California Presidential Libraries

Day One

Today we depart Phoenix and head towards beautiful Marina del Rey, California. On our way, we will visit the General Patton Memorial Museum in Chiriaco Summit, CA. The Museum strives to preserve the history of our nation’s greatest leaders. Tour the Chandi West Wing, which discusses the chain of events from Patton’s early years to the Great War and into World War II. Explore the Tank Yard and Matzner Tank Pavilion to see a variety of tanks and military vehicles and sit inside the drivers compartment of an M-60 tank. Marvel at the “Big Map”, a nearly 5-ton, 250,000-piece map that depicts 50,000 square miles of land and is designed to come apart like a giant jigsaw puzzle. After our visit to the Museum, we will continue to Marina del Rey and check in to the Doubletree Marina del Rey hotel. Just steps from the harbor, and adjacent to the Villa Marina Marketplace Mall, there are many restaurants and shops to explore nearby.

Day Two

Enjoy an included breakfast at the hotel before we head to Simi Valley to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. There are 18 galleries that highlight the life and times of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. The museum features a replica of the Oval Office and interactive experiences including the Situation Room and the Inaugural podium. There is an exhibit dedicated to the accomplishments of The First Lady, Nancy Reagan, and an exhibit honoring American heroes. The Museum is also the final resting place of both Ronald and Nancy Reagan. For lunch today we will be dining under Airforce One, the plane that flew President Reagan and six other U.S. presidents from 1973 – 2001. The Air Force One Pavilion allows guests to walk through the “Flying White House” and includes many other historic Presidential transportation exhibits. After our visit to the Reagan Library and Museum we will return to Marina del Rey where you can enjoy an evening on your own.

Day Three

After an included breakfast at the hotel, we will visit The Richard Nixon Library and Museum, in Yorba Linda, California. Learn about Richard Nixon’s life and presidency at one of the most modern presidential museums in the country. The Museum includes Nixon’s original birthplace and boyhood home, and the presidential Marine One Helicopter that flew Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. Experience the elegance of the largest room in the Executive Mansion in an exact replica of the White House East Room and take a photo behind the president’s desk in Nixon’s Oval Office. While at the Museum, travel back thousands of years at a special exhibit, The Ancient World, Unlocking the Middle East. This exhibit explores how history impacts the present day. Visit a street market in Jerusalem and enter the tomb inside an Egyptian pyramid. After our visit to the Nixon Library and Museum, we will depart back to Phoenix, hopefully with a renewed sense of patriotism and historical appreciation.

FB=Full Breakfast, L=Lunch