Of New Foods and Vacation Destinations

Ah, Summer.  Pack up the kids,  make sure you didn't leave anything on the stove, slam the doors (making sure the kids are still in the car.  All of them.) and whoosh!  Of you all go.

An unlikely destination for most families who are most often fixed on a water or amusement park, would be a US Presidential Library and Museum.  But I must say that we've so far hit seven of them and found them fascinating.

In no particular order just random like a lot of our travel destinations are.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abilene, KS.  Among other things in Abilene of interest is the Greyhound Hall of Fame with a lovely statue of same out front.  This was not there when we were, so speculation is all I can offer.

Ronald Reagan: of note - there is no mention, no hint, not even so much as a framed shared billing poster tucked away in a remote bathroom that includes Jane Wyman, his first wife.  Nancy was a jealous bitch, wasn't she?

Richard Nixon's down in Orange County had a subdued air to me.  His boyhood home is included and it amazed me that such a small house could house five rambunctious brothers.  They must have slept stacked up like cordwood and taken shifts for meals.

Harry Truman - absolutely typical midwestern architecture  and interesting to me having grown up there.  The tour guide was enjoying himself and cheerfully told our group some not-so-well known tidbits about Truman family life.

Bess's mother owned the Independence house and charged him (but not Bess)  a modest rent, but she also made him mow the lawns and paint the house interior.  A former President of the United States had a shrew for a Ma-in-Law.  In a quiet act of rebellion, he put a cactus in a big pot in the dining room near his spot at the table.  I didn't admire it - all snaky, pointed blades - but when I heard the name of this particular cactus, I roared.  Mother-In-Law's Tongue.

Andrew Jackson - His wife was literally buried in the back yard and every single day that he was in residence, he would go visit her and discuss the events of the day.  Also in the backyard was a two-seat outhouse; no doors.  The Jacksons, their guests and the household staff routinely shared it.  Master and servants in the same outhouse at the same time.

Another striking feature of the house were the colors used on the interior walls.  A bright blue, a Kelly green, a sunbeam yellow come to mind.  They were 'way ahead of their times which was mostly wallpaper and "fussy" at that.

LBJ/s wife Lady Bird's natural habitat was of more interest than his museum.  One could tell it was really a labor of love.

The first one we ever toured was Teddy Roosevelt's in Oyster Bay, Long Island.   I admired the broad porches that were dotted with Adirondack-style chairs and rockers, overlooked a sweeping swath of lawn.

These museums can be quite interesting as I hope I've demonstrated here.

FOOD  I have a new fascination with Trader Joe's Mushroom and Company Multipurpose UMAMI Seasoning Blend.  It's on the dining room table to be used as we do salt and pepper.  I really can't put my finger on it to describe what it tastes like - here are the ingredients to speak for me.

Kosher salt, dried onions, ground mustard seed, porcini and button mushroom powders, crushed red pepper, black pepper dried thyme.   Bon chance (good luck)