2018 Trip Overview

Hello again everyone!

In this post, I’ll highlight where we are going to on each trip, and what there is to see out there!

First, an overview map is necessary to get a general idea of our journey.

Please note that the letters in the destinations are in alphabetical order, showing what our path is.

Sorry for the simple computer screenshots… I’m not used to this sort of thing.

But anyways, as you can see, we’ll be exploring a lot of the Midwest as well as the Mid…East?

It’s best to explain each location that we are headed, though some destinations are not labeled above because of their very close proximity to others (I’ll explain in a bit).

Dallas, Texas

-George W. Bush Presidential Center: The Library and Museum of our 43rd President, George W. Bush! As I’ve been here before, this will likely be a brief stop, since the main reason I am going here is because I still need the stamp for my Presidential Library Passport (Yes, there is such a thing, which I got from the Reagan and Nixon Libraries in California).

Denison, Texas

-Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site: A little jewel north of Dallas that houses the birthplace of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during WWII, and our 34th President.

Abilene, Kansas

-Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum: This very beautiful campus houses General Eisenhower’s Museum, Presidential Library, Boyhood Home, and his final resting place. Unfortunately, the Museum part is closed on Renovation, but most of it’s exhibits have been moved temporarily to the Library.

Kansas City, Missouri

-World War I National Memorial and Museum: Many forget the sacrifices and victories that were made during the Great War, but it’s still a very pivotal moment in our diplomacy and foreign policies. This facility provides that such insight, with one of the largest collections of WWI artifacts in the entire world!

Independence, Missouri (About 20 minutes from Kansas City, so its not on the map)

-Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: Houses the records and exhibits dedicated to our 33rd President, as well as his former office and final resting place.

-Harry S. Truman National Historic Site: One of numerous sites under the National Park System, this park encompasses a lot of Independence and it’s historic buildings, including the President’s primary residence.

West Branch, Iowa

-Herbert Hoover National Historic Site: Dedicated to our first president born west of the Mississippi River, Herbert Hoover. This site contains much of his early roots, from the simple one-room cabin where he was born, to his own Library and Museum, his father’s Blacksmith Shop, and of course his gravesite. (West Branch is a very small town, probably one of the more remote sites we are seeing.)

Springfield, Illinois

-Lincoln Home National Historic Site: Springfield is certainly the “City of Lincoln”, and as such plays host to the only house that President Abraham Lincoln ever lived in.

-Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum: While not one of the canonical 13 Presidential Libraries (Those under the direction of the National Archives), the Lincoln Museum provides a deep look into one of our nation’s beloved leaders.

-Lincoln Tomb: Based on the grounds of Oak Ridge Cemetery, the tomb is the burial place of the Lincoln Family, including Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their four sons.

Indianapolis, Indiana

-Benjamin Harrison Home: While Harrison may not have been a well known president, it’s always a treat to explore a relatively obscure individual’s roots to see what impact they made on national and local levels.

-Crown Hill Cemetery: One of the largest Cemeteries in the Country, these beautiful grounds house the remains of over a quarter-million people, including President Benjamin Harrison, three U.S. Vice-Presidents, as well as famous mobster John Dillinger.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

-Gerald Ford Museum: Gerald Ford’s Presidential Library and Museum is… unique… in that the Library and Museum are in two different locations. The museum portion is based here in Grand Rapids, which was perhaps the home town of President Ford. Along with his final resting place, it also offers benediction to his brief but successful work to heal the nation’s wounds after the scandals of Watergate.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

-Gerald R. Ford Library: And now we come to the Library portion of “Library and Museum.” It may not have as many exhibits as the Museum, but it houses the records of our 38th President (used for research mostly).

Detroit, Michigan

-The Henry Ford (Museum): This museum is a hodgepodge of American History! The largest museum complex in the United States, it has everything from the Rosa Parks Bus, Abraham Lincoln’s Chair from Ford’s Theatre, Thomas Edison’s Lab, even the very limousine that President John F. Kennedy was shot in! (There’s a lot more, but for the sake of balance, i’d better save it for later.)

-Motown Museum: My dad is especially interested in Motown (and all kinds of related music you can think of). While i’m not as skilled in Musical Wisdom as he is, I bet it’s still very fascinating to explore an influential part in our society.

There maybe other things to do in Detroit as well, but at the moment, those are our main things.

Fremont, Ohio

-Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum: This gorgeous plot of land was home to our 19th President, who lived on these grounds when it was called “Spiegel Grove”. It is now home to his Library and Museum, mansion, and his final resting place. (Ohio Presidents have a… unique trend concerning their deaths and burial places, in that they die in office, and they have gigantic and elaborate tombs. Thankfully, Hayes is exempt from this. There are a total of 6 Presidents from Ohio, 5 of which are buried in the state).

Cleveland, Ohio

-Garfield Tomb: Lakeview Cemetery has one of the largest Presidential Burial sites in our country, belonging to our 20th President. As a native of Ohio, he belongs to the aforemented trend of dying in office, and getting a pretty decent sized memorial. I guess that whenever a president is assassinated (Especially since Garfield was only President for 4 months before being shot), they get the “works”. John D. Rockefeller is also buried in Lakeview, another site for us to see.

There might be other stuff to see in Cleveland, but as of now, we don’t know what else might come our way! 🙂

Mentor, Ohio (Near to Cleveland, and thus not on the map)

-James A. Garfield National Historic Site: Basically his home and grounds, and a fascinating destination as he was literally a “front porch campaigner,” where people would go there to listen to him speak in front of his home during the election of 1880. (Editor’s Note: We would indeed visit this place, but instead after coming back from Buffalo and Niagara Falls).

Buffalo, New York

-Forest Lawn Cemetery: Contains the gravesite of 13th President Millard Fillmore. Interestingly enough, this will be the third cemetery we’ve ever visited with the name “Forest Lawn” (the other two being famous celebrity cemeteries in Los Angeles, California).

-Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: This site is where “Teddy” Roosevelt was inaugurated as President following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 at the Buffalo Pan American Expedition.

As is the case with Detroit and Cleveland, we don’t know what else there might be, come what may!

Niagara Falls, New York

-Niagara Falls: Our furthermost point from home is the Wondrous Niagara Falls, which will most likely be a brief stop to see the falls. There’s other stuff to do there as well, including ferries, boardwalks, and what not, but of course, we have a schedule to keep. 🙂

East Aurora, New York

-Millard Fillmore House: This little town is technically a part of outer Buffalo, but it houses the Millard Fillmore House, perhaps the only museum dedicated to Mr. Fillmore. (Isn’t that a funny name? Millard Fillmore? reminds me of either a Duck, or that character from “Cars”.)

Jamestown, New York

-The Luci and Desi Museum: This sleepy little town is none other than the hometown of Lucille Ball, the famous comedian and star of “I Love Lucy.” Buried nearby in Lakeview Cemetery (not the Ohio one), it’s likely that this will only be a brief stop on our tour, to pay homage to a comedic genius. (Editor’s Note: Due to managing time on our trip, we unfortunately had forgo an excursion to Jamestown, and revisit Mentor.)

Canton, Ohio

-William McKinley Memorial and Museum: Back in Ohio, we come to President McKinley,  our 25th president, who’s memory is enshrined in his museum and his nearby Tomb, which is nearly on par with the grandeur of Garfield’s Tomb (thus the trend that he was assassinated and given a large resting place.)

Marion, Ohio

-Harding Home: 29th President Warren G. Harding is remembered today as a crooked, womanizing, and gambling type of politician, but his hometown of Marion is certainly a must see, especially considering that he rose from relatively humble conditions to become a newspaper editor, a congressman, and finally a president. Sadly, the home is closed off due to restoration and construction of a new Presidential Library, so this will be a quick stop.

-Harding Memorial: When Harding was laid to rest in this very large tomb reminiscent of Roman design (sigh… again, the “Ohio Trend”), the scandals under his administration hadn’t yet com to light. Regardless, its a very nice area, and a jewel of Marion’s heritage.

Cincinatti, Ohio

-William Howard Taft National Historic Site: A relatively new addition to our list of destinations, the WHT site pays tribute to our… fattest president, who also became Supreme Court Justice. He is exempt from the Ohio Trend, as he did not die in office, and his simple tomb can be found at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, rather than in Ohio.

North Bend, Ohio

-William Henry Harrison Memorial: Grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison, W.H.H. was only president a month before becoming the first to die in office, setting the Ohio Trend. His very tall monolith of a monument/tomb is located in North Bend, a very small village a few miles west of Cincinnati. This will likely be a quick stop.

As is the case with many road trips, our later stops destinations may be shorter, as homesickness kicks in.

Louisville, Kentucky

-Zachary Taylor National Cemetery: This cemetery, very reminiscent of Arlington National Cemetery, is the burial place of Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States, and yet ANOTHER to die in office. Nearby is also his residence, named “Springfield” , which is sadly a private home. Likely another quick stop, if we don’t do anything else.

Nashville, Tennessee

Hopefully, Mom can meet us here so she can get a taste of the adventure as we head back home.

-The Hermitage: What better way to learn about General Andrew Jackson, our 7th President, then by visiting his old plantation near Nashville, “The Hermitge”? Old Hickory certainly has his persona in this place, what with his Mansion, beautiful grounds, and tomb!

-Tennessee State Capitol: Besides being a great place to learn about “The Volunteer State”, the state capitol also houses the tomb of James K. Polk, our 11th President, on it’s expansive grounds.

-Ryman Auditorium: another musical site my dad would love to see, Ryman Auditorium quite possibly the birthplace of Country Music.

Memphis, Tennessee

-Graceland: The home and property owned by the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley! Living an extravagant lifestyle, Elvis has many decorated rooms in this mansion, an extensive music gallery, and a meditation garden with his gravesite. Graceland has become a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans around the world.

-National Civil Rights Museum: A state of the art facility dedicated to the turbulent times of civil rights, particularly those championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This site also contains part of the hotel and the very balcony where he was shot, which now that I think about it, its barely been 50 years ago since that tragic day…

Depending on time, we may have to limit our visit to Graceland, but only time will tell!

Little Rock, Arkansas

-William J. Clinton Presidential Library: Whether or not you agree with the politics of the Clintons or not, this will hopefully be an interesting facility to study the interesting times of the 90’s.

College Station, Texas

-George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum: For our final stop on our grand road trip, we reenter our beloved home state to revisit the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. It’s not only good to get the stamp for the passport and revisit the exhibits, but it would be proper to visit the final resting place of the late Barbara Bush, especially since she died only a couple of months ago.

 

And that is our trip in a (very large) nutshell! Tomorrow, we leave for Dallas, armed to the teeth with our historical books and maps, a number of audio books to listen to, and the general eagerness to learn and appreciate History! I will report at the end of each day with an account of what we did, and of our current progress! Thanks to you all who are going to be on this journey with me, it’s going to make the experience a lot more memorable!