Day twenty five - Thursday

We got on the bus early today and headed into DC for our White House tour. Although the tour wasn't scheduled until 12:30, we wanted to get there early so we knew where we were going. We rode the bus and Metro with another couple who were going to the White House too.

On the way we stopped to check out the Ronald Regan Office Building near the White House. Nothing great to report except this would be a great place to eat. There is a food court downstairs with very reasonable prices and interesting food.

By 11:30 we were at the visitor entrance for the White House. A guard asked if he could help and I said we were an hour early for our scheduled tour. He said "great, you can go in now!" He took our names, checked his list, and in we went. Inside we had to go through the airport security procedure AGAIN!

At this point we learned the tour is a self guided tour. Just walk through and check things out. There is a definite path you follow as you go from room to room and in each room there is a Secret Service Agent standing on the other side of the rope. Carpets are rolled back so you don't walk on them and the Agents are very nice and will answer questions about the room and the White House. I suspect this is a rookie Secret Service assignment.

We entered via the East wing and started our tour through a hallway between the Vermiel room and the Library. We weren't allowed to enter these rooms but could look in through an open, roped off door. From here we went upstairs and entered the East Room. This is a large room used primarily for entertaining. Past Presidents have had sporting events, such as boxing, in this room.

From the East Room we entered another hallway and walked past the Green Room, Blue Room and Red Room. Again, we didn't enter these rooms but we were able to stop and look in. Next stop was the State Dining Room. Here we went into the room. Again, the rug was rolled up and a path through the room was roped off. Next we walked into another hallway, called Cross Halls, where we lingered before exiting out the back of the White House and onto Pennsylvania Avenue.

These tours are only held until 1:00 p.m. As soon and the tours are over the ropes are put away, rugs are rolled back and the rooms are used for their intended purpose. And, they are still used.

We had several impressions of the White House. First is that it's not as big as it looks on TV and in pictures. Like the rotunda at the Capitol, we see these places on TV and they look huge. Not so. Wide angle lenses needed to photograph these places make them look bigger than they are. The other impression is that you wouldn't want to live in a place like this. It would be like living in a museum. One of the S.S. Agents said there was nothing in the White House that could be insured due to the rarity and value. The walls are covered with large portraits of past presidents, First Ladies and a few others. Busts are everywhere and colors are gaudy.

The White House is four stories high and we saw a little more than half of the first two floors. We did not see the Oval Office or living quarters.

After leaving the White House we made a wrong turn and ended up walking, the long way, past the Washington Memorial and to the National Mall. While walking we heard sirens and watched as a procession of black cars and SUVs sped past with a police escort. The procession turned into the White House and disappeared. The problems was, in the area where we wanted to walk, the Capitol Police suddenly closed off a bunch of streets for "security reasons." So, we had to walk around!

When we got to the National Mall, we found the Museum of Natural History. In we went. What a place. Once again we found ourselves in a museum and not enough time to do it justice. We saw actual, recently extinct animals and birds, dinosaur skeletons and, amazingly, the Hope Diamond! In talking to one of the guards, he told me he overheard a conversation between a museum official and another expert who agreed the Hope Diamond, if offered for sale, would probably bring 950 to 975 million dollars. Uncle Dick, you may want to consider buying this for Betty. It's the least you can do after she's put up with you! Maybe you wouldn't get the crow as often.

Metro and bus back to the coach, a game of Scrabble and we settled in to watch Gray's Anatomy.

G'night

Since cameras were not allowed in the White House, we didn't take our camera with us. I obtained the above photographs from the internet. Pictures depict the Red Room, Cross Hall and the Vermiel Room.