My second round at the White House was a little more enjoyable in that my co-volunteer was a little more talkative and the morning tends to be low-key.
I asked what this new structure being built was, but I never really got a straight answer from Secret Service. I've decided that the Obamas are adding a water park! The flower arrangement on the entrance desk was very fresh
Book displays in the Visitor's Foyer. The words were formed from folded pages!
East Room
More East Room, with famous nativity scene
One of the tables commissioned by Teddy Roosevelt when he turned the State Dining Room into a very manly-man's room filled with wood paneling and taxidermy, also Secret Service talking about the Gingerbread White House
State ornaments in the Blue Room
And that was it! Maybe I'll be back next year....
After Christmas we decided to get outside into some fresh air. After hitting a dive bar for some brunch and excellent bloody marys made with Old Bay we went for a two-hour hike in Rock Creek Park, doing a loop that covered the southern half of the park.
After New Years' we went to the GALA Hispanic Theater in Columbia Heights for some cheap dumb fun: Elvis' Birthday Fight Club, an event that started around four years ago and also one that has been giving sold-out shows since the beginning! It was exactly what it sounds like: choreographed cage fights and burlesque on Elvis' birthday!
Round 1: Vladimir Putin vs Unicorn (Putin wins)
Round 2: Justin Bieber vs Saturday Night Beaver (Beaver Wins)
Round 3: King Kong vs King Ding Dong (King Kong Wins)
Round 4: Fox vs Le Hounde (Le Hounde Wins)
Round 5: Saturday Night Beaver vs Le Hounde (both died of cocaine overdose)
Round 6: Vladimir Putin vs King Kong (Putin wins, but was defeated by the Unicorn that had been brought back to life by the Obama Carebear)
Good times.