• California,  presidents

    Richard Nixon Birthplace in Yorba Linda, Calif.

    On family ranchland in Yorba Linda, Calif., Francis and Hannah Nixon welcomed their second son, Richard Milhous Nixon, on Jan. 9, 1913.  Richard was born in the bedroom of the Craftsman-style bungalow that his father assembled from a kit the previous year.  The lived in the house until 1922 when they moved to nearby Whittier, and Francis sold off portions of the land to the local school district. In 1968, the Yorba Linda School District deeded the house and surrounding property to the non-profit library organization Richard established after winning the presidency.  The house was preserved and incorporated into the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, which opened in 1990. Bedroom…

  • California,  presidents

    Ronald Reagan Burial Place in Simi Valley, Calif.

    After battling Alzheimer’s disease for a decade, Ronald Reagan died from pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer’s at his Bel Air home on June 5, 2004.  Following his death, Reagan laid in repose at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum from June 7 to 9.  Reagan’s body was transported to Washington, D.C., where a state funeral was conducted at Washington National Cathedral.  He was later buried at his presidential library.

  • California,  presidents

    Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif.

    On land previously owned by his family, the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace was dedicated on July 19, 1990.  Nixon’s resignation following the Watergate scandal led to complications about ownership of the president’s papers.  Therefore funding for the construction and operation of the Nixon Library came solely from private donations.  The facility was initially operated by the Richard Nixon Foundation, but on July 11, 2007, it became the twelfth federally-operated presidential library.  The museum was overhauled in 2016; my photos reflect the facility’s appearance in 2013. A decorated U.S. Navy officer, Nixon was recruited by the Committee of 100 to run for a U.S. House seat in California in 1946.…

  • California,  presidents

    Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

    The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was originally planned to be built at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., but plans were scrapped in 1987.  A year later construction began on the free-standing site in Simi Valley, which was not far from the home in Bel Air that Ronald and Nancy Reagan had purchased after his departure from the presidency.  On Nov. 4, 1991, the facility was dedicated with five U.S. presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush) attending the ceremony.  At the time of its completion the building was the largest presidential library in the country at 153,000 square-feet.  It was surpassed in size when the William J. Clinton Presidential Library…

  • ballparks,  California

    My night with the Los Angeles Angels – April 11, 2013

    No matter how much planning goes into attending a baseball game, things often go awry.  That is a great way to describe my first opportunity to watch the Los Angeles Angels at home.  I was initially excited about attending a conference in Los Angeles because I hoped to attend a Dodgers game, but that flew out the window because they were out of town.  So I had to “settle” to seeing an Angels game, which isn’t really settling with my goal of see a baseball game at all thirty Major League Baseball stadiums. I ultimately made peace with attending an Angels game, and looked forward to seeing a new ballpark. …