Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

Visiting the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

by Janis on February 17, 2015

In honor of President’s Day, I’m writing about a visit last September to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

I visited with our Alaska friend James, who was visiting Kansas City.

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, located on U.S. Highway 24 in Independence, Missouri, was the first presidential library to be created under the provisions of the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act.

Edward F. Neild, the lead architect of the project, died July 6, 1955, while working on the design at the Kansas City Club. Truman had initially wanted the building to resemble his grandfather Solomon Young’s house in Grandview, Missouri.

Built on land donated by the City of Independence, the Truman Library was dedicated July 6, 1957.The museum is both the library and the final resting place of 33rd President of the United States. When President Truman died in 1972, his funeral services were held in the Library auditorium and burial was in the courtyard.

As a very young child, I can vaguely recall visiting while President Truman’s body was lying in state for public viewing before the funeral.

In 1982 his wife Bess Truman was buried at his side.

Upon the death of their daughter, Margaret Truman Daniel, in 2008, her ashes as well as those of her late husband, Clifton Daniel (who died in 2000), were also interred in the Library’s courtyard.

Upon entering the library, the first thing you see is the massive Thomas Hart Benton mural Independence and the Opening of The West. The mural was painted on site by Benton over a three-year span, and was completed in 1961.

Through the entrance in the mural, you see the replica of the Oval Office. This feature of the Truman Library has been copied by the Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush libraries.

This sign, “The Buck Stops Here” was given to President Truman in 1945 and sat on his Oval Office desk. The sign has come to symbolized Truman’s decisiveness and accountability.

During an early crisis during his presidency, Truman said, “I don’t pass the buck, nor do I alibi out of any decision I make.”

One of my favorite parts of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library is his office, which you can view through glass windows.

When Truman left the White House in 1953, he first established an office in Room 1107 of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City at 925 Grand Avenue, where he worked until the library opened in 1957.

After the library opened, President Truman transferred his office to the facility. He worked in this office five or six days a week. The office is said to look just as it did when Harry Truman died on December 26, 1972.

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, and on Sundays from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Admission is

$8 for adults,
$7 for seniors 65 and older
$3 for children ages 6 to 15
Free for children 5 years and under.

There is no charge to enter the museum store.

My favorite book that I’ve read about Harry S. Truman:
Truman

and the book I want to read after the museum visit:

The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

Which Presidential Libraries have you visited?

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If You Live In Atlanta, Don’t Miss This Chance to Get Southwest Airline’s Companion Pass

by Janis on February 15, 2015

Atlanta Travelers, Here’s A Deal For You

Marshall Jackson, an Atlanta-based travel blogger, broke the news that Southwest Airlines is offering an incredible deal to Atlanta-area residents on his blog MJ on Travel. If you live in the Atlanta area, and register for the promotion at southwest.com/atlanta, you only need to make three round-trip flights on Southwest from Atlanta by May 17, 2015 to qualify for a Southwest Companion Pass for the remainder of 2015.

Why Is This A Great Deal For Atlanta Area Residents?

As someone who has earned the companion pass for the last six years without any special “deal” by accruing 110,000 Rapid Reward points in a 12 month period, I can tell you that it is the most valuable frequent flier benefit for U.S. travelers that you can earn. With the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, even when I am flying on a free ticket, my companion (Mr. Jones) flies with me for $5.60, the cost of the security fee. No taxes, no other charges, but $5.60. The Companion Pass allows us to make twice as many domestic trips as we normally would, because it cuts our flight cost in half.

Plus, with Southwest Airlines’ “no change fees” policy, we can book flights very earlier or very last minute, and add a companion as long as there is even one seat available on the flight. Once you have Companion Pass, it is easy to use. After you book your flight, you just hit the “Add a companion” link below your flight confirmation.

If you don’t have one steady companion, no need to worry. You can change your companion up to four times a year.

It’s a great deal. And if you live in Atlanta, you should sign up pronto, and book three inexpensive trips to fly from Atlanta by May 17th to qualify.

Most likely, once you experience the companion pass for three quarters of 2015, you won’t want to give it up.

Southwest says it “Hearts Atlanta!” This is a great opportunity for Atlantans to test that statement.

Do you have the Southwest Companion Pass? Please share why you think it is a great deal in comments below.

Check out these other airline related posts:

A Flight Problem but We Got to Singapore via United First Class
What is Necessary to Travel by Plane with an Emotional Support Dog
A Look Inside Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Chicago
Experiencing Air China’s “˜Forbidden Pavilion’ First Class Flight Service
Mumbai’s New Terminal T2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Experiencing Lufthansa First Class Mumbai to Frankfurt

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18 Fun Facts About Albuquerque, New Mexico

by Janis on February 13, 2015

We are visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico this weekend. While we’ve been to the city several times before, we haven’t really gotten to know the city. In anticipation of our upcoming visit, I did a little research.

Here are 18 Fun Facts About Albuquerque, New Mexico

1. Albuquerque is the only word in the English language that repeats the letter sequence “que” twice.

2. Albuquerque was founded in 1706, when Spain established a military presidio as the Spanish colonial outpost of Ranchos de Albuquerque.

3. Albuquerque was the sheep-herding center of the West.

4. Albuquerque was built following the traditional Spanish village pattern with a central plaza surrounded by government buildings, homes, and a church. This central plaza area dating to 1706 exists today and is known as “Old Town.”

The Old Town District in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photo © by Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

5. The Rio Grande River flows through Albuquerque, north to south, bisecting the city just west of “Old Town.”

6. The Sandia Mountains that run along the eastern edge of Albuquerque are the first mountains west of the Mississippi River. “Sandia” is Spanish for “watermelon;” the mountains often give off a reddish glow of color at sunset.

7. With an elevation of 5,312 feet, Albuquerque is considered by some as the highest elevation metropolitan city in the United States. Others sources say that Albuquerque, along with Denver, is one of the U.S.’s highest elevated major metropolitan areas. Elevation in Albuquerque ranges from 4,900-6,700 ft., while elevation in Denver ranges from 5,130 – 5,690 ft.

8. The 10,378 foot-high Sandia Crest, high point of the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque, offers a panoramic view of more than 11,000 square miles.

9. A 2.7-mile aerial tramway located five miles northeast of Albuquerque whisks visitors to the top of 10,378 foot Sandia Peak in about twenty minutes. It is the longest tram in North America, and has the third longest span in the world.

10. Albuquerque is home to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.

11. Albuquerque is the home town of actress Ethel Mertz, famous for her role in “I Love Lucy.”

12. Since the local soil makes it tough to support high-rise buildings, Albuquerque’s tallest building is only 351 feet high with 22 stories.

13. Albuquerque is the Hot Air Balloon Capital of the world, and hosts an annual international competition.

14. While Microsoft is mainly associated with the Greater Seattle area, Bill Gates and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen started the company in Albuquerque, where it was located between 1975 and 1979.

15. Albuquerque is equidistant from Los Angeles to Kansas City, from Phoenix to Denver, and from Salt Lake City to Dallas.

16. The Albuquerque Isotopes, a minor league baseball team, got their mascot name from an episode of the “Simpsons” where Springfield’s minor league baseball team plans to move to Albuquerque

17. New Mexico was one of the first states to offer tax breaks for movie and film production. The “Breaking Bad” television series was filmed in Albuquerque, and you can take a location tour.

18. The first-ever Bitcoin machine debuted in a cigar shop called Imbibe in Albuquerque.

What fun fact can you add about Albuquerque? Please share in comments below.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Raises Its Daily Service Charge

by Janis on February 12, 2015

Norwegian Cruise Line announced this week that the company is adjusting its daily service charges for cruise guests for all sailings that begin on March 1, 2015 or later.

The cruise line is raising its daily service charge from $12 per day for all guests three years of age and older, to the new rates below that are based on your stateroom category:

$12.95 per guest per day for any category up to a Mini-Suite stateroom.
$14.95 per guest per day for any suite category.

The cruise line announced that guests who have previously booked or plan to book a cruise that sails after March 1, 2015, can choose to pre – pay their service charges at the current rate by February 28, 2015. Guests with existing cruise reservations who have already pre – paid their service charges at the current rate will not be affected.

Norwegian’s daily service charges, which were last adjusted in 2009, make it easy for guests to provide gratuities to key cruise staff including their room steward, restaurant servers and behind – the – scenes support staff. Guests who are sailing in Suite categories also receive the services of a concierge, butler and dedicated wait staff.

We wonder if this announcement from NCL will trigger other cruise lines to follow suit in raising their gratuities?

Perhaps, but maybe not so fast. NCL, with its “Freestyle Cruising” where you tend to move to different dining venues frequently, has been a pioneer in the “auto-tipping” arena. If fact, the line does not even call tipping “gratuities” but rather a “daily service charge,” and makes it extremely difficult for guests to remove the charges from their bill.

Other cruise lines use auto gratuities for guest convenience, but still allow guests to remove them and tip in cash to who they see fit.

We don’t have an issue with auto gratuities, and often see that as the “base” level, with extra cash tips to those who go above and beyond for us.

We wonder, however, in the NCL “service charge” scheme, how much of that money does or does not really go directly to the crew in the customer-facing positions?

What do you think about service charges and NCL’s increase announcement? Please share in comments below.

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