Field trip! Twenty-five members of the Channel City Club boarded a Santa Barbara Airbus and headed to Simi Valley for a day at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.
We split into small groups, each led by an experienced docent who spent the morning guiding us through this amazing facility.
The biggest highlight for me was the three-story Air Force One Pavilion. Walking through Boeing 707 tail number 27000, which served as Air Force One, the “Flying White House,” for President Ronald Reagan and six other presidents from 1973 to 2001 was worth the trip by itself.
Hearing about the process of getting the plane to the site and into the building was amazing. Our group even got to have a sit-down lunch right under the aircraft.
Our docent asked a trick question about how many Air Force One planes there are. The correct answer is that any plane carrying the president automatically becomes Air Force One. Remember this! It might come in handy on Jeopardy!
We spent about five hours going through the 125,000-square-foot library and museum. Some other highlights for me were the Marine One helicopter, “the Beast” limousine, an F-14 Tomcat, a stealth bomber, a full-size replica of the Oval Office, a photo history of Reagan’s lifetime, a big piece of the Berlin Wall, and a huge variety of written and video speeches.
And a special America 250 to celebrate our nation’s semiquincentenntial.
This field trip is just one example of the many benefits of joining the Channel City Club. Celebrating its 80th anniversary, the club provides Santa Barbara with a local venue for leading experts on state, national and international topics through lectures and discussions.
Click here for more information about the Channel City Club.
Upcoming Events
- Sept. 23 — “Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters” with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and legal scholar Edward J. Larson
- Oct. 29 — “Statecraft in a Fragmented World” with former ambassador, diplomat and author Frank Lavin
- Dec. 10 — Christmas brunch at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort with emcee Bill Macfadyen, publisher of Noozhawk, along with the Montecito Union School Chorus
I leave you with a quote that reflected Reagan’s eternal optimism and love for our country: “America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”
It is up to all of us to make this come true.
