Touring the Reagan Library

From 2014 06 12 Reagan Library

While visiting southern California for the Caltech commencement ceremony, Ellen and I took the opportunity to tour the Reagan Presidential Library. This added to our growing list of libraries, having previously visited the libraries of Hoover, Truman, LBJ, Bush 41 and Clinton (we'll soon add Bush 43's library too as it's just down the road in Dallas).

The Reagan library's setting is stunning, high in the hills above Simi Valley. The main exhibits are humdrum -- windowless rooms burnishing the achievements of the Reagan presidency and overlooking the not-so-laudatory events. But it's the Air Force One Pavilion that people identify with the Reagan library. Think of the GOP presidential primary debates, with the candidates lined up under the wing of Air Force One. It's a spectacular exhibit, with the plane facing one glass wall, beyond which the California hills form just as spectacular a backdrop.

More after the jump.

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From 2014 06 12 Reagan Library

We took the long way back to Pasadena along the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Monica, then fought rush hour traffic on Los Angeles' freeways. By the way, even though it took 90 minutes to drive from Santa Monica to Pasadena, Google Maps never varied by more than a few minutes in its estimate of our arrival time, no matter whether we were stopped dead in traffic on a freeway or were driving at 60 mph. And its ETA was spot on. I still don't know how it did it.

From 2014 06 12 Reagan Library

All of our photos from our visit to the Reagan Library can be seen on Google Photos.