We almost missed our scheduled visit to the White House. We turned to the wrong Exit and ended up in an unfamiliar place. I am not the best navigator in the world and my competence with reading the map is not that excellent that I told David to take the wrong Exit. By the time we arrived at the parking garage it was nearly full that we had to leave the car at the entrance and left the key to the valet (which is not the best thing to do, but we were in a panicked). We walked to the visitor's center and inquired about the tour. The information officer, after calling the White House about the tour, told us that the last available tour for the day was at 10:30 a.m. It was 10:15 and we ran like mad bulls to the White House entrance. The tour just took us about 20-30 minutes. It was a self-guided tour. A NY congressman was supposed to meet with us and show us around the premises but the healthcare bill was at the height of the congressional inquiry that we were left to walk around "the house" on our own. Cameras are not allowed so we were not able to get any snapshot of the tour. However, the guard was so enthusiastic in telling us about the history of some pictures hanging on the walls, like how many pounds of vegetables were harvested last month when we saw a picture of a house chef carrying a basketful of vegetables with the White House in the background. Some areas of the place were closed and the dining hall was set up for lunch. It was President Obama's birthday!
David engaged in a conversation with a lady who works for the National Security Council about a painting on the wall done by an African-American artist.
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