We were up at 6ish, as Deborah’s conference starts in full force today (and Wednesday). Breakfast was provided for Deborah, so I had a bowl of cereal in the room and made coffee for both of us before Deborah headed out to the hotel ballrooms. I bought a ticket to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Air Force One. I had checked the driving time, which, to my surprise, had now expanded to over two hours each way. Yikes! But it was the plan, and I really wanted to see the Cold War Air Force One plane from the 70s-80s.
Reagan, I remember, unkindly, as the mad man who nearly made Nuclear War real with a joke and shut down aid to colleges in his early years, making my choices narrow when I graduated high school. Feel free, dear readers, to love Reagan and his image, but I remember cuts and giveaways to the military-industrial complex. I lived in DC during the 80s and 90s and watched it. I wanted to see the plane and some of the documents of the Cold War and the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. I saw it fly over DC, and I remember Reagan traveling all the time.
I also remember that when President Bush took over for Reagan after running a slander campaign, he banned broccoli from the plane. The same lawyers who got Bush elected (but failed on the second term) found that the DC area had no good BBQ and created Hot Red & Blue BBQ, which Barb C used to cater her wedding in Laurel, Michigan. So many memories came back as I walked through the library.
But first, I spent two hours driving there. About half of it at low speeds in the cement canyons of LA and areas North and West. Boring, but not frustrating. I unwound the same track I’d taken to enter LA, but then turned West onto hills and parched, rugged, beautiful areas. The presidents lined the roads on a banner, in order to FDR, then went back down the hill until Biden. I tried to recall details about each one. Some I have forgotten, but most I remembered a fact or two.
I parked the car, and a Tesla Truck parked across from me, and I used that to find the car later. I called up my ticket, which was scanned in and then handed off to an army of docents. There was someone, friendly and nicely turned out in dark colors and, if male, with a red-striped tie museum tie. I had worn a dress shirt, a dark sweater vest, and dark gray pants, which seemed to earn me a friendly welcome, and I was even mistaken for staff once.
I skipped most of the displays, as I felt there was some revisionist history going on, that I had lived through much of it, but I did enjoy some of the late Presidents’ speeches and learned from the docent on Air Force One that the “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” in 1987 statement was written on the plane on the actual typewriter given to the museum from the writer (on the plane in it orginal place). The story was that the words were dropped but were reinstated by the writer and Reagan.
I was overwhelmed by the plane and its place in history, a true relic of the Cold War, and it could have been the instrument of Nuclear War. The nuclear “football” case was on the plane, the one used when he was President. It went to China with Nixon. It was often in the Soviet Union. Wow! I was allowed to walk through it.
President Reagan wrote a goodbye letter when it was announced he suffered from Alzheimer’s, and I did cry a little when I heard him read it while I read the handwritten version. It is the last thing in the museum before they cover his funeral. I did visit his and Nancy’s grave.
Again, I found the revisionist history and Reagan’s speeches need to be taken with a dose of skepticism. I cannot recommend it except for the plane, the stealth fighter, and the helicopter (which was not open when I was there). I also liked seeing the signed treaties themselves, as I remember the signings. The food: I had a great rueban sandwich; while not cheap, it was good.
They had documents and artifacts from the county’s founding to celebrate its 250th anniversary, along with some historical items. I have seen better displays in Boston. The documents were interesting, but few had the text shared, and I struggled to read anything in the dim light, the old pen writing, and the unique spellings. No book of the items with text was in the store. The items were from private collections, and that may explain the strange items (Lincoln’s gloves, which he wore on his last night alive) and the lack of texts.
I left before 1, having started at 10:10. Six miles away in the wrong direction (later costing 2%), I found a 350kW and discovered that some were Tesla, but found what I needed. It was a whopping $45 to add 75% to reach 100%. The highest I have ever paid. EVgo will be avoided from now on. I read and nodded off for 45 minutes waiting for the charge.
Another two hours and fifteen minutes’ trip, with Navigation giving up on the highways for part of the way, and I drove through Pasadena’s back roads. It was a great drive, and I admired the homes there. Back into the cement canyons, and finally back to Disney. I drove by and reached the hotel.
Deborah was resting in the room for an hour, but then had an event. I headed to the bar and watched the last minutes of Norway’s 4-1 win over Iraq that ruined Iraq’s chances in the World Cup. I ordered ginger ale and some meatballs from the Happy Hour menu. Getting out of the bar for just over $23 with tip.
The Church Council meeting started at 6:30, and Deborah soon fell asleep after returning from her event. She was running hard and fast for the conference, and the time difference makes it even harder. So no hanging out tonight.
I finished the meeting (leaving early), wrote postcards, and wrote this blog. Tomorrow I will do laundry at a local coin laundry. We will meet for lunch, and then Deborah has a dinner event. I will find dinner on my own.
Thanks for reading. It was a good day, but a lot of LA driving.
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