White House weekend

We had the best time in D.C. this past weekend! Sean's friend Rob arranged a private tour of the East Wing of the White House. Coincidentally, the date fell on Susan's 18th birthday, which made it extra special.

After enjoying a scrumptious birthday dinner with the Judy and the kids the night before, we left Manchester uber-early on Saturday morning. Sean met us at BWI and we drove downtown to meet up with Tiff and her parents, who had driven in from Gloucester, VA for the occasion.


We are all immensely grateful to Rob to provide this tour on his day off. His narrative not only introduced us to the art, history, and artifacts of the historical rooms we visited, but also offered some insights into the duties White House Social Aides perform during official functions. I got a major kick out of seeing the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington that Dolly Madison rescued during the fire during the war of 1812.

The tour was fantastic! This photo was taken just after the tour. From left to right, Richard, Susan, Ellen, Mike, Charlene, Tiffany, Sean, and Rob

After the tour, we walked and walked and walked and walked and...well, you get the idea. We saw the World War II Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Wall. Saturday night, we enjoyed dinner at Chef Geoff's, and celebrated Charlene and Susan's birthdays. The next morning we visited Washington National Cathedral.

There was a lot of running around, but also some much needed down-time which allowed the new 'in-laws' to get acquainted. Here's a slide show with a few more photos: