It is just a coincidence that Trump sent the National Guard into Washington, DC the day I left for home.
Yes, Me and Mrs. Blog took a quick vacation to our nation's capitol, Washington, DC and then the President sent the National Guard in when we went home. I swear we left it as we found it.
It was our first time in Washington (or "DC" as the hip kids call it) since 1999. We took our then-eight year-old son to see all the sights. We had a lot of fun, but it was hot and muggy. We did a paddle boat on the Potomac and I felt like I was an egg frying in a pan.
This time the trip was fun, too, mainly because the weather was not hot and muggy but was clear and cool. Totally unlike August. Thanks, climate change!
I will say this about DC and crime. I wasn't nervous a second when we went out tooling around, mainly because we didn't tool around at night. Plus, the area of town we stayed in didn't seem like a high-crime area. It had a guard entering the hotel complex. There wasn't anything nearby that would attract various riff-raff.
The biggest surprise of our trip: we spent five minutes in the Atlanta TSA line. The regular people TSA line, not the fancy-smancy Pre-check TSA line. It was unbelievable. Usually, Atlanta TSA can take anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of months.
Maybe it was because you no longer have to take off your shoes. I don't know. Everything now is such a cynical partisan battle. If you said, "Thanks, Trump" you would get all these TikTok responses where people are calling you a Crypto-Fascist for wanting to wear your shoes.
It probably had more to do with it being the first Wednesday after school started. In Georgia, public schools begin in July or August, so everybody can have a vacation in September.
We flew into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is near downtown Washington. I had been there twice before, and it seemed much smaller than I remembered.
From there, we took a cab to our hotel, which is across the street from the SPY museum. The cab companies have really improved their cabs.
If you remember the movie "DC Cab," which starred Mr. T and Bill Maher (really), the cabs were like that in 1998.
Now you no longer need a tetanus shot to ride in a DC cab. The cabs are nice and the cab drivers are pleasant, drive the speed limit, and obey the traffic laws.
Our hotel was near "The Wharf" area of DC. Great hotel. Nice staff. Comfortable beds. Free breakfast in the morning.
President Kennedy once said Washington, DC had Northern Hospitality with Southern efficiency, but on this trip, everybody was nice and efficient.
Our first morning there we had tickets for the tour of the White House. My non-partisan advice: it doesn't matter who is President, you really need to take the White House tour at least once in your life.*
The tickets are free, but you must request tickets from your local Congress person. The ticket requests can be submitted up to three months in advance and no less than 21 days in advance.
Our Congress person is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who I half-way expected to send me an email saying, "Y'all I lost your request, sorry. I put it on my refrigerator and then when I looked it wasn't there. LOL."
Be assured that the White House tour request is one of those things Congress people do well, even Marjorie. We got our tickets with clear, understandable instructions, such as, make sure you have a Real ID, which is a driver's license with a star on it.
You don't have to wear a suit and tie to the White House. You shouldn't look like Wal-Mart on a Saturday either. This is a place where John Tyler lived, dag-gummit, show some respect.
Our cab let us out at The White House Visitor Center. This is very important because they have bathrooms. If you have to go potty, you can go there because once you start the tour, you just have to hold it because there are no RESTROOMS for "THE PEOPLE" in the White House.**
You wait in line behind the Treasury building. You meet lots of young Secret Service agents because there are about forty checkpoints before you actually get into The White House. Quick word of advice: try not to wait behind someone from another country. Their security requirements are different from those of a US citizen so it takes longer for them to be reviewed.
You are finally in the White House. Here is what you see: The Vermeil Room, the Library, the China Room, the Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, the State Dining Room, and a view of the White House Kennedy Garden.
What you do not see: The West Wing, where the President works. For obvious reasons, you just can't have Al from Mayretta pop in and see how Orange Donny is doing. But it is neat seeing all of these rooms that you have seen on television and movies.
My biggest impression after the tour was these rooms are smaller than they appear on TV. Additionally, I don't know how our blessed Fourth Estate could miss President Biden being half a bubble of plumb. But he was a Delaware sneaky snake.
You end your White House Tour by walking out the front door. There you can have your picture taken in front of The White House with the other tourists, activists protesting whatever needs protesting, and, at least in our case, a man who rides up on a kid's bicycle with a boombox blaring funky Soul Hits of the 70s and doing what charitably could be called "dancing".
* Okay, you caught me. As I was writing this post, I learned the White House tours have been "paused," while President Trump is building a ballroom/and or roller skating rink. I wonder if Dave Barry or Lewis Grizzard ever have days like this?
** You can imagine: "Hey guess who was standing in the urinal next to me? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for real!"
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