Backyard tourists

Now that the White House is reopened to visitors, you have to apply for tickets months ahead of time through your congressperson because the Secret Service runs background checks. Then you're assigned a day and time of entry for your tour.

So we figured we should really go. After all, we live here. We can be more flexible on dates and times than the people who travel here from around the country and the world.

Of course we got a 7:30 a.m. time slot.

The silver lining to that is being able to easily find street parking (a good thing, too, since the nearby garages didn't even seem to be open yet).

It really is a beautiful historical historic house. Ken the history buff had compiled a sheet of interesting facts beforehand so we had our own private tour guide. (If you don't have this luxury, there are specially trained Secret Service officers in each room who can answer questions and give historical information.)

And then we joined the crowds on the sidewalk by the iron fence with this view. You will undoubtedly see this crooked shot on our Christmas card this year. We dressed up for our visit because, well, it's the White House and one should show respect.

Now we're off to be tourists in another local locale: Ocean City! We leave today for a week at our little timeshare condo.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I plan to spend the next 10 days thinking of nothing and nobody and doing very very little. :)

Because then we come back and school starts and summer comes to its wistful end.