George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum
- Kimi's Travel Thoughts
- 13 minutes ago
- 5 min read
One of the things I have previously mentioned in past blog posts is that I have a personal goal of visiting every presidential library in the country. When I visited the LBJ Library in Austin, TX a few years ago, I bought a presidential library passport so I could collect a stamp at each library I visit. That was my first presidential library and I followed that up with the George W. Bush Library in Dallas. Texas is home to three presidential libraries and all that remained form was the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. So, I decided to make my way to Texas A&M University where the library is located to check this presidential library off my list!
Getting to College Station
I live in Austin and College Station is about 80-100 miles away, so I simply drove the two hours to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In my opinion, it's quite the easy drive. Driving to the Texas A&M campus was largely nothing more than rural landscape until you happen upon the university. I had a good playlist on the way there to keep me entertained and listened to the Astros game against the Mariners on the radio as I drove home. I highly recommend having something that helps you make the drive feel a bit more engaging if driving solo because it can get boring at times.
Visiting the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
This section will recap my experience viewing the exhibits, eating at the café, and walking around the garden and gravesite at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Music America Exhibit
This is a brand new temporary exhibit that just opened in mid-May 2025. This exhibit quickly walks visitors through the history of music from the time colonizers arrived to what is now known as the United States to the present and even offers a glimpse into what the music forecast for the future could be. The exhibit hall is filled with instruments, music books, handwritten song lyrics, albums, audio devices, clothing worn by famous music artists, and other relevant items. As a music fan, I was intrigued from the moment I entered the room! I'm fascinated by the way music has and continues to evolve and what that means culturally. If you've watched the movie Sinners (2025), there's that one scene in the juke joint (you know the one) and that feeling you get while watching the scene is very similar to the feeling I had as I made my way through the Music America exhibit at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
Shout out to the musicology professor that taught a hip-hop/rap history class I took when I was in college because his class helped me realize that music history and music's cultural impact is the kind of thing that I am happy to do a deep dive into!
Life & Legacy of George H.W. Bush Exhibits
There is a 20-minute orientation video that runs every 30 minutes which provides a summary of all the information presented in the permanent exhibits. The permanent exhibits follow the entirety of Bush's life in chronological order. The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum carefully documents seemingly all the details possible from his childhood, to falling in love with Barbara, to his military service, his presidency (of course), and returning to life as a private citizen.
I appreciated that the museum has some interactive components such as fun facts sprinkled throughout the walls and in small dog houses with tiny artifacts. The CIA wall was particularly engaging with the drawers that you could open and close to look at and related items and "scan" your hand for "access" to encrypted information. There is a mock Oval Office where you can sit behind the desk and take pictures. However, the part of the museum that I enjoyed the most was the First Lady exhibit. Barbara Bush's exhibit included a children's library in a living room setting with child-height bookshelves filled with books (courtesy of Half Price Books) lining the walls beneath the windows along with a miniature White House for kids to crawl into and interact with a screen inside. I immediately imagined how much fun that space would have been for me as kid who loved to read. This exhibit is roughly 2/3 of the way through the museum and is a perfect break for any kiddos you might be visiting the museum with.
4141 Pavilion
This permanent exhibit opened in June 2024 specifically to house the 4141 Locomotive and Marine One helicopter. This was the same helicopter that was used during the Bush 41 administration. The locomotive is the same engine that was used for the train that brought the former president to his finally resting place after his death in November 2018. I never realized just how massive either of these artifacts were until I was in the same room with them! The pictures I took likely don't reflect just how much space these two vessels take up in the pavilion.
Daisy's Café
Daisy's Café is the onsite restaurant at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. It's in the same pavilion as the locomotive exhibit and serves hot meals along with grab-and-go food options. I opted for a roast beef sandwich from the grab-and-go section along with a single-serve can of Pringles. The sandwich was pretty good and I appreciated that rather than the typical lunch meat they used roast beef cooked and sliced in the restaurant. It was an ideal late lunch as I prepared to conclude my day in College Station.
Barbara Bush Rose Garden & Bush Family Gravesite
By the time I was walking up to the rose garden and Bush Family Gravesite, it was 99 degrees Fahrenheit outside with the sun beaming down as the peak heat of the day approached. Fortunately, the outdoor portion of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library was thoughtfully designed to make an easy loop to follow along on nicely paved pathways. I made the loop around the garden (and Presidential Pond) and then the loop to view the gravesite before making my way back to my car after about 4 hours at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
The Texas Bucket List Gift Shop & Studio
A show that my mom and I both enjoy watching is The Texas Bucket List. The show's studio and gift shop are located in College Station, so I decided to stop for a little bit of shopping before returning to Austin. I got a branded mug and a new keychain to add to my collection. In case you didn't know, I have a keychain collection and I feature the different ones in my collection as content that is exclusive to Instagram for Kimi's Travel Thoughts. Be sure to follow to see my newest keychain along with the rest of my collection!
Wrap-Up
Some years ago, I wrote about Pokémon Go and how it impacts travel due to regional pokémon and people's desire to "catch 'em all". I can confidently say this same concept exists for presidential libraries! When I was at the LBJ Library, I purchased a presidential library passport so I could collect stamps from visits to other libraries across the country. With this visit, I now have 3 of the 15 stamps needed to fill the passport! As I continue my quest to get all of the stamps added to my passport, I'm most looking forward to the opportunity to visit destinations that I may not have otherwise considered traveling to. Now that all of the presidential libraries in Texas have been covered, which one in a different state should I check out next?
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