Today was a big day, beginning with our third presidential library. After a disappointing trip (all six agreed!) to the Clinton library, we were ready to have our faith renewed in the library concept, and we were not let down. JFK's library, located on a beautfil spot overlooking his beloved Boston Harbor, was a treat. The library and museum itself was a treat as well, with Michael and Carrie both coming away remarking how much the exhibits gave life to the Kennedys as PEOPLE, not just political figures or rich elitists. From the powerful opening film narrated by Kennedy himself through clever editing of past interviews to the additional foci at the museum on Bobby and Jackie Kennedy and the rest of the clan such as the Shrivers, we came away with a much better appreciation for who they all were as people - there is just no other way to say it. The exhibits also managed to capture and dramatize Kennedy's successes, and some of his failures, as a President too from the Cuban crisis to the Bay of Pigs. You also get a sense of JFK's own personal brilliance. Who would have known that he wrote and published his first book the year he graduated from college - on the reasons why England let Hitler and Germany rise to power (Why England Slept).

Finishing off the museum, we headed for Harvard University to see what all the fuss was about. The surrounding town was surprisingly low key, and reminded us of Chico a lot. Our waiter at lunch even reminded us of Cayle in his looks and demeanor, and the food was fantastic. Who would have though that so far from California and/or the southwest could one expect to get a great meal at a place called On the Border. Hitting the campus itself, it was a surprisingly understated appearance, and again reminded us much of Chico State's older brick buildings. You forget that you are at a 300+ year old university until you round the corner to a cemetery located directly adjacent and see the gravestones from the 1600s.