White House Tour

So I've tentatively had plans to get to do a self-guided tour of the White House for the past few weeks, thanks to a friend of my friend, Rence (thanks Rence!). They're very hard to get without assistance with someone within the government sector, so I was very fortunate that everything worked out. You have to be background checked ahead of time, and they're wildly popular - I heard some people were turned away when trying to make reservations 6 months in advance. Initially I thought it might be scheduled for last Friday and when it didn't happen I was worried it wouldn't happen before I had to leave, but the tour was rescheduled for this morning!



View of the White House from Lafayette Square - I walk through this park on my way home most days! This morning I walked by on my way to my tour.

I was able to pick another person to bring, so I invited my friend Kevin, another summer DC intern from Ohio, and I was glad I did - he was as (if not more) excited than I was, and had lots of historical facts about certain things that made my trip better.



Kevin, in shirt and tie. I think we were the most dressed up people in line.

Security is understandably very tight - you can't bring anything in but your state ID and your cell phone, turned off - so I got up at 6 and scooted to work to drop off my stuff before the tour. A handy tip if anyone goes: our tour was slated for 8:30, but you can get in line and go on your tour pretty much any time you arrive. You'll just get bumped ahead further down the road if you're on time / past your time.

So from here on out I wasn't able to take photos, but luckily the White House museum website has great info/ photos, so I'll walk you through the rest of our tour. It comprised of the East Wing as well as the east side of the White House.

I got to peep into the Vermeil Room:



And the China Room:



And then headed up to the First Floor to see the East Room:



The Green Room:



The Blue Room:



Red Room:



And my personal favorite room, the State Dining Room:



Unlike the other rooms, this one seemed more subtle, and had really pretty white molding around the top. It felt airy and a little more open than the other rooms.

I think my favorite thing about the tour, however, was looking out the windows - it felt so surreal to have the same view that the President does on a daily basis, and to see the lawns and all the tourists staring towards you, rather than staring along with them.

We also were able to exit out the north entrance (the same entrance pictured in my first photo, from behind the gate) and there we managed to snap a few photos:





This was a really, really wonderful opportunity and I'm so happy we got a chance to do it. I live close to the White House, and every day it's a reminder of how special DC is and how many important things go on here on a day to day basis. It's a bit of a reflection of my summer - getting to do amazing things and trying to take all of that in, rather than just walking by and growing weary of all the crowds and tourists.

Looking forward

With my internship coming to an end, I've started thinking about what's to come. I've got some things lined up for the near future, and some more long term goals. One of them is to have a better presence with my work online and using digital platforms - it's just more elegant than sending a zip folder of all of my work.

To start I've put up my work as it is on issuu - a digital publishing site that has more of a look and feel of your typical magazine. I've provided a link below, take a look - I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'm also looking into projects I should tackle that I've never tried before - such as package and branding design, as well as menus or invitations. If anybody has suggestions or knows of anything that needs desperately redesigned (but has good content) and could be a good project, let me know!

Link here

Also - if anybody's got some last minute things I can't miss during my last week in DC, I'd love to have you send them my way. I have a few things planned, but it's mostly shopping for cheesy souvenirs : )

Off the beaten path

I've spent the last two weekends away from the traditional touristy events on my list, and enjoying time with friends in different parts of the city.

Last weekend I went swimming at a friend of a friend's house in Bethesda, and ate a yummy Bethesda bagel the next morning. I also went to a restaurant near Tenleytown called Comet Pizza and Ping-Pong. My friend Luke asked me if I wanted to go and I have a friend who works there, so I agreed to check it out before he mentioned the bands that were playing - his cousin's band from Columbus, and a band from Athens called the She Bears - which consists of a bunch of my friends from college and high school! So I was very excited to check it out.



(Image from DCbeer.com)

I was delighted with the place - while I was envisioning a cross between an arcade and a cheesy italian restaurant, the whole look of the place was retro and stylish, with some ping-pong thrown in for good measure.



(Image from New York Times Travel)

The food was great - I got a pizza with broccoli and a sunny side up egg on it, mostly for the novelty of an egg happening on pizza. But it was so good, I ate nearly all of it - and shared the band's mini-keg of some tasty beer. Since I sat with the band and they comped our table we got our food for free!

The show was also a great time, it was set in the little back room where most of the ping pong tables normally are. Between so many of my college friends in the audience and up on stage, I felt like I was back at school for an evening and had a great time.

I've got more to come from this weekend, but I thought I'd put together a fun little metro map of all the stops I've used on my trips around DC. I think I've done a pretty good job of doing a mix of touristy things and more authentic DC things - and there's still more to come before I go home!



(Click to make it full size)