How many of YOU can say you’ve been reprimanded by the Secret Service?

Tuesday July 19.  Well, we’ll get to that story a little later.  First we’ll start with our drive into DC from Fairfax, Virginia, where we were staying.

CONST AV UNDER CONST.  That’s what the sign said anyway.  What the heck?  Really, it meant “Constitution Avenue under Construction” but the fact the abbreviation for both “constitution” and “construction” was the same was pretty funny.

Let me tell you something.  Parking a car in DC is RIDICULOUS!  A lot of the garages are “valet” garages, obviously where an attendant will park your car for you.  BUT (and here’s the kicker) there’s nothing telling you that.  There’s also nothing telling you if the garage is full or not.  We pulled into one garage only to have an attendant run after us saying the garage was full and we then did a repeat at another garage!  We would have loved to have found a street spot but the majority of the signs say “2-hour parking” or “Yada yada permit only.”  I’m telling you that the majority of the cars parked are parked illegally.  We did finally find a public parking garage (designated with a big blue P with a circle around it) and pulled in, safe and sound.  Wow.

We were scheduled to do the White House tour this day at 1:30pm.  Since we were in DC well in advance, we walked around a bit and got our bearings.  At one point, the kids and I walked around the back of the White House, where a large group of people had gathered, and were immediately told to move to one side or the other, that this area was now closed.  Okay, the guards weren’t talking just to us, but still!  What timing!

We must have gone to lunch at this point, after we met back up with Dan who was off getting a bottle of water or something.  Did I mention that it was about a million degrees in Washington DC?  We left the heat to gain the heat AND humidity.  Yuck.

View from Pennsylvania Avenue

View from outside after leaving tour

It was time to tour the White House!  We were so excited!  After passing through security successfully (yes, you have to do this about everywhere) we were in!  NO PHOTOGRAPHS ALLOWED INSIDE.  I really don’t like those words, can you imagine?  Anyway, it was cool to see some of the rooms we’ve only seen on TV and in the movies.  When we first entered, we saw lots of photographs of so many different Presidents with their families or with other world leaders and the like.  It was a personal look at the men who have led our country.  We were able to look into rooms like the library and the china room.  Heading up a level, we walked through the dining room (gorgeous!!) and the red room and the blue room and any other color you can imagine.  HA.

I was lagging a bit behind my family at this point and the next thing I knew, Kylie was telling me that Dan had gotten yelled at by the Secret Service for sitting on a chair.  I looked at him and said, “You did NOT sit on a chair?”  He said, “Yes, I did, and I was promptly asked to get up.”  And why did he sit on the chair?  It was not included in the roped-off section, of course.  I told him he missed some common sense lesson somewhere during his life and luckily our day did not go downhill from there!  Apparently, when Dan sat down, the SS guy said, “Sir.” and gestured with his hands for him to stand up.  Only Dan.  OMG.  Well, at least he has a story to tell.

After touring the White House, we walked around the Washington Monument.  Did I mention it was a zillion degrees outside?  Did I mention that the reflecting pools were BEING RENOVATED???!!!  I was so MAD!  Last time I was in DC the darn Capitol building was covered in scaffolding – I guess I can count my blessings at least that building was looking gorgeous.  At any rate, the reflection pools were not reflecting, as they were gigantic beds of dirt.  Bah humbug.  The Washington Monument was pretty, though!

Arlington National Cemetery

We hiked back to the super-secret-public-parking-garage and left the DC area, and headed to the Arlington National Cemetery.  As we arrived at the entrance, we waited a while behind a funeral procession, complete with around 20-30 motorcycle police (military police, maybe?) and loads of cars.  It was very moving to see that.  I believe on that day, there were at least four funerals scheduled.

We walked toward the Tomb of the Unknowns and stopped at the grave of JFK and his brothers, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy.

Tomb of the Unknowns Sentinel

A little further up the hill was the Tomb of the Unknowns.  We stayed to watch the “Changing of the Guard” which occurs every 30 minutes in warmer months.  “The Tomb of the Unknowns (also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by Tomb Guard sentinels. Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), headquartered at Fort Myer, Va.” (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/ceremonies/sentinelsotu.html).  While we were at the Tomb of the Unknowns, we heard two different 21-gun salutes, from two of the funerals elsewhere in the cemetery.

The Butterfields and the Morgans!

For dinner, we met up with my cousin Susie Morgan, her husband, Jeff, and their daughter, Becky, at Cheesecake Factory.  It was great to catch up, as we haven’t seen each other for quite a few years!  They were also very helpful in doling out advice, especially on the PARKING topic!  Thanks, Jeff!