Washington DC Day 2 | Tours and Army Buddies

We were up bright and early again on day two. After walking 10 miles on day one we were still pretty tired, but really excited to tour the White House! Our tour was for 9am so we grabbed breakfast and headed towards 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!

We had to go through 3 separate security lines and metal detectors before we were able to enter through the East Wing. Once inside we stopped at the gift stand and then made our way through the "approved areas." We saw the East Colonnade, East Garden Room, Vermeil Room, China Room, Library, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room, and exited out through Entrance Hall. The tour took us roughly an hour and it was amazing to see such an iconic building!

Next up was our tour of the Capitol building, which is on the opposite side of the Mall. That was quite a walk since we were in a hurry. Not to mention we had to meet our Representative's assistant in a different building and the directions were a little confusing. We still made it on time and had a great one-on-one tour! During our tour we saw the original Supreme Court, the original Senate Floor, and even got to go out on the House Floor! Unfortunately, there is still a lot of construction going on so the rotunda was 95% covered up. One of my favorite parts was walking through the underground tunnel to get to the Capitol. 

By this point we were ready for some food and a quick nap. We headed back to the AirBnB, ate some leftovers, took a catnap, and waited for Thomas' Army buddy to arrive! One of the best parts of our trip was meeting up with Shawn. He was injured while they were deployed so I never met him prior to this trip. After he arrived we headed back to the Mall and walked it all again! It was even more beautiful at night.

Another jammed pack day was in the books with over 12 miles walked! Up next in my final recap is Arlington National Cemetery and the National Zoo.

A little background information: if you're planning a trip to DC and want to do any tours (Capitol, House of Reps, White House, etc.) you need to email your state representative as soon as possible. They're the only ones who can get you these tours! Tell them when you're visiting and that you would like to schedule a tour(s). You have to apply for the White House tour and there is only a 10% of it being approved for various reasons. They won't notify approval/denial until roughly 20 days before your trip.