• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
My Big Fat Cuban Family

My Big Fat Cuban Family

Recipes · Blog · Shop

  • Meet Marta
    • Media Mentions
  • Lifestyle
    • Cuban-American Life
    • My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
  • Entertainment
    • Disney
    • Marvel
    • Television
    • Concerts
    • Books
    • Theatre
  • Celebrate
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Cuban Christmas
    • Mother’s Day
    • Movie Nights
    • Summer Nights
  • Recipes
    • Cuban Recipes With Pictures
    • Family Favorites
    • My Cook Book
  • Shop
    • Cuban Foods Poster
    • Cuban T-Shirts
    • Costa Rican Foods Poster
    • Honduran Foods Poster
    • Puerto Rican Foods Poster
    • Salvadoran Foods Poster
    • Scottish Foods Poster
    • Customize Your Own
    • Cuban Goodies In Your Mailbox
  • Contact
    • Advertise
  • Archives

(Vicariously) Riding with Reagan

April 12, 2011 By Marta Darby 6 Comments

My two high school students, Lucy (17) and Jonathan (15), both had the privilege of attending the Young America's Foundation High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch Center last month.

You can read about Lucy's adventures in Washington D.C. (which include a run in with the Capitol police) last year here.

This was Jonathan's first time attending a YAF conference and he was excited about a few things:

  • A weekend (without parental units) in Santa Barbara. (Win!)
  • Getting to visit the Reagan Ranch. (Major Win!)
  • Meeting John Barletta. (Epic Win!)

I know you're wondering, "Who is John Barletta and why was Jonathan so excited about meeting him?"

John Barletta happens to be the longest-serving Secret Service agent under President Reagan. So cool, right? His book, Riding with Reagan shares what it was like to ride (horses!) every day with Ron and Nancy Reagan at the magical Rancho del Cielo, better known as the Reagan Ranch, in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Rancho del cielo

Jon had just finished reading John Barletta's book. An excellent read, by the way. It's a wonderful and intimate glimpse of Ronald Reagan as just a man who loved horses and a simple life. (Here's the Amazon link.) And he grew to admire the author.

Eric and I had read the book after visiting the Ranch a couple of years ago and so we enjoyed lots of dinner conversations relating John Barletta's wonderful anecdotes concerning his time serving as Ronald Reagan's friend and protector.

Riding with reagan

So Jon was super pumped about meeting John Barletta.

See the look on Jonathan's face that says, "This guy RODE WITH RONALD REAGAN! He's a total Rock Star!"

Jon and John 

My Jon with John Barletta.

I'm so glad Jonathan was able to meet one of his heroes.

Lest you begin thinking that because he's been homeschooled his entire life, that perhaps my son is not a typical teenager, let me just also point out that his other heroes include Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton…

…but that's not important right now. 😉

Guitar man

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table." ~Ronald Reagan

 

You might also like:

My Man, Ron Who’s Who? Fourteen. Home Alone

Filed Under: My Kids Tagged With: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, John Barletta, Rancho del Cielo, Reagan Ranch, Reagan Ranch Center, Riding with Reagan, Young America's Foundation

Previous Post: « The Sprinklers
Next Post: The Hawk Walk »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angela Garcia says

    April 14, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    I’m so bummed the book is not available for Kindle! Your kids are lucky to have you, BTW…hope the realize that!

    Reply
  2. Marta says

    April 15, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    They do, but in case they forget, I’m happy to remind them on a daily basis…. 😉

    Reply
  3. Juana says

    April 17, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    How wonderful!

    Reply
  4. Michele Caridad says

    April 20, 2011 at 6:30 am

    love angela’s comment! i agree! and reagan was right…it does start at the dinner table!

    Reply
  5. Marta M. Darby says

    April 22, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Gracias!

    Reply
  6. Marta M. Darby says

    April 22, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Michele,That quote always gets to me. Words to live by.
    Besos,
    Marta

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

TRY SUPER SMOOTH CAFE LA LLAVE ESPRESSO

Cafe La Llave

My Cuban T-Shirt Designs

“Cuban T-Shirts

Subscribe to MBFCF Newsletter!

Never miss a post! Sign up with your email address to receive recipes, news and updates right in your inbox!

Cuban Foods Poster

“Cuba

Cuban Coffee Poster

“Cuba

Cuban Desserts Poster

“Cuba poster - Cuban desserts subway art print

Get Snacking On California Strawberries!

California Strawberries

Most Recent Posts

  • Best Places That Will Ship Cuban Food To Your Door
    December 15, 2020
  • My Big Fat Cuban Family Christmas Gift Guide 2020
    December 3, 2020
  • My Needs Are Simple: The Verizon CareSmart Watch
    December 3, 2020
  • The Quest for Authentic Chimichurri – Cocina Knows
    November 30, 2020
  • Hogwarts Halloween
    October 30, 2020

Cuban Recipes Cookbook

Cuban recipes with pictures cookbook from My Big Fat Cuban Family

Abuela Mami

Abuela Mami Gifts

Cuban Food Market

Cuban Food Market

Follow Me on Instagram

Follow Marta on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No posts found.

Follow Marta On Social

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

FEATURED POSTS

  • Best Places That Will Ship Cuban Food To Your Door
    December 15, 2020
  • My Big Fat Cuban Family Christmas Gift Guide 2020
    December 3, 2020
  • It’s Cuban Christmas Crema De Vie Time!
    December 7, 2017
  • My Big Fat Cuban Cooking Playlist
    November 21, 2016
  • Crema de Vie (Cuban Egg Nog) Recipe
    July 27, 2016

Blog Archives

Footer

Meet Marta

Marta Verdes Darby is a Cuban-American food blogger in South Orange County.

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign Up For My Newsletter

April 2011
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Mar   May »

Copyright © 2021 my big fat cuban family