During the past year….

It likely was close to a year ago that I went to central Kansas for 4H Shooting Sports Coordinator training.  Given I was doing the bachelor thing at the time (Geogal was in school) I had a fair amount of time to myself on the journey.  Once I got close to my destination I realized I was rather early and therefore decided to do something I'd been putting off for years.

Pulled off Interstate 70 at Abilene and headed south to the Eisenhower Center.

I didn't spend a great deal of time there.  In fact I only visited one building.  (The fact that this structure was a free one to get into also played into my decision-making process.)

Just joking.  I was happy this one did not require an admission charge as I had long since wanted to visit the final resting place of Dwight Eisenhower.

Too bad that pic came out a tad blurry.  My blood sugar must have been low.

Then I got to thinking, is this the only presidential grave I've visited?  Hmmm.

As a small child I remember Arlington National Cemetery (mainly I remember my awe at seeing headstones as far as my eye could focus).  So it's highly likely I saw JFK's grave although I don't remember it specifically.

A few years later me, my sisters, my mother, and my grandmother all went to the LBJ Ranch in the Texas Hill Country.  I do remember seeing Johnson's headstone from a distance--the tour bus only stopped in the roadway and the public was not allowed in the family cemetery.

But no doubt Ike's grave is the closest I have been to a president's burial site.  And yes, I took several silent minutes and paid my respects.

Next time I need to take more of the day, pay the admission fee, and spend plenty of time taking in all that the Eisenhower Center has to offer.

Maybe combine it with a trip to the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum??