Ronald Reagan--An American Life

This last Sunday we made a family road trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Zoey has a biography book report due this coming Friday and her subject is Ronald Reagan. I've wanted to visit this library for years, and so it seemed like a perfect day trip.

The drive up was smooth, so nice to have a little "road trip" time. We are so lucky, we love being in each other's company and always have the best times when we just spend the day together. The area around the library is beautiful. You can easily see why this location was chosen. Up on a hill and overlooking the valley it stands a very proud monument to one of our nation's heroes.

The whole library was beautiful, but the crowning jewel was the Air Force One Pavilion. An airy, huge building, it houses the actual Air Force One used by RR. The plane is raised up off the ground by pillars, and combined with the huge wall of glass the plane is facing it almost seems to be in flight. I was surprised at how primitive the interior seemed (I think I had visions of the movie version), but the docents explained that this was the plane commissioned by Nixon in 1973, and at the time it was total "state-of-the-art". It was fascinating to see the actual plane he travelled almost 700,000 miles in (but never slept in), and imagine him there. The photographs on the walls show a man who was very down to earth, joking and laughing with the staffers and media on board. The exhibit is topped off with a Marine One helicopter, as well as the actual limousine and Secret Service vehicles that were used at the time. Really cool to see in person.

Outside of the library there are beautiful gardens, including a replica of the White House Rose garden. Here stands an actual piece of the Berlin wall, and the enormity of what this man accomplished in his amazing life is really brought in focus. Here is a man that did so many amazing things...any one of which most people would have considered to be an incredible accomplishment. From being a well paid motion picture actor, to president of the Screen Actor's Guild, to two terms as Governor of the State of California, to two terms as President of the United States...surviving an assassination attempt, ending the Cold War, bringing down the Berlin Wall, and on and on and on. No matter your political leanings, it would be hard to take a good look at this man's life and not recognize an incredible life lived. An American Life.

He is buried there, and inscribed around his resting place are these words: "I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and there is a purpose and worth to each and every life." He was such a man of character, and it was a real pleasure to learn more about this incredible life.

We ended our visit with a delicious picnic lunch that Rob had packed for us before we left. We sat in the sun (and cold wind) in a little garden area on the grounds and had fresh sweet fruit, yummy sandwiches and some nice cold chardonnay (nice cold sparkling Peligrino for the girls). A perfect ending to a perfect little family road trip. Honestly there are few things I would rather do than spend the day with my family on a day like today. I'm a lucky wife/Mommy!