LBJ Presidential Library

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The last part of this road trip has become a sort of "homage" to our 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson. First, the LBJ Ranch. Then, the LBJ Boyhood Home. And now, the LBJ Presidential Library. 

The LBJ Presidential Library is located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin and was very easy to get to and had free parking to boot. There are three floors of LBJ Presidential Library (floors 3, 4, and 10) that are open to visitors. These floors allow visitors to experience the life and times of LBJ, one of the nation's most fascinating presidents, and the era of his administration. The 10th floor includes a replica of the Oval Office from LBJ's White House (which reminded me of the time that Conor and I but not Clare visited the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock during the Grand Canyon road trip) as well as a replica of Lady Bird Johnson's White House office. I arrived about 9 am, when it opened, and left about 11:30 am. It was well worth the more than two hours I spent inside! 

After my visits to the LBJ Ranch, and the Boyhood Home, and now the Presidential Library, I have come away with an incredible respect for LBJ, his wielding of power, and his legislative accomplishments, which were were legendary - his Great Society changed America for the better and we are still living with his legacies in civil rights, voting rights, Medicare and Medicaid, the environment, and, most importantly I think to LBJ, education. Recall that he signed his education legislation at the one room school house with his former teacher at his side. 

I am now, more than ever, truly committed to tackling the Robert Caro's magisterial biographies of LBJ, and the biography by Doris Kearns Goodwin as well.



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