You win some, you lose some. And sometimes an experience falls somewhere in between. Our trip to the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison was an hour’s ride away and proved to be a little bit of a disappointment on what there was to see but an interesting and fun time nonetheless.

You buy your tickets to the tour of the house where Ike was born at the visitor’s center, which celebrates President Dwight Eisenhower with memorabilia, news clippings and a seven-minute tape on his connection to Denison and his many accomplishments. His legacy includes a prominent role in winning World War II, ending the Korean War and the establishment of the interstate highway system.

Ike was born in Denison in 1890 and only lived in a rented house for 18 months but the city took great pride in calling him their “son.” In 1955, the town established a foundation to restore the house and it’s that house that is the primary focus of the “tour.” We use the term “tour” lightly since the house was tiny and you’re treated to a 10-minute talk by the tour guide before looking at three rooms on your own. So while the tour was not what we had expected, we did have a few moments that really amused us. First, at the visitor’s building we were told we could get to the birthplace home by either walking one and a half blocks up hill, driving there or taking the golf cart ride up to the house. We were told the golf cart ride was fun and waited a bit for that. Well it was just a very short sprint to the house which we could have easily walked, so that made us laugh. Then during the tour’s talk, we learned a few things that were amusing, including a cute story about doctor with the longest mustache in the town who delivered Ike.

To top off our trip, we felt we deserved a treat. Our choice: a truly delicious ice cream cup of Bonfire from the Hey Sugar Candy Store in downtown Denison. It was a 5-star choice! Although it wasn’t an “E,” it was EXCELLENT.