Visiting the Gerald R Ford Presidential library was on the top of our list when we arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The museum is conveniently located adjacent to downtown and some of the large hotels, so you can easily stay and walk to the museum and other downtown locations.

We arrived shortly after opening and were able to get our tickets and start exploring the museum. The flow of the museum is in chronological order of his life starting with his youth, growing up in Grand Rapids. There is quite a lot of information on his time in the Boy Scouts of America and how important this was in establishing his values and leadership abilities. There is a great section about his involvement in football at both high school and college and then his years serving in the military.

We then start learning about his down-to-earth, approachable style of leadership while growing in politics locally at the state level and then in congress. The information about his time as Vice President and how he became President as a result of Watergate and Nixon resigning was interesting and informative.

It was interesting to learn more about some of the policies that Ford enacted and how he worked to build trust back into the office of the President. I was not familiar with how many tough decisions he had to make that were not necessarily the popular decision, but that provided a stronger foundation for our country's future.

The mock-up of the oval office and cabinet room are always favorites in the Presidential Libraries and these were well done. I found the exhibit about his passing and the funeral very touching. It would have been very interesting to see what Ford could have done if he were not working under the shadow of the Nixon resignation. I left feeling that he was a good leader and a strong President. I am glad we visited the museum.