Once in a Lifetime: Part Two

On December 14, we followed up our Reagan Library experience with a private tour of Rancho del Cielo, the Reagan Ranch also once known as the Western White House. In 1974, the Reagans purchased "Tip Top Ranch" about 30 miles outside of Santa Barbara and renamed the incredible place "Rancho del Cielo" or Ranch in the Heavens. I can now personally attest that the property certainly feels like a place very close to God.

Rancho del Cielo was a place of retreat for the President during his eight years in the White House, and he spent about 350 days there. As any admirer would guess, Ronnie was by no means idle on his ranch, quite the contrary. He spent his time building fence, riding trails, and constructing or upgrading portions of the ranch himself by hand.

In great contrast to the urban and opulent places other presidents have owned, the ranch was actually quite humble and rustic. It did have indoor plumbing, but no central heat. As we understand, Nancy liked it to stay about 80 degrees inside, which was accomplished by keeping the fireplace stoked with wood that Ronnie chopped and kept in sufficient supply. The two enjoyed time together reading and Nancy talked on the phone, but they rarely entertained.

It's easy to understand why the Reagans found such peace at the ranch -- from the moment we arrived the sense of peaceful solitude was pervasive. I also enjoyed seeing Reagan's handiwork throughout the ranch house, including the porch: Ronnie laid all the stonework himself. Twice.

Just outside the ranch house was a small pond filled with big memories. Reagan himself built the full dock and called it one of his greatest achievements. Hanging at the end of the dock was the life preserver that William F. Buckley gave him once upon a time.

Clearly an important photo op for The Barnettica with Reagan's dock and Buckley's life preserver.

We also looked through the stables and storage area, where we found some additional treasures. First, I caught Frank with this riding mower and related picture.

The best part, of course, is a close look at the picture (no offense to Frank). I really loved seeing these two icons of American history in their playful time at the ranch and so clearly in love with each other.

We all found it interesting how well the ranch seemed to suit Nancy, despite what a first-class lady she always has been--she sometimes seemed a little too .... fancy for a ranch. I suppose it mostly suited her because of how well it suited her other half. They were, indeed, a matched set.

Then we found the Brat. [UPDATE] So it turns out this Brat was actually THE original ranch work vehicle. Someone found it for sale, purchased it and had it restored (along with the Ranch name on the door). They confirmed it was the right one with the VIN. That's a much cooler story than I remembered.

In the garage, the Brat sat next to an old jeep work vehicle that we understand gave Reagan's security detail--as well as Nancy--some difficult moments. It had no roll bar and was pretty rugged. Ronnie regularly used it for his ranch work and appeared to love every minute of the manual labor from all the pictures we saw.


One of his long-term projects was to build the fences that are in some of these pictures. He did it all by hand with help from a couple friends. The wood came from old telephone poles and he used post-hole diggers to make all of the necessary holes by hand. I believe he managed to finish over 400 feet of fencing in his spare time!

Also kept in the storage area, this faux movie poster was quite amusing, particularly, yet again, upon closer inspection.

Check out the cast and crew -- definitely a movie I would love to see!

Seeing Maggie in this reminds me of a great story about the Queen's visit to the ranch. There was a major storm and no helicopter could land. Instead, she was driven up the 7-mile difficult mountain road and the water actually came into the vehicle and up over her ankles. Naturally, she managed just fine and enjoyed a visit in the rustic American West with the Reagans.

Up near the stables, there was a bell with a similar one down by the ranch house. Each day that Ronnie and Nancy went for a ride, Ronnie would tack up Nancy's horse and prepare for the ride. When the horse was ready, he would ring the bell to alert her that the horse was ready. Similarly, when Nancy was ready for lunch, she rang her bell to call Ronnie in to eat.

Here is Frank ringing the bell by the stables (sorry it is side-ways, my bad there):

As we were leaving, we learned a little more about the Reagan Ranch visits for the media. If you look out in the distance beyond the gate you can see "bald" area on yonder mountain top. That is where the press was permitted while the Reagans were in residence.

They found it quite boring, except for the times that the Reagans decided to provide a show -- which we understand both Ronnie and Nancy did on occasion. For example, Ronnie once faked a heart attack while in his front yard before jumping up to take a bow. On another occasion, Nancy took an opportunity while out riding her horse to share with the media her "Just Say No" sign for an unexpected photo op. Stories like these really made the day at the ranch a special chance for us to get to know the Reagans in a different way.

One of the last sites that we drove past is this new area with the names of all the President's Club members and supporters of the Young America's Foundation (YAF). YAF owns and maintains the ranch now, and it is not generally open to the public, although it is open to the President's Club members.

Sometime in the next few months, Mickey Barnett's name will appear on one of these metal plates.

When we left, the good people at YAF gave us each a copy of the book "Riding with Reagan." It is a wonderful read, authored by the Secret Service agent, John Barletta, that rode with Reagan on the ranch (and elsewhere) beginning shortly after the 1980 election through to the day he had to tell the President riding was no long a good idea because of his health--a moment that would break your heart, I'm sure. C-SPAN has a video presentation about the book that runs about 45 minutes.<

Our two days in California provided one of those incredible experiences and a host of memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks, Dad.

Once in a Lifetime: Part One

On December 13 and 14, I had the privilege of experiencing one of those incredible once in a lifetime trips. My dad brought Frank and I to southern California to participate in the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service's new Reagan stamp, which will be issued in honor of the Gipper's Centennial birthday on February 6, 2011.

The trip had a bit of an inauspicious start: Frank was so sick the day before that we didn't know if he would make it on the trip. Then Dad missed his first flight and had to come up with an alternative plan. Thankfully, we all managed to meet up by late morning.

The unveiling ceremony took place at the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. The library opened in 1991 and houses incredible exhibits chronicling our 40th President's life and presidency--it's definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

Before we got started, we got to stop in the Green Room and meet the artist as well as the other ceremony participants.

Nancy Reagan attended the ceremony, along with Postal Board Governors Mickey Barnett and Jim Miller, singer Jordan Pruitt, artist Bart Forbes (who created the painting for the stamp), and Reagan Foundation director John Heubusch.

Gov. Miller's comments, as well as all aspects of the ceremony, were wonderful. In particular, I appreciated his acknowledgement that Reagan was special because of his deep abiding faith in God and his belief that he was placed here for a purpose.

I have to admit that, for me, the best parts of the ceremony were watching Dad as he sat next to this amazing First Lady, about 30 feet away from me, and the unveiling itself.

I managed to capture the actual unveiling in a short video:

Nancy's reaction to the stamp was incredibly touching as she so clearly loves her Ronnie to this day. She gently touched his cheek, and stared at the painting for several minutes. It was wonderful to share the moment.

After the ceremony, we were thrilled to join a small private group for lunch with Nancy and the other ceremony participants. Of course, Frank and I were at the "kids" table (with Jim Miller's daughter), but the experience was wonderful. We sat next to a gentleman who has been friends with Nancy for several decades and he had some amazing stories -- the kind of stories that would make you think he is a pathological liar except that he was invited to this lunch! (We did, in fact, believe all of his wonderful stories.)

Here is my place setting and the delicious soup we enjoyed. It was pretty amazing to walk into a room set for less than 40 lunch attendees and have my name at one of the seats.

We, of course, ate on Reagan White House china, so I had to capture that as well.

After the lunch, we had a private tour of the portions of the library that are currently open. Unfortunately, many exhibits are closed for renovation in anticipation of the Centennial Birthday activities beginning February 6, 2011. But we did get to see the Oval Office replica, Air Force One Pavilion, the Discovery Center, the White House Miniature, and An American Christmas exhibit.

This is the fun professional photo from our trip through Air Force One:
In our trip through the Discovery Center, we got to try out the Resolute Desk, and found an amusing coincidence: a recurring character of Special Agent Frank.

The Discovery Center was really a neat exhibit that allows young students to participate in a role-playing exercise that is based on the 1983 military coup in Grenada and resulting U.S.-led invasion code-named Operation Urgent Fury. The U.S. decision to invade was a controversial one, and students participating in this exercise learn about the process of reaching that decision as an executive team. Some students also serve as military advisors who must decide what military strategy to employ, while others get to serve as members of the press deciding how to handle the President's media blackout. It looks like an incredible learning experience!

The "Oval Office" is a 2/3 sized replica of the real one, and it was fun to take a turn in the hot seat for decision-making.

Special Agent Frank was apparently one of the "characters" that students portray and he participates in the Oval Office portion of the scenario.

One of the wonderful exhibits we explored was the White House Miniature, which is a temporary exhibit.

It is a one foot to one inch ratio, and the detail is just unbelievable. Tiny carpets were reproduced "stitch by stitch" and all of the artwork and portraits appear in the miniature exactly as they do in the White House.

Frank jumped in this picture

to provide some perspective on the Oval Office detail.

One interesting fact: the architects of the miniature actually update the Oval Office to reflect the current President so this is a depiction of the office as it currently appears in Barack Obama's White House.

Around the room housing the miniature, the "An American Christmas" exhibit was also captivating.

Note the giant laptop and Reagan magazine covers representing the 1980s.

Of course our current decade is the YouTube, Facebook, and Twin Towers decade.

In closing out day one of this incredible adventure, we spent a somber moment at Reagan's grave, and marveled at the incredible sunset view from his final resting place.