Kurt's Historic Sites
Coolidge Trip
August 2007
Unfortunately, during the course of the winter former President Gerald
Ford passed away at his California home at the age of 93. I personally had
hoped to pay my respects to the former leader that upcoming Summer, but
when the time came it was decided that we would visit a closer president
instead. President Coolidge's burial site in Vermont was over 600 miles closer
than President Ford's in Michigan. Thus, in August we packed our bags, loaded
the van, and left for northern New England.
Calvin Coolidge's remote gravesite was not the premier stop on our list
though. First, we drove to the state of Maine to visit my great aunt. Typically,
she spends her Summers up in the "Pine Tree State" in a small cottage by a
lake. We spent about two days there, swimming, laughing, and watching all
sorts of animals roam by the structure. Eventually however, we had to part and
head west toward Plymouth. The car ride took several excruciating hours,
during which my sister continuously tormented us. After what seemed an
eternity, we reached our hotel in Vermont. Though my sister was still being a
royal pain, she calmed down somewhat when she discovered that the hotel had
its very own dogs, both St. Bernards.
With all of us still agitated from the previous day's incident, we got up
and drove the short distance from our hotel to the Calvin Coolidge Homestead
District. Located on the district's grounds are the president's birthplace, the
Coolidge family's church, the home where he was inaugurated, and
other museums and shops that could occupy a visitor for hours. Of course,
however, that was not what I had in mind. I was in a bad mood, and only
desired to visit Coolidge's burial place and return home. To my dismay, we
spent the whole afternoon at the historic site wandering the grounds while my
parents enjoyed the scenery. Never being a nature person myself, I only
became more aggravated when my parents decided to sit down on a general
store's porch and gaze out at the view. Childishly, I began to start nagging
about leaving, but they did not give in instantly. Eventually though, they
succumbed to the pressure and finally decided that it was time to move on. Or
at least that's how I interpreted it at the time.
Driving quickly along Vermont's winding roads, we reached President
Coolidge's resting spot several miles away. Parking on the side of the road, we
dragged ourselves out of our minivan to take our photos. We were Silent Cal's
only visitors at the time, so we had no trouble with our mission. Trying to calm
down somewhat, we all took in some fresh air and attempted to relax. After a
little while, we were able to compose ourselves and pose for our pictures. Once
that was out of the way, we piled back into the vehicle and headed home. For
once, we all needed a vacation from vacations.
