White House Tour
I wrote about several different experiences on my blog. Living in the nations capital, there are several experiences to be had for sure. One such adventure is a tour of the White House. If you plan on visiting Wahington DC and you want to tour the White House, you need to lan well in advance. Even us locals have to plan ahead.
June 2016
This wonderful Saturday, my loving wife has secured us a tour of the White House. We have been looking forward to this event. We secured a spot on the White House Guest List.
That morning, Sunshine (AKA my smoking-hot wife), prepared us a big breakfast. We wanted to ensure we were well-fed for the day ahead. We had to leave the house by 9:00 AM so we could get parking. Our house guests, Sister of Sunshine and Mom of Sunshine are going to tour one of the museums. We were not able to secure passes for them on short notice.
The drive to Washington did not take very long, 45 minutes and we were there. It did take an additional 20 minutes to find parking. We were unable to find parking in a great location for Sister and Mom, but we were close to the White House. Our tour begins at 11:30 AM, however, it is barely 10:00 AM when we arrive. We show Sister and Mom where to meet us and give them direction to the National Smithsonian of American History.
Melinda and I depart the company of family and head over to the line to wait for our tour. We are still substantially early. No problem, there is a shady spot for us to wait. Anticipation is building between both of us and we are getting excited. The tour operator informs us we have about another hour, but we can go to the White House Visitors Center around the corner. There are clean restrooms and other artifacts to see.
After a brief amount of time in the visitor center, we go back to the line. They are allowing our time group to enter the White House at this time and we show our invitations. Our identification is checked twice and we go through a series of security checks.
We assist the family in front of us for a group photo, and in return, they snap a quick shot for us. Here we are getting ready to have our Identification checked for the 2nd time and go through some of the security checkpoints on our way to the White House tour. There was some shade and the heat of the day was not upon us at this time. However, during the process of getting into the White House, the sun was coming up and there were spots in the line that were a little toasty. The tour was self-guided and we were handed a brochure that explained the different parlors and a brief history of the White House. The Presidential residence is not a part of the tour, and recently the President allowed photographs. There were curators and officers stationed throughout the place to give history and answer questions. We found this to be helpfull throughout the tour.
We took pictures at the Library, the Blue Room, Green Room, China Room, East Room, State Dining Room, Family Dining Room and at the front welcome room. Here you see Sunshine and me at the end of the tour by the entrance into the Parlor. The rooms are used for several different occasions.
According to the staff, the furniture we saw in the center of the rooms is normally there, however, can be changed in a matter of hours depending on the occasion.
As we were leaving the White House, we proceeded to the North Lawn. There we had a great view of the City, the crowds stopping to have their photo taken through the fence and hoping to catch a glance of the President. We could not tell, but I am sure they were disappointed in only getting to see Sunshine and me. Despite the warm day, the White House was full of visitors, and a very pleasant walk through and around. Now that we had finished our tour, it was off to meet up with Sister and Mom once again.
We had decided to have the family meet us at the Old Ebbitt Grill. One of our favorite places to dine in DC. We always try to take our friends there at least once when they come to visit. The food is always good and reasonable for Washington DC.
I was the only one to order a brunch item. The French Toast Club. (It was wrapped in bacon with pecan butter and maple syrup). Mom orders the Fish and Chips, Sister with the Patty Melt, and Sunshine with the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.
We eat our meals and plan the rest of the day. We have decided to visit the Natural History Smithsonian after lunch, which is an 18-minute walk from the Grill. My order being the smallest was a good thing. I assisted Sunshine with her sandwich and Mom with her fish. Sister was able to conquer the entire Patty Melt on her own.
After lunch, we embarked on our journey to the Smithsonian. I utilized Google Maps for the best walking directions. The app indicated it would take 18 minutes. We made it in 22. To my surprise, there was a line waiting to get into the museum. This is good, that people want to visit. Not so good to wait in the sun. However, the line moved quickly and after another security check, we were all inside the cool space. We stop for a quick selfie and we tour the rest of the museum.
