It wouldn’t be a family vacation without a visit to at least 1 museum. Yesterday we took a self guided tour {the best kind if you ask me} of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
First of all, have you ever been to Yorba Linda? I had actually never heard of it before, but man, what a nice place. The museum was about a 20 minute drive from Knott’s Berry Farm, and they have an In-N-Out there as well. Yee-Haw!
The property sits on just under 9 acres and it is gorgeous!
The graves of President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon are located on the grounds near the home Richard Nixon was born in.
Here is his home. He father built it from a kit. How cool is that?
The inside of the home was cozy, with a piano, couch, hutches, a few bookshelves, and a dining nook. The docent said 90% of the items in the home were original to the family. Wowza!
This was the room President Nixon was born in. He would have been born in a hospital, but the nearest one was in Whittier, California, and it was the middle of January and there was snow. The thought of making your way to a hospital while in labor, via a horse and buggy, probably was not to appealing to his mother Hannah {I can’t blame her} so President Nixon was born at home instead.
See that grey thing in the center of the picture? That was the family bathtub. Hmm. My guess is people didn’t bathe everyday back then.
Check out this kitchen! That’s it man. A sink, an ice box and a little counter space to chop the garden veggies {not pictured is the kitchen stove which sits across from the kitchen sink}. I mean really, what more do you need? I don’t know about you, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE walking through old houses, especially ones containing period furnishings. Clearly, this was a time before computers, and television sets.
Have YOU been to any museums or landmarks lately?
Over the years which on has been your favorite one to visit?
~Mavis
P.S. I think mine is the Natural History Museum in London.
 |
Girlfriend you were a mere 20-30 minutes from where I live….head east. The Boy’s Winter Formal was held here. I love the Smithsoian’s in Wash D.C especially the Air and Space and Natural History. What more do I need I need my Kitchen Aid, could not live without it and attachments.
Ha! I actually thought about emailing you, but I thought you were in San Diego for some reason. Had I only known, maybe we could have come by for a glass of milk and a garden tour.
Sounds like we were at Knott’s the very same day. Total awesomeness! Peace Out Girl Friend.
I grew up in Whittier, and it has never snowed. The closest we ever came was a snoopy snow cone machine.
Old homes are fascinating – I love seeing how people actually lived in the past. Two favorites of mine: in Springfield, IL, Abraham Lincoln’s house (with quite a few original family items, but the docents aren’t allowed to point them out any more), and in Stone Mountain, GA (right outside Atlanta), an antebellum plantation. If nothing else, it really leaves me appreciating all my modern conveniences!
I was in San Clemente over Christmas. We love it there, and my husband has his heart set on retiring there someday.
Used to live in Placentia and go to grad school in Fullerton, just a skip away. Lived there 15 years and never went to the Nixon museum. But it sure messed up traffic when his funeral was held.
I love Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
Ohhh I want to go there someday.
Check out the Tar Pits while you’re in the area.
Ooo there are so many!!
Winterthur , the DuPont home and gardens in Delaware
John Wayne birthplace in Winterset, Iowa
Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, also Williamsburg, also Virginia
the Unsinkable Molly Brown (from the Titanic) in Denver
House of the Seven Gables in Salem MA
And many many more across the US and Canada. We seem to visit every one of them we come across. We also like lighthouse tours.
These are just a few in Wisconsin…
Ten Chimneys in Genessee Depot, the estate of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, actors
The Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee (German/beer brewer)
Frank LLoyd Wright’s Taliesin in Spring Green
Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien (along the Mississippi River)
The Paine in Oshkosh built for a lumber baron who was so disliked by his employees
that he never moved in as they threatened to burn it down.
Old World Wisconsin and Heritage Hills are both living history villages
Chalet of the Golden Fleece in New Glarus (Swiss heritage)
I think maybe the best was in Milan, Ohio, the birthplace of Thomas Alva Edison. We were just passing through and the car started acting funny so husband dropped us after quick consulting the AAA guide to see what we could do. The first light bulb he ever invented is actually still burning. Lasts forever but produces almost no light. The street lights were giant Edison-designed lightbulbs. There is an Electric Cafe that makes good milkshakes, too.
When you come east, don’t miss the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT. Vermont has lots of cool old houses, anyway – including Robert Todd Lincoln’s family home, Hildene, which has zillions of peonies if you go at the right time of year. Shelburne Museum is further north and includes many period homes and buildings as well as more modern things, too. Oh, and a fully restored working carousel which, if they aren’t busy, they’ll let you ride over and over.
My auntie lives in a Sears kit house…and I always swoon at the thought of buying a house via a catalog!!