When my friend Jackson said he wanted to visit The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Bob and I jumped at the opportunity to tag along. Not really knowing anything about the library or, in fact, any of the other Presidential Libraries, I was interested to find out what this afternoon had in store for us.  Bob and I did our best to dress in very patriotic colors, although this is not necessary to fully enjoy your visit!

First, there are thirteen Presidential Libraries in the United States, and two right here in Southern California. The Nixon Library is in Yorba Linda and Ronald Reagan’s in Simi Valley, about 35 minutes north east of Los Angeles. The Library and Museum are located on top of a mountain range overlooking the entire valley. We happened to visit on a very clear day and could see for miles in every direction and we could even see the ocean!

Once inside the museum, there are several videos playing prominent speeches and moments of Reagans term (most of the footage was new to me), as well as personal mementos from his childhood. Personally, the banners, newspaper clippings and artifacts from the elections were the most interesting.

The next few rooms had replicas of The White House in the exact same design and layout as it were when Reagan was President. A little strange and kind of awesome, these rooms helped me imagine what it would have been like to be in The White House with President Reagan.

After walking through the museum, you come to a huge room with glass windows on one entire side.  The room opens up to a huge plane- Air Force 1- and several of Reagans cars when he was in office. The “Flying White House” not only served for Reagan but also six other presidents from 1973- 2001! The most exciting part of the tour for Bob was when we got to walk inside and through Air Force 1 and pretend he was president. (Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do it either!)

Outside there is a nice garden with a section of the Berlin Wall, a memorial and Reagans final resting place.

We had a really great time learning about one of our Presidents and would definitely suggest the trip to anyone who loves history and wants to know more about the core system of our government.  And, in case you don’t know that much at President Reagan, here are 5 fun facts we learned during our visit:

1. Reagan acted in over 50 movies from 1937-64!

2. He started eating Jelly Bellies to give up smoking! (His favorite flavor was licorice.)

3. Went by the nickname “Dutch”.

4. Favorite cologne: Royal Briar ( You know, in-case you want to smell like a president!)

5. In 1983, Time Magazine named him “Man of the Year”.

Have you been to any of the Presidential Libraries? Would you want to visit one?