About five months ago, we asked our Senator to arrange a White House tour. We were either lucky or early because twelve days ago, we got the word we had an 11 am tour today. The Secret Service is strict; they say we can only bring in a small camera and wallet and they don’t have any kind of storage. So we stopped at the Smithsonian when it opened and put our camera bag and purse in a locker.
On the way to the White House, we stopped at Pershing Park. John Pershing led the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI. The park is to be renovated and become home of the new National WWI Memorial.
At the White House we joined a long line of visitors. We went through several checkpoints before we were allowed in the East entrance. We were allowed free access to wander most of the Ground and First floors. This included several reception rooms, the East room and the State Dining room. The walls were decorated with paintings of most of the Presidents and some First Ladies. Unfortunately the President made no surprise appearance. We left through the front door. In Secret Service lingo it is the North Door because no dignitary ever wants to enter through a side door.
From the White House, we caught a quick lunch and then returned to the American History Museum to retrieve our belongings and finish our visit. Overall this museum was interesting but not compelling. Aimee and I both think it is partly our familiarity with most of the material having been to so many US historic sites. I was actually hoping to see more memorabilia. My favorite relic was Archie and Edith Bunkers’ chairs from All In The Family!
We did a very brief visit next door at the Natural History Museum. We saw an excellent wildlife photo exhibit. We ran through the paleontology exhibit expecting to see some of the fossils from our last visit. Surprisingly it was totally different. I guess they redo it on a regular basis.
We then took a very long walk down the National Mall past the Capitol to the Belmont Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. President Obama designated it last year. The site is the oldest house on Capitol Hill and the headquarters for the National Women’s Party. It is now mostly a museum on female suffrage. After a short film, a ranger gave us a personal guided tour. Aimee and I were pleasantly surprised to be confronted with a statue of Joan of Arc. I like it when our travels run into each other. I guess Joan gave suffragettes inspiration. The ranger recounted a brief history of the movement leading to the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.
We took the Metro back to our hotel so I could rest my feet. I have walked far too much on this “vacation”.
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