best tips for D.C. Visitors
Jan 18th, 2009, 07:04 PM
#141
>>Do not expect to see the president. I have lived here since 1971. The last president I saw was Richard Nixon, but, then, I don't actually run around looking for them.<<
Any chance you could be a little less condescending? That's like telling visitors in London that they probably shouldn't count on seeing the Queen. Gee, no kidding.
Some people travel to DC in order to see the Cherry Blossoms or experience Independence Day. And most of them can deal with the crowds and the weather and whatever else goes along with a packed city on a busy occasion.
Any chance you could be a little less condescending? That's like telling visitors in London that they probably shouldn't count on seeing the Queen. Gee, no kidding.
Some people travel to DC in order to see the Cherry Blossoms or experience Independence Day. And most of them can deal with the crowds and the weather and whatever else goes along with a packed city on a busy occasion.
Jan 18th, 2009, 09:38 PM
#142
When I went to London I was expecting to see the Queen and I did. And I saw the Queen Mum. And Prince Andrew. All of them together a couple of times. It was in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot, they appeared all four days IIRC!
Jan 22nd, 2009, 05:44 PM
#143
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It is actually easier to see the royals in England than it is the President in DC. The best presidential sitings are accidental. If it is planned, that means tons of others plan to see the celebrity as well and you end up in a crowd seeing nothing.
I have seen Queen Elizabeth II twice in England as well as some of the other royals. That is easy. The president is not.
I have seen Queen Elizabeth II twice in England as well as some of the other royals. That is easy. The president is not.
Mar 4th, 2009, 03:44 PM
#146
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And I did finally see Obama a couple of weeks ago. It was just a drive by. I was standing on Pennsylvania Ave., NW, by the East Building of the National Gallery preparing to cross the street. I noticed the traffic was stopped and you couldn't cross. I asked the police officer if Obama was going to go by. He was evasive--which told me that the Prez was "loose" (The police say "He's loose" whenever the Prez leaves the White House in a car).
The motorcade went by. A word to all of you: The president is always in the SECOND limo in the motorcade. The first car is a decoy. The person standing next to me looked in the first car and missed it. Obama was in the second car plain as day.
No, he didn't wave to me. To tell the truth, my son got more excited than I did when I told him about it. I was just trying to get to my car and drive home.
As I mentioned before, the best of these presidential or celebrity sightings is always accidental--and they are very rare. When I am at the White House as a tour guide, tourists will ask me if the president is in. I always answer that I have no idea because the President does not consult me about his schedule. That always brings a laugh--which is why I say it. The flag over the White House flies all the time, so if there is a flag that does not mean that the President is in (or not in).
Good luck trying for a sighting!
The motorcade went by. A word to all of you: The president is always in the SECOND limo in the motorcade. The first car is a decoy. The person standing next to me looked in the first car and missed it. Obama was in the second car plain as day.
No, he didn't wave to me. To tell the truth, my son got more excited than I did when I told him about it. I was just trying to get to my car and drive home.
As I mentioned before, the best of these presidential or celebrity sightings is always accidental--and they are very rare. When I am at the White House as a tour guide, tourists will ask me if the president is in. I always answer that I have no idea because the President does not consult me about his schedule. That always brings a laugh--which is why I say it. The flag over the White House flies all the time, so if there is a flag that does not mean that the President is in (or not in).
Good luck trying for a sighting!
Mar 7th, 2009, 04:21 PM
#147
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Lauren do you know how far in advance the white house is notifying congress members about the tour list? We requested a tour two months ago for the week after next, March 16-22nd and our representative said she still hasn't heard from the white house about that week. Does anyone know how far in advance they are letting people know, because it obviously isn't 2-3 weeks ahead like we were originally told.
Mar 9th, 2009, 08:31 AM
#148
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NEW WHITE HOUSE INFO ok I answered my own question. Today, March 9th, the White House just put out the list for tours next week March 16th. (inconvenient for scheduling advance tickets to other things.) I talked to two different congressional offices about our request. One office said she just sent out denials to 15 groups. One of them had even requested their tickets over six months ago!! I would be curious to walk around the visitors center at the white house and ask how long ago all the requests were made...haha She said the approval ratio is very very low. (I did ask if already having a party of 10 put together would help and she said no.) By the way trying to buy advance tickets for the Washington Monument is sold out 9 weeks ahead this spring. Guess we are getting in line early for that one.
Mar 9th, 2009, 08:55 AM
#149
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sarge56, my bag from the Women in Service at Arlington is still pristine- and I was just going to break it out and start using it every day this spring.
If you want a long trip report filled with some real tips, click on my JJ5 and view my D.C. trip report.
If you want a long trip report filled with some real tips, click on my JJ5 and view my D.C. trip report.
Mar 21st, 2009, 04:16 PM
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I just had the ultimate tour of The Capitol on March 20, 2009. It is the most difficult insider tour to arrange in DC. I went up in The Capitol dome. What a view! I took a bunch of people with me. You have to be escorted up to the top by a sitting member of the House or Senate. I had the contact and worked on doing this for some time. The Congressman took his wife. Since the group cannot be larger than 8, I was allowed to invite 5 others. I took 5 of my fellow guides.
This did not involve donating money to a Congressman. What it did involve was letting his family use my home during the inauguration while I was with a tour group. I refused payment because the Congressman is my neighbor and I would not take money from a neighbor for something like this. I do know people in DC tried to rent rooms and homes over inauguration (sometimes asking for ridiculous sums of money). "Payment" was just leaving the house as they found it and putting the sheets back on my bed and the sheets that needed to be laundered by the washer. Everything went fine. When it was all over, I didn't even know they had been here.
Then I did say to my Congressman neighbor, "There is something you can do for me." I thought he thought that I was going to ask him to pass a piece of legislation because he sort of looked funny. I would not do that to a neighbor. In any event, he and his wife had never been up in the dome, and they thanked me for pushing them to do this.
You can always ask your Congressman. I suspect that most of the people that get to go "up to the top" are big donors.
I feel very fortunate to have done the dome tour. You do get to walk between the old dome and the one that you see. One dome was essentially constructed on top of each other. We had a beautiful day and took a lot of photos.
This did not involve donating money to a Congressman. What it did involve was letting his family use my home during the inauguration while I was with a tour group. I refused payment because the Congressman is my neighbor and I would not take money from a neighbor for something like this. I do know people in DC tried to rent rooms and homes over inauguration (sometimes asking for ridiculous sums of money). "Payment" was just leaving the house as they found it and putting the sheets back on my bed and the sheets that needed to be laundered by the washer. Everything went fine. When it was all over, I didn't even know they had been here.
Then I did say to my Congressman neighbor, "There is something you can do for me." I thought he thought that I was going to ask him to pass a piece of legislation because he sort of looked funny. I would not do that to a neighbor. In any event, he and his wife had never been up in the dome, and they thanked me for pushing them to do this.
You can always ask your Congressman. I suspect that most of the people that get to go "up to the top" are big donors.
I feel very fortunate to have done the dome tour. You do get to walk between the old dome and the one that you see. One dome was essentially constructed on top of each other. We had a beautiful day and took a lot of photos.
