Happy 2020! My blogging goal for this year is to have a better balance of sponsored vs. non-sponsored posts. To kick things off, here is a non-sponsored post about our visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Since I was born in the late 70’s, Ronald Reagan is the first president I can remember. Reagan is my “childhood president”, if you will. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is located in Simi Valley, California. After receiving several recommendations, we added it to our winter break road trip itinerary.
First of all, the grounds are beautiful. The library is perched on a hilltop with a nice view. It was neat to see the flags with all of the past presidents along the road leading up to the library.
The fairly new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument was a nice tribute. It is important to remember the huge sacrifices that military families make.
There was also a Gold Star Memorial Christmas Tree. (We were able to see the Christmas decorations since we visited the day after Christmas.)
The Cold War exhibit was eye-opening. It is hard to believe it happened not that long ago. (On another note, have you seen the movie, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas? n read the book for school so we watched the movie as a family. It is so sad and depressing, but does spark important conversations about history. Warning, it definitely deserves the PG-13 rating.)
There is a replica of The Oval Office. A visit to Washington D.C. is on our list places to visit before the kids graduate from high school.
A definite highlight is walking through the Air Force One that served the presidents from 1973-2001. (We brought our lunch and ate at the tables below).
There was also an exhibit of Christmas Trees Around The World. I thought it appropriate to take a picture of the kids in between the trees from China and Japan-ha!
I also took a picture of D next to the Canada tree, since he was born there.
This portrait captures Reagan’s love of jelly beans. (It’s made from actual jelly beans!) There were a lot of jelly bean items for sale in the gift shop.
D resisted the urge to buy something a souvenir, including a $60 Presidential Tie.
Be sure to go around the side of the library to see the Stealth Fighter outside. We almost missed it.
There is also a rotation of temporary exhibits at the library. There were artifacts from Egypt when we went. However, I would save this part for the end so that you can avoid a long line at Air Force One.
This was our first visit to a Presidential Library and now I want to visit all of them! Next up: Nixon Library.