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.