Great Way to Spend a Day: in Your Museum

There are few pleasures more delicious on a cool, overcast day than slipping into a warm, dry museum and immersing yourself in an exhibit. Just ask former President Ronald Reagan, who spent four hours Tuesday at the presidential library and museum in Simi Valley that bears his name. Reagan greeted children from Pasadena who were visiting the facility on a day off from school. He smiled and waved as thrilled parents snapped photographs of the rare public appearance. “He has wanted to go to the library, and today seemed like a perfect day, since, technically, it’s a holiday,” said Reagan’s chief of staff, Joanne Drake. She said it was the first time her boss had seen the exhibit of items from his Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara County. The 86-year-old former chief executive keeps a full schedule despite the toll of Alzheimer’s disease, Drake said, going to his office almost daily, golfing weekly and occasionally dropping by the presidential library.