Washington DC, Final Days 2011

Something we have been looking forward to on this trip was our visit to the White House. Susan Norkowski graciously arranged some of the tours for our group, the White House being one of them. As you might imagine, security is really tight for those who want to tour the White House. We had to send information about ourselves months in advance to be pre-screened. Yesterday morning we arrived plenty early to go through security before our assigned tour time. Once we were inside the White House we were able to see several of the rooms. The history and information we learned today was wonderful. The kitchen garden was not part of the tour, but you can see a picture from the road above. All the portraits, furnishings. history and stories about each room was really interesting to hear and see. The kids were interested in the president's daughters and some of the security guards who acted as the tour guides told them stories about the girls living in the White House. It was a great experience.

After finishing our tour, the families split up for the rest of the day. We visited museums, took trolley rides, and walked around to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms, now at their peak. Almost all of us met up at a restaurant near Dupont Circle for dinner together late in the evening. Sadly, Autumn was not feeling well, so she and Susan stayed back at the hotel. During dinner the adults had a great conversation reflecting on our shared experiences as well as talking about the sites we had seen on our own. The kids hopefully were not to disruptive to the other dinner guests as they enjoyed time together.

We are not focusing yet on the fact that we leave tomorrow. Each family has plans for more sites and fun. Many of us did decide to enjoy a slower morning after a full week of early wake up calls! Today is sure to be another fun filled day!