The last two days have been extraordinary. We drove a great distance out of our way to visit the General/President Eisenhower boyhood home, museum and library. He, of course, was the Supreme Allied Commander that organized the Normandy Invasion that brought the European portion of WWII to an end in 1945 - the year Ann and I were born. Then he went on to become the President that we knew best as we were growing up. For me, he was bigger than life and it was an honor to sit on the family porch in exactly the same spot that he did for a family photo so many years ago.
Then we had a visit to a Russell Stover candy factory where the aroma of chocolate was pervasive and almost intoxicating.  On the bear:  I love chocolate.
Today, we visited the Monroe Elementary School that is now the National Park commemorating the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of 1954 that overturned the 1896 "separate but equal" doctrine, bringing an end to that element of segregation. It was an outstanding learning experience.
And if that wasn't good enough, we visited the home of an "abolitionist" activist named John Ritchie. Our guide was a history professor who enlightened us greatly on the "Bleeding Kansas" fight that took place before the Civil War erupted. Ritchie was a "station keeper" on the "underground railroad" that helped slaves escape to freedom. Our visit today was incredible.