We had a great visit with Bob Jacobson, Bob's college roommate who is a senior scientist at Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. The next day, we stopped at the Ronald Reagan Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. The setting is beautiful in the rolling hills above Malibu!
The museum itself has a ranch-like appearance reflecting Reagan's love for the land.
We arrived a few minutes before the 10 AM opening time, so we poked around a little, including a beautiful patio with flowering trees that we might have missed otherwise!
A life-size statue of "Dutch" meets you at the door.
Inside, his career is laid out with some of the humorous devices he used to make his point about wasteful government being the problem, not the solution.
This beautiful replica of the Oval Office is completely authentic.
The museum includes the aircraft that served as Reagan's Air Force One. A walk-through tour was included and showed many details of life in the air for the President.
On the walkway surrounding Air Force One are displays that highlight Reagan's greatest accomplishment - the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the nuclear disarmament that accompanied. Having grown up in the era of fear of being bombed by the Soviets, I really appreciated the peace between the super-powers!
On the floor of the annex, below Air Force One stands Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
The museum sits high on a hill overlooking some of the most beautiful valleys in California.
Finally, the museum notes the role that President Reagan played in restoring the US Military to a position of strength - one that Pres Carter had done much to destroy! This F-14 represents Reagan's contribution. A plaque denotes the air-to-air encounter two F-14's had with Libyan fighters - one in which both Libyans were shot down.
After a wonderful morning at the Reagan Library, we drove the short 30 miles to Ventura County Naval Base, as it is now called, to check into the Navy Lodge, Port Heuneme. While eating lunch, Theresa broke a tooth! We went to the Base clinic but the best they could offer was to make an appointment with a local dentist the next afternoon!! More in the next entry.
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