, Counterpoised — One Woman’s Perspective, from June 17-July 12 at the Buenaventura Gallery in downtown Ventura.

“The artworks depict the fractured roles of the contemporary woman and how we may be poised to redefine and ease those fractures,” said Norton, who has expressed herself in many media over a 50-year art career, often about women’s issues.

This exhibition will include eight or more creations by the Oak View artist in oil paints and mixed media on canvases 3 by 4 feet to 4 feet square, plus some associated poetry, that she said represent her reflections on the 20th and 21st-century woman. Their titles include “American Burqa,” “Ageism,” “No Women Allowed,” and “Letter to Granddaughter.”

Norton’s vividly painted pieces often incorporate wood, modeling paste, paper and gel. She will be present to talk about her art and her artistic process at an opening reception 5-7 p.m. June 21 at the gallery. Among the adjectives she uses to describe her work are “bold, dramatic, twisted, distorted, unnerving, exploratory” and “asymmetrical.”

In addition to oils, Norton works in pencil, pastels, acrylics, cold glass, and in mixed media that include textures from sawdust to cheesecloth layered into her paintings.

Examples of Norton’s artistry in a range of media and subjects can be viewed online at www.gwenlynsgallery.com.

Her solo exhibition will be on view at the Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St., open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday.

For more about the show or the Buenaventura Art Association, a nonprofit artists cooperative celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, visit www.buenaventuragallery.org or phone 648-1235 during gallery hours.

Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula is on National Register of Historic Places

Built in 1911, the Glen Tavern Hotel is Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 65 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in September 1984. The Glen Tavern is a Craftsman/English Tudor style hotel with original dark wood paneling, some original light fixtures, stone fireplace and Craftsman columns.

Located at 134 N. Mill Street in Santa Paula, The Glen Tavern is the only national historic landmark in Ventura County you can actually stay overnight in. The 3rd floor of the hotel was once a gambling parlor and um, house of ill-repute. And stars like John Wayne, Carol Lombard, Harry Houdini and Steve McQueen stayed at the Inn.

There are 36 guest rooms and suites available in this historic hotel, which is walking distance or a short drive to a number of other attractions and points of interest, including:

• Santa Paula Art Museum
• Murals of Santa Paula
• Aviation Museum of Santa Paula
• California Oil Museum
• Agriculture Museum
• Southern Pacific Railroad and Moreton Bay Fig Tree

Enzo's Italian Restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner at the Glen Tavern Inn.

Visit www.glentavern.com to learn more and to book a room!

Spring Is In the Air at the Palo Comado Canyon Trail in Oak Park

The 4.4 mile Palo Comado Canyon Trail runs from near the Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead to the China Flat trailhead in the Simi Hills, about a 1,200 foot elevation gain. But you don't have to hike the whole trail to enjoy it. One nice entry point to the trail is on Doubletree Road in Oak Park, most easily accessed via Sunnycrest Drive off of Kanan.

Today was a perfect day for a hike. With temperatures in the low 70s and a cool spring breeze in the air, not to mention some springtime colors on the hills thanks to some recent, albeit brief, rainfall.

More on Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyon, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area, at THIS LINK.

Favorite Kids Activities Around Ventura County as Voted by CVG Facebook Fans

Yes, it actually rained here in the Conejo Valley last week!

Last Sunday, we ran a drawing on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page and asked entrants to indicate their favorite activity with the kids around town. On that rainy Sunday we had quite a bit of response. So with no further ado, let us highlight activities receiving the highest number of mentions. Do take note that the question was asked in open-ended fashion; we did not mention any of the hundreds of kids' activities compiled here on Conejo Valley Guide.

In the upper echelons of popularity, the most frequently noted family favorite activities were <drum roll> Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark, the Thousand Oaks Library, Sky High Sports in Camarillo (CLOSED IN 2018), the Santa Barbara Zoo and local parks. Underwood was the clear top mentioned activity, with the others close on its heels. Some of the specific parks called out included Conejo Creek Park North (including the popular duck pond), Thousand Oaks Community Park (near TOHS) and specifically the "Ant Hill" at that park, Borchard Park in Newbury Park and Gates Canyon Park in Calabasas.

The Ant Hill at Thousand Oaks Community Park. Bring cardboard to slide down on!

The following activities were mentioned by CVG followers at least several times: Scooter's Jungle in Simi Valley, hiking and nature trails, As You Wish Pottery Painting Place (formerly Paint a Dream) at the Simi Valley Town Center, the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, Lazertag Extreme in Simi Valley, Chuck E. Cheese's, Oak Canyon Park Duck Pond and Splash Pad, Rockin' Kids Play Center at the Simi Valley Town Center and Kids World in Oak Park. Also called out by several parents as a great activity was the Conejo Youth Basketball Association.

Other mentions by the family friendly Facebook crowd included bowling, Lowe's/Home Depot kids' workshops, Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, My Gym Thousand Oaks, Kids Club at The Oaks, Pump It Up Ventura, Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena, Create Studio in Westlake Village, Gymboree, Reagan Library, Camarillo Airport (the Waypoint Cafe is a great place to dine and see the planes) and Patriot Airsoft in Newbury Park (which closed in 2016).

Rounding out the list are Clubhouse Fun Zone in Ventura, playground at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks, horseback riding, the beach, Ventura Harbor Village, Wildwood Park, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, playground at The Village at Dos Vientos Ranch, California ScienCenter in Los Angeles, Conejo Rec & Park District programs, geocaching, We Rock the Spectrum in Agoura Hills and the Kids' Adventure Garden in Thousand Oaks.

Who doesn't love "Cosmic Bowling" pictured here at Harley's Bowl Camarillo. Especially with the bumpers up!

Panoramic Coastline Views at the Ventura Botanical Gardens Demonstration Trail

The Ventura Botanical Gardens Demonstration Trail is a nearly 1 mile trail between Ventura City Hall and Grant Park. It opened to the public in October 2012. The trail zig zags and meanders its way up to Grant Park, offering awesome views of downtown Ventura and the coastline. The trail is accessible beheind Ventura City Hall, located at 501 Poli Street. Take the driveway on the right side of City Hall (facing the building) and drive up to the parking area. Learn more at www.venturabotanicalgardens.com.

Access to the trail is on the right (east) side of Ventura City Hall.

The trail is decorated with pretty wildflowers and other California native plantsThere are some neat rock walls on sections of the trailA short walk will get you some pretty views!