Visiting the US Presidential Libraries and Museums has been a passion of mine for quite some time and so it was with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that I embarked on the next one in my chronological journey: The Richard M. Nixon complex in Yorba Linda, California. I had 2 choices for air travel. The first was to fly directly to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County which is a distance of about 18 miles and the second was to fly into the Los Angeles Airport located some 40 miles away. While I wanted to book travel into closer Orange County, it was considerably more expensive and so I opted to fly to LAX instead. Luckily at the time, American Airlines was operating a nonstop, late afternoon flight from Raleigh Durham to Los Angeles and I was fortunate to secure a seat in First 3 days before flight time using 5 of the banked, 500-mile upgrade certificates in my AAdvantage account.
American was flying a B737-800 aircraft on that route which features 16 seats in First Class. These seats are laid out in a 2x2 arrangement in 4 rows and measure 21” in width with a seat pitch of 37.” While no US carriers are offering meals in domestic First anymore as a result of the coronavirus, that wasn't the case when I made this trip. I enjoyed a beverage service with warmed mixed nuts followed by dinner and dessert. We touched down on time at LAX around 7:30 in the evening and I took advantage of the free shuttle bus taking me straight to the nearby Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel. I selected this hotel because I had an early-morning flight home and wanted to be as close to the airport as possible. This 18-story Marriott is a 4-star property located on West Century Boulevard with 1,040 rooms and suites. As a Lifetime Platinum Marriott Bonvoy member, I was upgraded at check-in to an executive guest room on the 15th floor which featured soundproof windows, evening turn-down service, an in-room safe and enhanced Wi-fi. Access to the M Club lounge was also granted. This concierge lounge offered complimentary continental breakfast, evening cocktails (for additional fees based upon consumption), hors d’oeuvres and dessert. It’s a fine hotel with easy access to the airport and all major highways leading to and from the city.
Another reason I selected this Marriott was because it had a Hertz office on site and I needed a car to get to Yorba Linda. Imagine my surprise when I showed up at the counter early the next morning to learn my reservation showed the vehicle would be rented from their downtown Los Angeles office. I have no idea how that screwup happened but things went from bad to worse when I found out there were no cars available for rent from that Marriott location. The Hertz agent must have felt sorry for me and kindly let me know I could return the car to the hotel later that evening without incurring any of those nasty drop-off charges. Within minutes, I was in an Uber heading to the downtown Hertz office and eventually on my way. I distinctly remember thanking my stars for GPS as I navigated my way through the unfamiliar streets of downtown LA and the busy freeways en route to Yorba Linda. Even after all those delays, I pulled into the parking lot only about 25 minutes after the museum’s 9:00 AM opening time. Whew!
Few periods of American history are as dramatic as the times of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States. The museum galleries and archives of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum are Federal facilities operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Once the location of the Nixon family’s small citrus farm, the 8.4 acre campus is jointly administered by NARA and the private Richard Nixon Foundation which owns the site. Located in northern Orange County, the museum offers unique multimedia experiences, original films, custom digital exhibits, curated archival film sequences, more than 300 artifacts and over 600 enlarged photographs. The collection includes a bronze figure assortment of world leaders who had important diplomatic relations with Nixon when he was Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower and later as President in his own right. These “leaders” have been accurately recreated in papier-mache frames, dressed in their actual clothing and encased in lightweight bronze. It’s an eerily interesting exhibit.
Elsewhere, visitors may relive the historic handshake between Nixon and Chinese Premiere Zhou Enlai during the famous 1972 Presidential trip to the People’s Republic of China. The images, text and artifacts on display are outstanding. They explore the relationship between our 2 nations, Nixon’s China initiative, the diplomacy culminating in the trip, the events of the Nixons' time in China and the legacy of the “week that changed the world.” Visitors can even “pose” for a photo on the Great Wall of China with the President and First Lady! As exciting as that time was, the museum also contains a Watergate exhibit detailing the President’s darkest days in office. It strives to make sense of the web of personalities, actions and intentions at the heart of the scandal as it chronicles the events beginning in June 1971 with the leak of the Pentagon Papers. The exhibit timeline follows history and leads one towards the formation of the clandestine White House group known as “the plumbers“ and the eventual break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters prior to the1972 re-election campaign. It ends with Nixon's ultimate disgrace and resignation from office on August 8, 1974. It was a sad time in American history.
Once outdoors, I gravitated towards Marine One. Here I learned Lieutenant Colonel Gene Boyer, Nixon’s chief helicopter pilot, secured the President’s VH-3A “Sea King” helicopter, tail number 150617, to be on permanent display on the library grounds. This helicopter was in the presidential fleet from 1961 to 1976 and transported Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. Lieutenant Colonel Boyer flew the helicopter and President Nixon dozens of times to Camp David, over the pyramids of Egypt and on his final flight from the White House South Lawn to Joint Base Andrews. The US Government limousine used by President Nixon, a customized 1969 Lincoln Continental is featured on display. Like other Presidential Museums, this one also contains a replica of his Oval Office, designed in the original 1969 decor of California blue and gold which was hand selected by First Lady Pat Nixon. Visitors are even permitted to take a photo behind the President’s desk! The complex also features an exact replica of the White House East Room, the largest space in the Executive Mansion, which is used here as an event space for weddings and business meetings.
Thus far, this was the most beautiful of all the Presidential complexes I had the good fortune to visit with its spacious lawns, lovely fountains, winding walkways and well-maintained flower gardens. The museum, housed in a 52,000 square-foot building (smaller than the White House), offers a very well documented narrative of Nixon’s life and career in public service. Behind the museum is Nixon’s birthplace which was constructed by his father using a home building kit from the Sears Catalog. It's been restored to appear as it did when Nixon was born in 1913 and contains its original furnishings. President and Mrs. Nixon are buried on the grounds just a few feet from his birthplace.
Following my visit to the gravesite, I headed back to the Marriott to return my rental car and was up bright and early the following morning to catch the nonstop American flight back to Raleigh. My visits to the Presidential Libraries and Museums are always a special treat for me and this one was certainly no exception.
Until next time…stay safe.