At last… after nearly three weeks of searching the U.S. high and low to learn of it’s proud and rich history… our journey is ended.
We are now back home in New Braunfels, still reeling from the excitement of the entire trip!
But before we can celebrate, let me recap our final day of adventures!
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
As we left our hotel, we saw yet another temple to Quality Texas food.
That does it.To celebrate, we’ll have Whataburger again for supper. As George H.W. Bush once said, “This is my mission, and I will complete it!” (though, I don’t think he was describing fast food…).
We arrived in College Station after two long hours (it’s always been two hours hasn’t it?), and, after lunch, we arrived at perhaps the very place where my love of Presidential History blossomed from a mere president chart, into a fully blown hobby.
It was this very building that I visited nearly 10 years ago, and is in fact the first Presidential Library I had ever visited. Little did I know how far it would go…
And as you can see, I’ve got my stamp! And in case you were wondering why I didn’t have the stamp yet, it is because that I got this passport at the Reagan Library in California, and I didn’t have the book when I visited the Texas Libraries years before. Now that I have both Bush 41 and 43’s libraries, all I need to do to catch up is to visit the LBJ Library in Austin (which I have visited before, but do not have the stamp).
We immediately got to work on the exhibits, eager to enjoy our final stop on the grand trip.
One of the primary limos of the Bush administration. We’ve seen a lot on this trip haven’t we?
And here is good ol’ H.W. himself! It’s a very nice portrait, even by portrait standards.
George’s father Prescott Bush started the Bush political dynasty, and imported the virtues of humility and service onto George and his siblings. But look at that face! You can tell the resemblance!
Some of the photos hold terrific childhood memories of George’s life, particularly at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport (which Prescott Bush originally owned, and also where George H.W. Bush currently is right now).
When World War II erupted into conflict, Bush was proud to enlist in the Air Force as one of the youngest pilots ever to serve in the armed forces at that time (being 18). This plane above was similar to the kind that Bush piloted. Bush was even shot down over enemy lines in the Pacific Theatre after completing a bombing run, and floating adrift for two hours, he was eventually rescued.
Very few people can say that they survived such an endeavor in the war. The shock of war certainly left an impact on young Bush’s morals.
The picture above is not Bush’s actual suit, but that of his flight instructor who taught him to fly!
Before he went off to war however, Bush met the lively Barbara Pierce, who married him after the war came to a close. These are numerous items from their wedding, including the wedding dress of Barbara, or as Bush affectionately called her, “Bar”. It was the beginning of a beautiful bond that would last 73 years.
And naturally, it was then that George W. was born! He was the first of six children born to George and Barbara.
And then came Robin.. who lived only to the age of three thanks to Leukemia… sustained by their faith, and in that of their beautiful girl, the couple persevered, and were as strong as ever.
Bush had an outstanding political career, even outside the Whitehouse. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representitives from Texas, and was able to rise to popularity not only because of his small but successful oil company, but also because of his failed but notable campaigns in Texas.
He was an Ambassador to China as well, and went more than once to visit that country.
Bush became the Ambassador to the United Nations, and was chosen to become Director of the CIA, where he helped to restore confidence in the government following Watergate.
So, on an important mission, we went into the White House, and got ready to make a very important call.
Turned out that it was a false alarm… and also the fact that this was another replica of the Oval Office!
Heh… I knew that….sure…
And here is me addressing the fact that George H.W. Bush absolutely Hated Broccoli. No, i’m not kidding. When word got out, Bush had this statement to say.
Naturally, that didn’t settle well with Broccoli Lobbyists, who even dumped several pounds of rotting Broccoli on the White House Lawn. Still, Bush held through, and still doesn’t like the stuff to this day.
One of Barbara Bush’s more iconic dresses is seen on the right. Can you imagine being invited to the White House on a formal dinner? What would you wear?
Another detail that I liked was the small exhibit on Camp David, which most other libraries lack. Many important decisions have been made here too, almost as many as at the White House.
I remember playing in this room ten years ago, including climbing into that model White House. All the books in the shelves around the room emphasize Barbara Bush’s commitment to reading and learning. In fact, the learning center here is nearly 20 years old.
And here is Mrs. Bush herself… many remember her “tough love”, kindness, and genuineness… Having died just a few months ago, she was laid to rest here at the library, which we will pay a visit after the museum.
The Berlin Wall collapsed during Bush’s term, reuniting both West and East Germany.
The Gulf War and Operation Storm were perhaps the most critical time in Bush’s Presidency, and the emergency room here made no underestimate of it.
With the aid of other ally countries, the U.S. helped to drive Sadam Hussein and the Iraqi invasion forces from Kuwait.
Sadly, Bush was not able to be reelected against democrat Bill Clinton and independent Ross Perot. Some say that Bush’s broken promise to not raise taxes was a major factor, while others assumed that as a third party candidate, Perot siphoned many votes from Bush, splitting the ticket, and allowing the unified Democrats to sweep the polls.
In retirement, Bush became our longest lived U.S. President. But old age certainly didn’t stop him from doing the things he loved… like skydiving.
Bush skydived for his 75th, 80th, and even 90th birthdays! Even with his somewhat failing health, he’s still going strong!
Afterwards, we left the Library, and walked to the back of the building, where there were some very gorgeous grounds.
Even with scorching Texas weather, it was nice to walk alongside the water and wildflowers.
That is looking at the back of the Library, highlighting Bush’s wishes for the country, and for it’s liberty.
This bridge leads to the Bush Gravesite.
It’s a very nice walk through the woods (especially because of the shade).
And here it is.
Just months ago, Barbara Bush was laid to rest here…
Robin, the Bushes’ infant daughter, is buried here as well.
and George H.W. as you can see, is still going strong at the age of 94. When his time comes (and hopefully not anytime soon), he will be buried here as well.
Robin’s grave is to the left, and Mrs. Bush is to the right. We can only assume that President Bush will be buried in the middle.
After paying our respects, we solemnly began the walk back to the car.
Bush is actually one of our taller presidents, having stood at 6,3″ feet at his peak (of course he’s taller than me, but this statue isn’t life scale 🙂 ).
Since A&M was my dad’s alma mater, we decided to do a bit of sightseeing along the way, before we left for New Braunfels.
It’s local tradition to throw pennies on this statue (which I did so). Of course, I think that wasn’t a thing that was directly associated with Mr. Ross in real life. Traditions have spontaneous founding.
The building behind us (The Academic Building), actually hosts the Texas replica of the Liberty Bell (the same of the 53 copies made)!
Unfortunately, we couldn’t go in, but that’s the one!
Now then, before we arrive at home, it’s time to fulfill my earlier vow.
Three weeks without Whataburger can drive you crazy…
And before we knew it… we did it.
We arrived at our house at long last… the circle is complete.
Just look how far we’ve gone… From the plains of Kansas, to the Great Lakes of Michigan, to Niagara Falls, and to the mountains of Tennessee. This has truly been one heck of a journey… and one that I will truly cherish, and never forget.
I think It would be wise if I do another color coding of Libraries and Gravesites to show my current status, so here goes (Green means I’ve visited it, Red means I haven’t yet).
Here are the Libraries that I have visited so far.
-Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum: West Branch, Iowa
-Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum: Hyde Park, New York
-Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: Independence, Missouri
-Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Center: Abilene, Kansas
-John F. Kennedy Presidential Library: Boston, Massachusetts
-Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library: Austin, Texas
-Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: Yorba Linda, California
-Gerald Ford Presidential Museum: Grand Rapids, Michigan
-Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library: Ann Arbor, Michigan
-Jimmy Carter Presidential Library: Atlanta, Georgia
-Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum: Simi Valley, California
-George H.W. Bush Presidential Library: College Station, Texas
-William J. Clinton Presidential Library: Little Rock, Arkansas
-George W. Bush Presidential Center: Dallas, Texas
For our final Library count, I have seen 10 out of 13 of the main libraries, with 3 left to visit!
And now for Gravesites, and THEIR locations! I’ll only use Green or Red to signify each gravesite’s current status, with the same color code as before.
1.George Washington: Washington Family Tomb at Mount Vernon (Fairfax County, Virginia)
2.John Adams : United First Parish Church (Quincy, Massachusetts)
3.Thomas Jefferson: Monticello Graveyard at Monticello (Charlottsville, Virginia)
4.James Madison : James Madison Cemetery at Montpelier (Orange, Virginia)
5.James Monroe : James Monroe Tomb at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
6.John Quincy Adams : United First Parish Church (Quincy, Massachusetts)
7.Andrew Jackson : The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee)
8.Martin Van Buren : Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery (Kinderhook, New York)
9.William Henry Harrison : William Henry Harrison State Memorial (North Bend, Ohio)
10.John Tyler : Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
11.James K. Polk : Tennessee State Capital Grounds (Nashville, Tennessee)
12.Zachary Taylor : Zachary Taylor National Cemetery (Louisville, Kentucky)
13.Millard Fillmore : Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo, New York)
14.Franklin Pierce : Old North Cemetery (Concord, New Hampshire)
15.James Buchanan : Woodward Hill Cemetery (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
16.Abraham Lincoln : Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery (Springfield, Illinois)
17.Andrew Johnson : Andrew Johnson National Cemetery (Greenville, Tennessee)
18.Ulysses S. Grant : General Grant National Memorial (New York City, New York)
19.Rutherford B. Hayes : Rutherford B. Hayes’s Spiegel Grove (Fremont, Ohio)
20.James A. Garfield : Garfield Tomb at Lakeview Cemetery (Cleveland, Ohio)
21.Chester A. Arthur : Albany Rural Cemetery (Menands, New York)
22 and 24. Grover Cleveland : Princeton Cemetery (Princeton, New Jersey)
23.Benjamin Harrison : Crown Hill Cemetery (Indianapolis, Indiana)
25.William McKinley : William McKinley Memorial (Canton, Ohio)
26.Theodore Roosevelt : Youngs Memorial Cemetery (Oyster Bay, New York)
27.William Howard Taft : Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington, Virginia)
28.Woodrow Wilson : Washington National Cathedral (Washington D.C.)
29.Warren G. Harding : Harding Tomb (Marion, Ohio)
30.Calvin Coolidge : Plymouth Notch Cemetery (Plymouth, Vermont)
31.Herbert Hoover : Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (West Branch, Iowa)
32.Franklin D. Roosevelt : Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site (Hyde Park, New York)
33.Harry S. Truman: Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum (Independence, Missouri)
34.Dwight D. Eisenhower: Place of Meditation at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Center (Abilene, Kansas)
35.John F. Kennedy : Kennedy Gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington, Virginia)
36.Lyndon B. Johnson : Johnson Family Cemetery at LBJ National Historic Site (Stonewall, Texas)
37. Richard Nixon : Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum (Yorba Linda, California)
38.Gerald Ford : Gerald Ford Museum (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
40. Ronald Reagan: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum)
In a total of 38 Gravesites, I have seen 23 so far, with 15 left to go.
Phew… now comes the task of unpacking…
It’s a lot easier to take a single picture than to haul all of this back inside…
And so many souvenirs too! I forgot all about the “I Like Ike” badge, or the Lincoln Home Spoon!
I guess now we come to the final question… why do all of these places matter?
Well, like I said a couple of weeks ago, shortly before we left, it’s important to see what things were like back then. It certainly makes you feel more appreciative of where you live, and of the time you live in. It’s also very important to know why and how you came to be, and where you can learn from past mistakes. History is after all, the greatest teacher.
However, none of this is useful at all unless we APPLY that knowledge to our current lives, and to the present.
As fun and wonderful as it is to delve into the past, we can’t let go of the reality that we have our own jobs, our own obligations, and our own relationships to attend to every day.
But at the same time, we cannot truly find purpose and meaning to life if all we do is think and act in the present moment.
History’s greatest gift to us is Inspiration. It gives us something to be proud of, and stands as a testament to the capabilities of human nature. After all, History isn’t just dates and charts, but the trials and tribulations of human character. And by passing on our proud story that those before us have woven, we can ensure that the great journey will continue to be written generations after we are long gone.
We are History in the making, and it is up to us to make the world what it deserves.
I’ll leave you now with one final quote, from one president’s legacy that still bears with us today…
“We celebrate the past to awaken the future.” -John F. Kennedy – August 14, 1960
With that said, thank you all for following me to the very end. Your companionship is more than I can ask for.
Thank you 🙂
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 