We got tickets to tour the White House!! I requested tickets back on January 3rd for this trip and we were notified about 2 weeks prior that we got them! These tickets are super elusive, so I was thrilled!
You wouldn't think that they were so hard to get with the amount of people in line waiting to go in, but there's that many more that try for them every day!
I just want to give a big shout of appreciation to all my boys who hate waiting in lines. There's so many requirements to enter - like no purses, backpacks, cameras, etc (so no battery pack for my phone) - the boys took turns playing games on my phone to pass the time. (Needless to say, my phone was at 8% charge by the end of waiting and taking pictures!)
We stopped in at The White House visitor center across the street to go to the bathroom - because there are NO public bathrooms at the White House. Timestamp on picture above - 10:35AM. Immediately got in line after that.
We waited in THIS line just to go through the first line of security - looking at ticket date/time and confirming no bags. Timestamp - 11:26AM.
Gorgeous view of The Treasury Building and got a real long and close look of the General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument as the line circled around the statue!
Two more security checks, checking ID's (of adults) and confirming Brock and Kade's birthdate, then a final security check by canine - one at a time, each person had to enter a room for the dog to sniff you before you could continue on.
FINALLY entered the East Wing at 12:20PM!!
And it was decorated for Easter! Secret Service said they had just done it the night prior!
Brent snapped this view through a window of the east wing looking towards the main building. Amazing!
Kade found our state's balloon!
Oooh! And what do I spot out the window!!
Photo credit to Kade - he caught me mid-laugh. Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama.
Just like at Mount Vernon, tour attendees stayed in the hallway and poke your head into each room on the first floor. This is the library.
The infamous China Room.
Portrait of First Lady Grace Coolidge with her white collie also hangs in the China room. (I would want a portrait with my pup too!!) With the first of MANY gorgeous chandeliers!
We made our way upstairs to the East Room - the largest room in the White House.
THE portrait of George Washington - that you can only see by coming to the White House!
Continued the tour into the Green Room - and so very glad Brent chose the aisle beside the windows!
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin by David Martin, painted 1767.
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Followed by the Red Room!
Crossing into the State Dining Room with the portrait of Abraham Lincoln mounted over the fireplace. Painted by George Peter Alexander Healy in 1869.
In our pre-trip research, we learned of the neat inscription carved into the mantel in 1945 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The words are taken from a letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail Adams:
I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House and All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.
Eagles for the front legs of the side table!
Portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler, 1970.
The boys under the President's seal!
Another amazing chandelier in the Cross Hall!
As we exited out the front door, we spotted President Barack Obama's portrait painted by Robert McCurdy, 2018.
On our way to lunch, we spotted this picturesque view of the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue. Note the tall building with clock tower on the right - currently the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, originally The Old Post Office and Clock Tower, built in 1899.
Lunch was at Elephant & Castle Pub - best choice as they were quick! After standing in line for so long, these boys surely earned this brownie and ice cream dessert!
Original plans were to tour the National Archives building afterwards, but the boys were exhausted and snapped a photo of the back side on our way to the Metro. We all needed a bit of a break from the crowds and being on our feet.
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