As I've mentioned before, my husband and I are going to Virginia/DC for our anniversary (and then up to Long Island/NYC for our friend's wedding). Since I've never been to DC before (somehow never went on those class trips, I guess), I decided it was high time I do all the touristy things: visit the Smithsonian, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and (of course) the White House. I learned a long time ago to always look into every single place you are traveling to, so I decided to look into tour times for the White House -- because I distinctly remember there once being group tours of the White House.
Well, color me surprised when I find out that you have to get written permission from a state congressman, now.
After the confusion settled, I vaguely remember hearing that they discontinued group tours of the White House for safety reasons. Which I can get, to a degree. There's only so much you can control when you have 20 or 30 people roaming the halls on a routine basis.
But, still, though. I find that incredibly disheartening. You can only tour the inside of one of the most important buildings in America during very specific times, and with written permission from a state leader -- something you get as much as six months in advance.
It just doesn't make sense. And I can't help but put my tinfoil hat on and speculate why this is the case.
But, regardless, I'm excited for Washington. I'm excited to enjoy Virginia and I'm excited to knock a few more states off my "to-visit" list. And -- most of all -- I'm excited to see an incredible woman get married in just a few weeks.
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