My son’s and I went on the White House Holiday Tour.This is not for just for home garden fans or your girlfriends.We had to go thru 3 security check points but we followed all the guidelines given to us prior to arrival.What overwhelmed all of us was the sense of history,architecture and this was a home not a palace.The first hallway you enter has oil paintings of the presidents including Washington,the door frames are hand carved and the space is not overwhelmingly large but warm and inviting.Through out the white house the theme of decorations centered around our men and women in service.The decorations were beautiful,the artists must have had so much fun creating them .The White House had her party dress on.Every room we visited was amazing,the paintings,original furniture,handmade curtains and tassels,handmade ceiling medallions,chandeliers etc.There were 2 paintings I especially enjoyed,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Abraham Lincoln.The artist seemed to capture the essence of both.Mrs.Onassis,elegant,beautiful,graceful and President Lincoln strong,solid,wise.
During our tour ,we were in the red room when my son said “mom put your camera down now”which I did.Then I looked at the window to see the presidents helicopter.The gaurd said,the president will be out but it will be fast.This was defiantely not on the tour schedule.I was standing in this beautiful room,with strangers of all ages,races,and parts of the country,waiting….The Holiday Chorus starts singing Christmas carols.All of sudden President Obama comes out from underneath a door under the red room,turns and waves with a wonderful smile and gets into the helicopter.The helicopter rises and goes off towards the Washington Monument.I never felt more proud at that moment to be an American..We continued on the tour,with the handmade crown molding and handmade mirrors with American eagles amazing..Sometimes,I would stop and think in a hallway that this is where President Kennedy must have walked .The tour for us was self guided,there was no rush.When we were out side the gates of the White House after we finished the tour,It was surreal.
