2019 Summer Trip Overview

Hey again y’all!

Welcome back to my 2019 Summer Trip Blog!

Today, we will be going over the basic premises and groundworks of our trip, just to give y’all a better understanding of where we will be going! This might be a lengthy post, so brace yourselves!

In discussion of our time/dates, we will fly from Texas to Washington D.C. on the third Week of May, and we will be gone for nearly two and a half weeks. In comparison to our previous summer trip, this one is slightly shorter, but it will no doubt be just as packed (if not more packed) with destinations and sites as the last one! At any rate, the travel times between places will be significantly smaller than before, especially with a rental car at our side.

And this is the overview of our trip. Our starting point is at the green dot on the lower part, which is where Washington D.C., our nation’s capitol is located. From there, we will work our way up further north, through the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally Massachusetts, where we will end our trip in Boston. Our four major cities that we will be visiting will include Washington D.C. (Green), Philadelphia (E), New York City (I), and Boston (end).

I will now go over each town/city that we are going to visit, complete with brief descriptions of all of the sites that we are going to try to see. Each town is marked with their proper letter/symbol according ot the map.

Washington D.C. (Green)

• Arlington National Cemetery: While technically not a part of the D.C. area, Arlington National Cemetery is one still of the most famous cemeteries in the world, and is renowned for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy, and the seas of white tombstones of many past veterans.

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  The Lincoln Memorial: One of the major symbols of Washington D.C., the Lincoln Memorial enshrines the memory of President Abraham Lincoln, and of the ideals that he stood for.

• Korean, Vietnam, and WWII Memorials: An assortment of Memorials located around the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial, these three icons memorialize most of the great wars of the 20th Century, including World War II, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
• FDR, MLK, and Jefferson Memorials: All situated around “The Basin”, each of these memorials are dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr, and Thomas Jefferson.
• Washington Monument: One of the tallest structures in the National Capital, dedicated to our first president, George Washington.
• The White House: The official residence of the President of the United States, only open to reserved tours (our application for a tour is currently being reviewed, cross your fingers!)
• The Smithsonian Institute: The Smithsonian Institute is perhaps the most extensive museum chain in the entire world, and houses museums all over Washington. We will in particular focus on the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, and The Smithsonian Castle, all located along the National Mall.
• National Archives: The record archive of the country, The National Archives houses many important documents, including the actual “Declaration of Independence”, and the “U.S. Constitution.”
• U.S. Capitol Building: The heart of the nation and it’s law-making process, the home of the U.S. Congress is available to the public, as well as private tours (we reserved ourselves a special tour!)
• Ford’s Theatre: This hallowed theatre was the site of Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination in 1965, and houses a museum dedicated to that fateful day.
• Woodrow Wilson House: Located in the prestigious neighborhood of Kalorama, the Woodrow Wilson House is where the 28th President retired after serving two terms, and where he died.
• Washington National Cathedral: The “Westminister Abbey” of the United States, the cathedral is a temple to religion and beautiful artistry, and is known as much for it’s official ceremonies as much for the people entombed there.

 

Mount Vernon (Virginia) (B):  At some point during our time in D.C., we will take a bus into Virginia, and revisit Mount Vernon, the home and final resting place of our most esteemed Founding Father, George Washington.

Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) (C)

• Gettysburg National Military Park: The very plains where the famous “Battle of Gettysburg” was fought; a major turning point for the Union during the Civil War.
• Eisenhower National Historic Site: The farm lived in by General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his family in retirement.

Lancaster (Pennsylvania) (D): Lancaster is known for being the home and final resting place of 15th President James Buchanan, often hailed as one of our worst Commanders in Chief.

Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) (E)

• Independence Hall: The birthplace of our nation, it was at this treasured building that The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were forged.
• The Liberty Bell: The Liberty Bell is yet another treasured icon of American Independence, said to have been rung upon the completion of the Declaration of Independence.
• Betsy Ross House: The home of Betsy Ross, the sewer of the First American Flag.
• Benjamin Franklin Museum: Home to a major collection of Benjamin Franklin artifacts and items that relay the life story of the venerable polymath.
• Christ Church Burial Ground: The final resting place of many historic colonial individuals, including that of Benjamin Franklin and his wife.

There are likely a number of other small sites to see, but ones that will be highlighted later on.

Princeton (New Jersey) (F): A quick stop in our trip, Princeton Cemetery contains the graves of President Grover Cleveland, and infamous politician Aaron Burr.

Caldwell (New Jersey) (G is hiding behind H): The Grover Cleveland Birthplace is where the 22nd and 24th President was born and raised.

West Orange (New Jersey) (H): The Thomas Edison National Historic Site contains the official museum of the notable inventor, and his massive home, “Glenmont.”

New York City (New York) (I)

For NYC, we will keep our destinations to simple, must-see destinations located solely on Manhattan Island, in order to save on time. Many we can knock out all in one period of time, some of which are not shown here.

• National 9/11 Museum and Memorial: This terrific and heart-wrenching museum tells the tragic tale of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the over 2,000 lives lost on that fateful day are memorialized in the former bases of the twin towers.
• Empire State Building: Once the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building still casts an impressive view upon the surrounding area, and is a landmark of The Big Apple.
• Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island: The first location that most people think of about New York, the Statue of Liberty was the welcoming beacon of light for those immigrants who sought to enter the New World for the chance at a better life. These immigrants passed through into Ellis Island, the gateway into settling in America.
• Grand Central Station: One of the busiest train hubs in the country, known for it’s starry painted ceilings.
• Times Square: One of the most booming plazas in the world, Times Square’s display of giant-screen TV’s is known far and wide.
• Rockefeller Center: A brief stop on our trip, but, who could forget the Ice Skating Rink depicted so many times in movies and media?
• Trinity Church: One of the oldest churches in the country, the gravesite of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton is found here.
• Central Park: Cutting a huge swath of green throughout Manhattan Island, Central Park is a much needed respite from the skyscraper jungle of the city, and contains plenty of beautiful areas.
• Wall Street: A very brief area to visit, the Stock Market is located here, as well as Federal Hall, the site of the very first Presidential Inauguration, George Washington’s.

Oyster Bay (New York) (J): Situated on Long Island is Sagamore Hill, the residence of Theodore Roosevelt. His gravesite in nearby Youngs Memorial Cemetery is located in town.

Hyde Park (New York) (K): Hyde Park is the very image of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with it hosting the Home of FDR National Historic Site, which contains his home, Presidential Library, and gravesite. (This particular library is one of the “Main 13”, the 13 Presidential Libraries under the association of the National Archives).

Kinderhook (New York) (L): The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is the best place to learn about our 8th U.S. President, and contains his home of “Lindenwald”, as well as his gravesite.

Menands (New York) (M): This satellite city of Albany is only a brief stop, for in Albany Rural Cemetery, the grave of obscure president Chester A. Arthur rests.

Gansevoort (New York) (N): Located on the grounds of an actual correctional facility, The Grant Cottage tells the incredible true story of how Ulysses S. Grant struggled to write his personal memoirs before he lost his final battle with throat cancer.

Plymouth (Vermont) (O): Home to the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, President Coolidge was born in this sleepy little historic village, which is perfectly preserved as the way it was when he spent his childhood here. Also on site is his boyhood home where he was inaugurated as president, and the cemetery where he is buried.

Concord (New Hampshire) (P): The capital of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce, our 14th President is buried in the Old North Cemetery here.

Hillsboro (New Hampshire) (Q): The Franklin Pierce Homestead State Historic Site is one of the few places where one can learn more about President Franklin Pierce, at his former home in Hillsboro.

Northampton (Massachusetts) (R): The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum is located oddly enough, in the Forbes Public Library in Northampton. While it is yet another quick stop, it houses a large wealth of genuine Coolidge artifacts and records.

Brookline (Massachusetts) (S): This Boston satellite city is home to the John F. Kennedy Birthplace National Historic Site, where JFK also spent a good portion of his childhood. We can knock this out before we reach Boston proper.

Boston (Massachusetts) (End)

• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: The last of the “Main 13” Presidential Libraries that I will have yet to see, the memory of President Kennedy and his ideals are enshrined here at this facility, right on Boston Harbor.
• The Freedom Trail: One of the best ways to uncover the great colonial history that Boston has, this walking trail takes one around to many notable places, including the Bunker Hill Monument, The Paul Revere House, The Granary Burial Ground, the Massachusetts State House, the Boston Massacre Site, and the Boston Tea Party Ships, among others.
• Adams National Historical Park (Quincy, Massachusetts): Though technically located in another satellite city, an easy subway ride down south will take us to the combined Historic Site of father-and-son Presidential duo John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Their home of Peacefield is located here, as well as both of their birthplaces, and their tombs.

 

Phew… it’s quite a lot to do, and quite a lot to type for my poor fingers… nonetheless, it is possible, and our calculations predict that in just over 3 weeks we can handle all of this (a week of which we will spend in Washington D.C.).

When it comes to presidential sites, there are two categories of Presidential locations that I have vowed to see all of. Libraries, and Gravesites.

The libraries that I have vowed to visit are those in the “Main 13”, which span the administrations of Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush. At the Ronald Reagan Library, I got myself a passport to all these 13, and if I visit all of them and get each stamp (the two for this trip are all that is remaining), I am supposed to receive some sort of special recognition or award… I can’t wait to see what it is!

Here are the “Main 13” libraries (green I have visited, red I have not).

-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

 

As for my other (morbid) category, there are 39 Gravesites for each of our Commanders in Chief. Since the relatively recent passing of George H.W. Bush, I have visited his grave at his library in College Station, bringing my total to 24/39 gravesites. And here they are.

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 (Charlottesville, Virginia)

4.James Madison : James Madison Cemetery at Montpelier (Orange, Virginia)

5.James Monroe : 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 (Simi Valley, California)

41. George H.W. Bush : George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum (College Station, Texas)

 

At the conclusion of this trip, I will have seen all but four of these gravesites. Perhaps at some point in the future, we’ll have a Virginia trip to knock out the others.

 

And that’s our trip in a nutshell! Thank you all for bearing with me on this long post. We have barely a month left before we take off! But before I leave you… I want to once again ask that pertinent question…

Why? Why are we going to many of these sites?

For one, traveling is an important way to gain a greater perspective for yourself, and increase your empathy for others and their situations. After all, what’s different in the Northeast is undoubtedly different from that of Texas. It’s nice to have a change of pace.

But for the History side of this… It is important to remember those that came before us because they impart unequalled wisdom. Though many of the Presidents and individuals that have come before us have lost relative significance in the annals of our history books, they still tell stories that are not only important to the overall story of our United States of America, but they are the same conflicts and struggles of human character that help to define ourselves, and the society that we live in.

And finally… one could hardly doubt that in these these modern times, things are growing and changing with every day. In the political discourse of today (or lack thereof), we sometimes forget of the trials and tribulations that brought us to this very moment. Only by finding  at the signs, by discovering the sites, and by pondering their meanings, can we truly find the key to shaping the future. That is our mission, and together, we will step back in time in order to do just that.

 

Welcome to “Summer Trip 2019″. As we get closer to the fateful day that we depart Texas, I will post a couple of articles that show a few of the things that I and my family have been up to during our trip, including key highlights of our Spring Break Georgia Trip, witnessing the funeral train of President George H.W. Bush in College Station, and even meeting Former President Jimmy Carter!

Thanks again everyone, see you soon!