During our travels covering auto racing for the paper, primarily NHRA drag racing, my son Jeff and I often have great opportunities to see a lot of interesting sights and museums. Every year, we head to Indianapolis, Indiana to cover the NHRA Indy Nationals. While there, we check out the National Air Museum (National Museum of the United States Air Force) near Dayton, Ohio. We have also been several times to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois, Field Museum of National History in Chicago, Illinois and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. After the NHRA Winter Nationals, this year, we took in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, on our way home.
We found the Ronald Reagan Library-Museum to be very unique in what could be found there and how it was laid out. For those of us around during that time in history, it will bring back plenty of memories, good and not so good. In 1979, 52 Americans were taken hostage in Iran (when the U.S. Embassy that was overthrown) and held for 444 days until Jan. 20, 1981, when Ronald Reagan took the Oath of Office as the 40th President of the United States. One of the very unique things that can be seen, as you enter the museum, is a 3D hologram video shown in the small theater. It consists of full color hologram video, with sound, of President Reagan, dressed in his riding outfit (he loved to go horseback riding with his wife; First Lady, Nancy Reagan, for relaxation) coming into the riding stock room (your seats are set up, putting you in that same room). He proceeds to talk to you, with one of his dogs with him, about a variety of things including how he loved to go horseback riding and such. The video hologram is done so well, that it looks very real, as if he is actually there in the room. There are countless historical exhibits, such as parts of the Berlin Wall along with his audio “tear down that wall”, which pretty much spelled the end of the “Cold War”. The wall actually has a tunnel that you can crawl through. There is plenty of history on display.
One of the areas includes a complete replica of the White House Oval Office. They even had to lower the floor to ensure the ceiling height was. If the items that were actually in the real oval office could not be placed here, they were recreated as accurate replicas in their actual locations. The president’s desk is there as is a special clock and several of his favorite statues and paintings that he had in the oval office, during his time. Several actual personal items of his, from the oval office, are in this replica office.
If some of these exhibits were not enough, the large windowed exhibition hall is a must see. This large meeting hall showcases the Air Force One jet that President Reagan flew in, the Marine One Helicopter, the Presidential limousine, Security Vehicle (often known as “the beast”) and various other related vehicles. You can walk through the Air Force One and the Marine One aircraft. The Boeing 707 based Air Force One on display was one of two built. They were both modified and rebranded as Boeing VC-137C. Their call signs were SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000 and SAM 27000 and took on the official call signs of “Air Force One” whenever the President of the United Sates was onboard. SAM 26000 (displayed at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio) was the aircraft that flew Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. This aircraft was dubbed “the Sprit of 76” by Nixon, who then ordered the second Boeing 707 (VC-137C) SAM 27000, the one on display at the Reagan Library-Museum, taking delivery in 1972. This aircraft was used until George W. Bush, the 41st president, utilized the first Boeing 747-200 style aircraft. The VC-137C SAM 27000 was officially retired in 2001 and brought to the library-museum. Unlike the newer Boeing 747 aircraft, the Boeing C-136C had no underway refueling abilities. The SAM 27000 was disassembled, totally cleaned up and refurbished and then reassembled within the museum hall structure. Then the hall section walls were built around the aircraft. An interesting statistic concerning the SAM 27000 Air Force One: It had 1440 take offs, as Air Force One, but only 1439 landings. Why? Because one of the take offs was to take President Nixon back to California. Once there, he resigned and the plane flew back to Andrews simply as SAM 27000.
Just some interesting things we have seen and learned about. My recommendations are simply to find all the things that you can see and enjoy that may be in the area you are going to for events, vacation or whatever. Try to plan ahead, as there are hundreds of amazing things out there that you can see and enjoy. Some of our future racing trips will include the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Battle Ship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, The USS Constitution Frigate in Boston, the JFK Daly Plaza in Dallas and others.
