JFK, Water Wind Farm, & A “Clam”

John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston is on the campus of UMass. The drive was about an hour and we got there just as it was opening at 10:00 a.m. The first part of the exhibits showed household appliances and furnishings from that time period. Then there was a large section of John Kennedy campaigning in different places. Further on, there was the podium with the stands where he and Richard Nixon debated and also the TV cameras. This live TV debate was a first of its kind. The clip of the debate was playing.

The room with the election results has a map on the wall showing what states went for which person. We learned it was one of the closest elections in US history. Nov 8, 1960, out of nearly 69 million votes, Kennedy won the national popular vote by just 118,574! He won the urban centers and industrial states 303 to 219 electoral votes. 

President Kennedy started the Peace Corps and in a small room there were pictures and letters from workers. The next room was about the Cuban Crisis. It had a theater and the film was very well done. They have captions as a big part of the entire film and I like that! No looking at the very bottom and missing out on the scene. The Cuban Crisis reminded us of when we were on that very Russian sub in San Diego a few years ago. During the Crisis, this sub was really deep to avoid the US depth chargers. The captain was going to launch the missile but someone said to at least surface and see if missiles were flying. It was “that close!” 

When John F Kennedy became president, he had recording equipment set up and he secretly recorded everything. It was neat to hear/see the words of the different people and them talking it out. 

Next was the Oval Office. I saw a lantern on each side of the office and told Kevin those were boat lanterns, since the Kennedys like boating so much. And then I read, and had to sign to Kevin I was wrong. He got such a kick out of that! HAHA Turns out the lanterns were replicas of the lanterns that signaled Paul Revere. They were given to Kennedy by the White House Press Corps. 

A small room had a few pictures of Jaqueline growing up. In her 1947 yearbook she said her “Ambition: Not to be a housewife.” Wow! She got that right! HAHA 

The most impressive thing in this whole place, to me, was walking into a dark hall. Look to the left and there are 5 or 6 small screens, I would say about a foot square. Each were playing the coverage when Walter Cronkite told the world that President Kennedy had been shot 38 minutes before and had died. It is touching to see him choke up and the words catch in his voice and face. Kevin and I think a lot of museum places would have had a blown out huge screen showing the shooting but this was so much more powerful, focused, real, and you felt it.

One evening we went to Ned Point Lighthouse. It is a small fat one, only 35 ft tall. As we pulled into the parking lot we saw Buzzard Bay with quite a few boats and sailboats. Then we saw what looks like a cargo ship. We grabbed the binoculars and saw on the sides several long windmill blades. We also saw 2 tall round stacks standing up. We looked at the lighthouse and then sat on a bench. From that vantage point, we saw the cargo ship hadn’t moved. We sat there and pondered…and I googled.

Found out it is a wind farm right there in the water! We had never heard of that before. So the tall poles we see must be planted in the water. I said this wind farm would be a memory more than the lighthouse. HAHA

Poor Kevin. He is just so “sweet” that he gets bitten by bugs in the worst way. The other day, my friend Hope texted that they were sitting in the screen-tent and enjoying bug-free time outdoors. I asked more about it and then did some research both on Quick-Set Clam and Gazelle. It is a screened-in structure that bugs can’t fly through. I decided that would be a great gift for Kevin’s birthday. Then people in the campsite next to us set up a Clam. One afternoon they were out in it and Kevin went over and asked them about it. He learned he wants one! 🙂 The lady, with 6 rods in her back, sets it up herself. They told him Camping World is where they got theirs. This morning Kevin said, “Let’s go to Camping World” and off we went. Thankfully they had some in stock.

After our purchase we were thirsty so we stopped at a convenience store just down the road. They had no fountain drinks machines. It was a chain we had seen and it looks like they focus on their ready to go meals so I thought that must be it. We drove down the road and came upon a Circle K. Stopped there, Kevin went in, Kevin came out…empty handed. What?! He said the cashier said this area has a law you can’t have fountain drinks. OH, but yeah, the last place and this place have signs for wines, beer, and spirits. It is interesting to see the different laws and rules as we travel the country. 😃

By the time I put the few groceries away, Kevin had the Clam all set up! The neighbor came over and they visited about it. We now spent a lot of time in the Clam! Really enjoy it and nice Kevin doesn’t get bit. 

I took this photo looking out from John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and facing Boston. Thank you for reading.