Judging from the transcript I obtained later, this was too bad. The house was built in 1912 almost entirely by Nixon's father, Frank, in the center of the family's citrus groves. To the left is the family's upright Crown piano, along with Nixon's clarinet, saxophone, accordion and violin, all acquired because his mother, Hannah, felt he had a major musical muse. To the left of the entrance just past the piano is the aforementioned parental bedroom. And though Nixon entered the world in that very chamber, our hero and his three brothers actually slept in a shared attic that remains off-limits to tourists.
Knickknacks adorn built-in shelves.
Hannah's sewing room, pantry and kitchen, outfitted with tools of the various domestic arts, the dearest to son Richard's heart being her baking. All too soon, the tour ended, and my group was hustled outside. I decided to wander the spectacular gardens and take time to smell at least a few of the 1,400 rosebushes, including those bred and named for first ladies Pat Nixon, Barbara Bush and, yes, even Hillary Rodham Clinton. Nearby are the black granite gravestones of the 37th president and his long-suffering wife. Nixon's official limousine, used by presidents Johnson through Carter, and the white gazebo under which daughter Tricia married Edward Finch Cox at the White House in 1971.