Today I did something that few people get to experience—I toured the White House. Amy, Jess, Sharkie, Catherine and Deanna were also there. Jess wins the award for Most Excited. Extra special thanks to Amy for inviting me, and Amanda for taking time out of her Saturday to give us the tour.
It was incredible. We toured the West Wing, and the highlights were seeing the Oval Office (my favorite room), the Cabinet Room, the Roosevelt room, and the door to the Situation Room. We also saw the Gardens behind the West Wing and took pictures from the front lawn. Cameras weren’t allowed inside, but I managed to take a few pictures outside:
We had to leave the lawn when the President’s dogs came out to play. Apparently, they don’t get along very well with the tourists. I tried to dawdle and get a peek at them, hoping that maybe I’d see George tossing a ball around with them, but no such luck.
In the front yard, a security guard yelled at me for stepping on the grass. I had one foot on the curb and one foot on the lawn. I had no idea that they took lawncare so seriously. Sorry President Bush, I hope the heel of my boot didn’t leave a hole in your yard.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience—ok, maybe twice in a lifetime. Amanda is giving the tour again for Larry, Mick, Karen, Jacob and I next weekend. It will be fun to watch everyone’s reactions to seeing everything for the first time. Thank you, Amanda, for this amazing opportunity!
Comments 3
Wow, VERY cool! I was supposed to go on a tour before I left Washington, DC, but it never came to fruition. How lucky you were to get to see everything. Any tips for how to schedule a tour when I get back? :o)
Posted 13 Dec 2006 at 4:53 am ¶My only tip is: you have to know someone. Oh, and my other tip is: talk to Amy! She knows everyone. hehehe
Posted 17 Dec 2006 at 3:11 pm ¶Cool B&W photo from outside the White House. I was lucky enough to go on a tour once, in 2001. I was an intern at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and they had arranged for some of us to go on a tour. It was great, we got to walk past all these lines of people waiting for hours, wave our letter and go straight in. Very cool to see inside. Sadly I didn’t have a camera back then, but maybe I’ll get to go on another tour one day…
Posted 19 Jan 2007 at 4:51 am ¶