Thanks to member Alice Willard, 40 OCV members were given the rare opportunity to visit Rancho Del Cielo (the "Ranch in the Sky") on June 28.  The ranch was previously owned by Ronald & Nancy Reagan and is not open to the public.  our group drove in small caravans and met up in Santa Barbara after lunch.  Then the group drove the curvy, rough 7-mile road up to the ranch.  The ranch sits on 688 acres between Santa Barbara and Solvang and offers views of the Santa Inez Valley and the Pacific Ocean. Being able to walk the grounds and see where the President and Mrs. Reagan went to have private time and renew their spirits provided a new perspective to the man who was our 40th President.  The small adobe house on the ranch was built in the late 1800's.  Ronald Reagan added an L-shaped front room to the house.  he also built fences, lined the pond in front of the house and built a pier.  He rode horseback, cleared brush and worked the land.  Ronald Reagan said of the ranch, "From the first day we saw it, Rancho del Cielo cast a spell over us.  No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does."

The house itself was very rustic.  An example of this was the double bed that the Reagans slept in.  Since the President was 6' 4" tall, his feet hung off the end of the bed.  Rather than buy a new bed, he placed a stool at the end of the bed and rested his feet on the stool.

Another special addition to the trip was the chance to talk to John R. Barletta, the Secret Service agent who rode with Ronald Reagan at the ranch, at Camp David, and other locations around the world such as Windsor Castle.  John served the Reagan's for 8 years and he served in the Secret Service for 23 years.  John shared stories about his years in service to Ronald Reagan: From the White house to the Ranch".  The author had copies with him which OCV members were able to purchase and have autographed.

The Young America's Foundation bought the ranch in 1998 to preserve its history.