The 37th President

Who was the 37th President of the United States? 

Richard Milhous Nixon

What comes to mind when his name is mentioned?

Watergate.

Tricky Dick. 

"I am not a crook"...

When Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974, I hadn't started grade school yet. I do remember hearing about "Watergate" on TV and, at the time, thinking that someone must have opened a dam and caused a flood. Even though I was too young to grasp the details correctly, I could definitely comprehend that this person was in BIG TROUBLE...

Yesterday we spent Christmas evening with R's cousin and some of our extended family, and since we didn't want to drive home too late at night, we stayed in a hotel in La Mirada. From there it was only a short drive to Yorba Linda this morning and the...

Because some of the exhibits at the Nixon Library were undergoing renovations, admission was half off. We watched the film first, which was a little dated and barely discussed the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation. It did, however, spend a lot of time covering his long political career and foreign policy achievements.

Afterwards, we walked outside towards Nixon's childhood home, passing through the First Lady's Gardens and by their final resting places.

Patricia Ryan Nixon (left), 1912-1993
Richard Nixon, 1913-1994

Nixon's parents built their home from a kit that was mail-ordered from a catalog. He was born here and spent the first nine years of his life on the family's citrus ranch. The inside of the birthplace home can be viewed on a short docent-led tour.

One of Nixon's aunts had the foresight to save many of the family's belongings, so a lot of the items in the home are original.

Just beyond the house is the helicopter which was used by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. While it was in use, it was known either as Marine One or Army One, depending on which personnel were flying the helicopter.

Last stop - Portillo's in Buena Park!