Today I got to stand on the south lawn of the White House. It was a great few minutes especially because the President and the First Lady were both there while I took my photos as today was the Annual Easter Egg Roll. This is one of the oldest Presidential Traditions - it has been around since the 1880s. The White House website says some 22,000 tickets were distributed for the event. It was a privilege to be on hand while this event was going on. The White house website documents the event on it's website here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/easter/2008/ (click the link for info)
Our Washington at Night tour guide said it takes six months to book a tour in the White House as they have to do background checks, etc. I checked the White House website and sure enough, this is true. Also, you have to make the request through your congressional representative or senator. I still have not found out how an interested canadian might visit. Also, cameras are not permitted in the White House during your tour. But on the upside, the tours are free. This is surprisingly true of most venues here in Washington - they are all free to enter.
Today, we tried to visit The Capitol but they had given out all the tickets by the time our tour bus arrived. Apparently, you have to get in line about 8:00 am to get tickets. It is really busy this time of year as it is Spring Break. Selena said she found it interesting that Washington DC would be such a popular Spring Break destination with it's weather almost exactly mirroring Calgary's these days. I think it is so popular because it is very cost effective. Most of the attractions are free and like I said there is an attraction every 6 feet. So you can see many, many famous tourist attractions in a short period of time for free. It's awesome.
We will try to get into the Capitol tomorrow - wish us luck.
I hope you enjoy the pics of the Whitehouse as much as I enjoyed taking them!
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