One of my many varied interests is Presidential Libraries.  It started with a trip to the LBJ Library in Texas and now I hope to visit every one!  They are such an awesome tribute to our country’s history.

A trip to California gave me the opportunity to add two Presidential Libraries to my visited list!

Visiting the Ronald Reagan museum at the time I did was pretty amazing.  In addition to the library itself, California was experiencing a period of ‘greenness’ that hadn’t been experienced in many years.  Instead of the area landscape looking brown and dried out, the library, perched on a mountaintop, provided breath-taking lush, green overlooks of Simi Valley, California.  I think the locals visiting the library took more photos of the outdoor views than the actual library itself!

You know I always seem to find a theme in all I do.  The theme of this visit was transportation…I loved seeing the plane, helicopter, and car President Reagan used for travel.  The star of the show is Air Force One.  (Click here for a video of Air Force One at Reagan Library)   It is displayed majestically with the beautiful landscape in full view.

Air Force One 27000 carried Ronald Reagan to 26 countries and 46 states covering more than 660,000 miles.  It served as the “Flying White House” for President Reagan and six other presidents – Nixon, Ford, Carter, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and W. Bush.

Visitors are allowed to walk through both the plane and the helicopter on display, but are asked not to take photos inside the aircrafts.  Bummer…I really did want to take a photo to show you the jar of jelly beans in Air Force One!

There was also a jar in the oval office!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few photos from my visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S.  It is interesting to note that the helicopter shown here was built in my home state of Connecticut!