How can you not stop and see a Presidential Library. We found a nice relaxing Ventura County campground, Tapo Canyon, and scheduled a day to visit the Reagan Presidential Library.
Mark enjoyed posing with the Statue of Ron and Nancy Reagan, trying out the teleprompter used at President Reagan's inauguration, and walking down the hallway with President Reagan.
We both rented a GuideCam which is an I-pod (in my hand) that guides you through the library, often in the words of President Reagan or Nancy. You can also use it to take photos. We applauded the use of technology, but as you can see from the grainy quality of this GuideCam photo we chose to stick with the camera!
The library is a fascinating opportunity to step back in history...from the clothing - shown here are the clothes the Reagans wore to the inauguration and the crazy outfit Nancy wore when she sang "Second Hand Clothes" after which the press reduced their negativity toward her clothing selections!
...to watching videos of the Reykjavik Summit with Reagan and General Secretary Gorbechev which resulted in the 1987 intermediate range nuclear forces treaty...to seeing actual pieces of the Berlin Wall.
Highlights of the library include an actual mock- up of the Oval Office...
...as it appeared during the Reagan administration.
...the Reagan Presidential Limo with the license plate "Gipper."
...and the very impressive Air Force One which we got to tour.
Even the view from the hangar is amazing!
The most moving part of the library is the last section where Reagan addresses "the sunset of his life" and his battle with Alzheimers. We saw videos of the throngs of people who lined the streets in Semi Valley to pay their respects and Nancy Reagan's moving tenderness as she knelt beside his casket. There was not a dry eye in the house. On June 11th , 6 days after his death, Ronald Reagan was buried in Semi Valley on the grounds of the Library.
We lived and worked through the Reagan years and enjoyed all the benefits he brought to our country. Regardless of your political views you have to respect his sincerity, his respect for the office (he never went into the Oval office without a coat and tie) and his economic and global impact that truly did say "Its morning in America!"
After our day at the library we went to dinner at the home of our Palm Creek Tennis Friends, Bev and Skip Nirenberg, who live only 10 minutes from the library. Now we know they must really love the people at Palm Creek because the weather in Thousand Oaks is always beautiful, their home, which Skip has basically reconstructed, is like walking into a new home, and five minutes down the road is a Trader Joe's...why would you leave all this except for some great friends!
We found a fun golf course, Rustic Canyon, so our stay was pretty busy. Its time to get back on the road and head north to Chowchilla, California.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment