White House Tour and Memorials

We started today with a breakfast of bacon and eggs at a nearby restaurant.  Next was a walk of about four miles to see some of the memorials.  The World War II Memorial and FDR Memorial are recent additions, so we saw them for the first time.  We walked around the Tidal Basin, stopping at the Jefferson Memorial.  From there we saw a helicopter land on the south lawn of the White House.  About 15 minutes later, we saw it leave and fly over us.  We’re sure it was Obama, heading for his health care talk at the Target Center in Minneapolis.   We went back to the hotel to get rid of Barbara’s purse and camera, as these are not allowed on the White House tour.  We had tickets for 12:30, so arrived early and went to the White House Visitor’s Center.  The self-guided tour of the White House lasted about 1/2 hour and was very interesting.  We entered the east wing and saw the Library, the Vermeil Room, the China Room, the East Room (where Lincoln and Kennedy laid in state after their assassinations), the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room and the State Dining Room.  The tour ended in the foyer with the Great Staircase that leads to the private quarters of the president.  The White House is about 55,000 square feet, which makes it one of the smallest chief executive homes.  It feels strange to be in the White House when Obama is going to be in Minneapolis soon speaking just blocks from where we live.   On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for chili at Potbelly’s and then rested our feet for awhile in our room.  Later we took the Metro to the National Portrait Gallery.   Ford’s Theatre was on our way back to the hotel, and we were lucky enough to get passes for the last tour at 4:00.  We also went across the street from the theatre to the place where Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.  We watched some of the Notre Dame/Michigan football game, then went to dinner at the restaurant here.  We walked about 8 1/2 miles today (over 25 miles in the last 3 days) and are pooped.