02 03 R & R and lack thereof: Le Tour de Texas, part 2 - George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Le Tour de Texas, part 2 - George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

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Day 4

On Day 4 of the Texas tour (still in Dallas), my Belgian friend and I visited the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. I wanted to devote an entire post to the museum, because I took so many photos and it's such a wonderful new addition to Dallas. Isabelle and I visited on Thursday May, 2nd, only the second day it was open to the public. I was worried it would be packed, but thankfully when we arrived (around 11:00 AM) it was very manageable.

The W Museum is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas and presumably W chose to build his library here because he and Mrs. Bush currently reside in Dallas. (Can you blame them? Dallas is an awesome place to live!)



Front of the Presidential Museum and Library
Once you've made your way through security and to the lobby, there are glass display cases showcasing some of the gifts the Bushes received from foreign dignitaries and U.S. military families. These were really interesting, and I thought it was very honorable that W showcased small tokens from U.S. military families alongside golden and jeweled gifts from foreign presidents and leaders.

Gifts given to President Bush from foreign dignitaries
Gifts given to President Bush by foreign dignitaries 

A little bit further into the lobby, were these 360-degree, taller-than-a-average-human multimedia screens high above us. These screens projected various scenes and landscapes of different parts of the U.S, different types of people from all walks of life - a ballet dancer, a construction worker, a fashion model, etc - and then a marching military squadron. The people were just so realistic, they seemed to dance or move right off the screens. The only way to describe this is really cool. It was my favorite part of the entire museum.



 I wish my photographs did these visually fascinating screens justice.

Next, we were finally ready to enter the official part of the museum. At this time, you were given the option to download the Bush Library app to your iPhone and follow along, or the museum could provide you with an iPod. (Isn't technology grand?) Here's just a small selection of photos I took in the museum. (Please pardon the couple of photos that were taken via iPhone before I realized I could use my Nikon sans flash).

Bush and Cheney campaign buttons and signs

W's baseball collection. There's some big names in here!


One of the dresses worn by Laura Bush



A photo book of White House staff done by the White House photographer 



Of course, a large portion of the museum is dedicated to 9/11. As an American, this day brings back a flood of emotions for all of us, as we think about where we were and what we were doing when that first plane hit the World Trade Center. And when the second hit. And, if you're like me, the rest of that day was spent watching the news and crying for our country. I admit, I shed tears in W's museum.

A sculpture made from wreckage of 9/11

This wall, only partially pictured, bore the names of every life lost on 9/11

Moving on to more happier things, I really enjoyed a video in another part of the museum, where the Bush twins talked about W's humor. It had everyone laughing. Who knew W could be such a ham?

One of the last things to see, another popular part of the museum, was a replica of the oval office at the time of W's presidency. You could even have your photo taken at his desk. Of course we had to do this.


And here our tour comes to an end. It was realllllyyy cold that day (freakishly so), so I didn't get any photos of the rose garden outside.

I absolutely recommend the George W. Bush Presidential Museum as a sightseeing destination in Dallas, and not just for W fans. Therein lies history made during George H. W. Bush's 8 years as President- especially September 11th - and exhibits which we can all enjoy, learn from, and pay tribute to Americans who have lost their lives for our country.





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