White House

On Sunday I had set up a tour with one of my friends from college who works as a speech writer for the president. We showed up at the White House, went through security and proceeded to the West Wing. Our first stop was the press room where most all the press conferences take place. We took our picture by the NPR chair and then proceeded to see the offices of the West Wing. We got out to the Rose Garden, saw the Oval Office, the Cabinet meeting room and my friends office in the building. Every hallway was graced by pictures of our president and his travels. The photos change periodically and give a view of the travels and the visits that come with being the leader of our nation. It was interesting to see the pictures and the message that they sent. There was also lots of art in the wing, and John commented on how much had Native American subjects and a Western theme. There was even a few CM Russell, a famous western artist from central Montana, in the oval office and nearby rooms.
The best question came from Marie who asked my friend, Nik, how often the president sticks to the script and how often he improvises. Nik said that the President does what he wishes, and many times will not follow the script much, even though he is very involved in the speech writing most of the time.
We then got to tour the Eisenhower building next door. The building houses many more White House staffers. The architecture was great and we saw the office which was Nixon's private office during his presidency.
The tour was great and I feel that I know a little better the workings of the West wing.
We then drove down to the Nationals stadium. I love baseball and just wanted to walk around it. As we were walking around, two of the teachers I work with in McMinnville yelled my name and said they were taking a tour of the stadium. We must have been 3 of maybe 100 people at the stadium at that point in time. Very random meeting. They had been in town for the 4th and were at the mall for the fireworks. Small world.

We then headed to a market and bought some food to bbq! On the way home, John, Daimon, Marie and I got out to see the zoo as Kirsten went home to start food. We saw the apes, invertebrates, and were headed to the pandas and birds when a tremendous rainstorm happened. We were all soaked and after trying to hide under a tree for a short respite we decided to keep exploring. The rain continued and we watched hippos swimming, birds drinking, and lots of erosion around a construction zone.

We got picked up, made the car wet and stink, and then ate great food. We all enjoyed an evening in, and Marie and I packed for NY.