The Ronald W Reagan Presidental Library & Museum

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California. During a vacation, we stopped at the Library since we are both huge fans of President Reagan.

It takes about an hour in average traffic to drive from Los Angeles over to Simi Valley and to the Library & Museum.

I have never been to California or to Simi Valley. This is an absolutely magnificent area. The Library is sitting on about 100 acres of pure heaven. Standing most anywhere at a window or on the pristine grounds, you can see beautiful mountains, green, lush valleys and the Pacific Ocean is a sight to behold. I have not seen the Pacific Ocean before so I was so amazed.

The Library & Museum stays open year round. Ronald Reagan made the dedication speech for the complex in 1991. In that speech he said, "The doors of this library are open now and all are welcome. The judgment of history is left to you, the people." From 10 am till 5 pm, 7 days a week, everyday except Thanksgiving Day. You can see this speech and hear it at the Library.

When you walk through the doors of the Library Building your anticipation of the historical information you can access is exciting. The Reagan Presidential Library has over 10,000 books and publications relating to Ronald Reagan. The tour guide told us there were millions of pages of papers from his years in the White House. Papers from his time as California's governor are there as well. There are over 1 million pictures and thousands of videos and audio recordings.

My favorite part of the Library was the opportunity to see some of the old movies that Ronald Reagan was in. They have all of that in the Library.

The Museum is history right in front of you. There are millions of artifacts ranging from when Reagan was a boy, following him all through his life. It shows his college life and the years he spent in radio. My favorite part of the Museum was the Gallery of Presidents. This area shows you every single President since George Washington. What a fabulous exhibit.