2012 Presidential Side Trips

I have shared quite a bit of the fun places that I find in my travels but as I look back at my 2012 travel posts I find that I have been remiss in what I have not shared of my site seeing.

I confess, I am a bit of a presidential history buff…not so much wars and politics (although both are fascinating) I am more pulled in by the men themselves and the lives they lived.  The architecture & furnishings of these landmarks are so interesting and sometimes even inspirational.  So, often if I am in a city where there is a presidential historic site I will try to take some time and take a visit.

It all started a long time ago probably when I was living in near Hyde Park New York (home of FDR) and couple of years ago I decided to couple my interest with my business trips so I would actually see some of where I was travelling.

When I was in Long Beach CA for business in 2010 I knew the Reagan Library was nearby so thought it would be a great idea to stay a couple of extra days and see a bit of the west coast which included the Reagan Library.

President Reagan walking down the halls of the
White House...and me waiting for him to
catch up

President Reagan's Oval Office Desk

I ended up spending the better part of a day meandering and being reminded of some of the major historical events of our generation.  It was a wonderful day and the mountainous landscape surrounding the library made for a very peaceful serene afternoon.

View looking out from President Reagan's Library

In 2012 my sites included:

A March visit to President Lyndon Johnson’s library in Austin:

LBJ's Oval Office reconstructed

A side trip to President Johnson's ranch/Texas Whitehouse in Fredericksburg TX:

LBJ's Texas White House
photo source

An April visit to the Texas Book Depository at Dealey Plaza in Dallas:

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

A July visit to Wheatland the home of President James Buchanan our only bachelor president:

Wheatland - James Buchanan's Study where he wrote his post-Presidential memoirs

And finally a visit to President Abraham Lincoln’s summer White House in Washington DC:

Wow, President Lincoln was a tall man...life sized statue & larger than life
sized me (ha).

I also visited President Andrew Jackson's home The Hermitage in Nashville last year (I shared this visit here):

Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage

In the next few weeks I’ll write a more detailed post for each of these visits because there is so much more to share than I can put in one summary but I did want to share some of my non-shopping travel adventures.

Linking on Savvy Southern Style, A Stroll Through Life