happyThe Museum and Library are located on the grounds of Texas A&M University. The staff there are very helpful, although this is the first time I've ever had to go through a metal detector and empty my pockets to get into a museum. But it was all good and I had a great time. Behind the cut are some snapshots from my day.
1. My ride, a Jeep Cherokee, with a couple of canned Snapple (which of course we can't get in Canada) for the trip.
2. I stopped for a late breakfast at a Cracker Barrel (one of my significant other's favourite places - I'm travelling solo). I had a breakfast that included biscuits and gravy and some grits (which I'm still not very fond of.)
3-4. I arrived at George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, which is on the grounds of Texas A&M University, in College Station. For some reason the flags were at half mast, probably because of the Sikh temple shootings I'm guessing.
5-6. In the yard they have this neat sculpture of some horses jumping over an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall. It was pretty cool.
7-9. Inside on the main floor they have this display of some art (paintings, sculptures, and photography) from Texas high school students. They were very talented.
10-12. There were a lot of paintings of President Bush, including these:
13. The Presidential limousine was on display, and it looked very comfy inside.
14-16. The exhibit proceeded chronologically through President Bush's life. These are some of the exhibits highlighting his life as an 18 year old fighter pilot, captain of the Yale baseball team that went to the first College World Series, and later on as Director of the CIA. The last one had a neat exhibit in which you put you hand on a reader and it showed how a satellite locked in on your position. I tried it out and it found me.
17-19. These are a few of the exhibits from Bush's Vice-Presidency and his Presidency, including an exhibit about what a White House dinner is like and (some of you will laugh) a tribute to Dan Quayle.
20-21. They had a model of Bush's oval office. I got to sit at the desk (and of course had my picture taken at it, which they do for a fee. Sorry, but I didn't get a digital version of it.) You're not supposed to take pictures in the office, but the nice lady let me snap a couple. Inside one of the drawers of the desk is Bush's first baseman's glove that he used in the College World Series. While in the White House he kept it in that drawer and oiled it regularly. I got to see (but not touch) that same glove! I really wanted to put it on.
22. This is a model of Bush's office at Camp David.
23. There was more of the Berlin Wall inside the museum.
24-25. This was pretty cool, they had a model of the White House Situation Room. I sat in the President's chair there too.
26. They had a room on the Iraq War that was pretty interesting. I liked this quote.
27. The display ended with a section on his defeat in 1992 to Bill Clinton and a section on his very active retirement including skydiving on his 80th birthday.
I hope you enjoyed these. If you ever find yourself in the Houston area, I highly recommend that you visit the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station.