It had been a few weeks since school was over, and I was thoroughly enjoying lazing around the house. The tests and homework of the past year had left me exhausted. I was drained out and was looking forward to my upcoming vacation to Washington D.C. The trip was meant to be relaxing, rejuvenating, and educating. I was so excited that I did not even mind the long flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. When we finally arrived, the first thing that caught my attention was the amount of moisture in the air. Way different from California! The temperature was in the high nineties, it was incredibly humid, and there were hot gusts of wind. In a few minutes, we were all drenched in sweat.
A trip to the White House, the home of the president himself, was a perfect beginning to our trip. When I saw the long line of people waiting to get into the building, my heart sank. I was petrified at the thought of waiting in line for hours in sweltering heat. However, my mother suddenly whipped out three tickets that showed that we had appointments. What a relief! In a few minutes, we walked past all those people who had been waiting for hours. As we neared the entrance of the White House, we had to pass through a series of security checks. As we entered, my jaw dropped open. The White House was breathtaking! The garden was full of roses, tulips, and many other flowers of unique shades. These flowers gave off a heavenly smell that was better than any perfume that I had ever come across. After strolling around and admiring the garden, we entered the building itself. The entrance hall had red carpet, which gave an impression of a royal palace. As we were touring the White House, a strange thought suddenly crossed my mind. It seemed silly to even think about it, but I wondered how the White House is kept so white. I couldn’t find a single smudge! This is despite it being so old and there being so many visitors. After all, people can’t be painting it every few weeks. I guess the spirit of Abigail Adams, the first First Lady to set up residence in the White House, is still lingering around to supervise the cleaning. When we entered the individual rooms, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was standing in the very rooms that past and present presidents of America, including Lincoln and F.D.R., had occupied. Many of the rooms were color coded. For example, the furniture, walls, curtains, etc. were all green in the green room. One room in particular, the blue room, fascinated me and was forever etched in my mind. The blue room had elegant blue chairs and tables. It had windows that were draped with beautiful blue curtains. Mixed in with all this blue were gold designs that added a special artistic touch. I also noticed that the entire room was an oval. What a unique feature! The room overlooked a perfectly trimmed and shaped lawn. Towards the end of the tour, I was disappointed that the security people did not allow us to take enough pictures. After all, it’s not everyday that we visit the president’s house. Besides this, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the White House. I felt that it was indeed a house befitting the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world.
After we exited the White House, we made a quick stop at the souvenir shop that was across Pennsylvania Avenue. As I was browsing through a few souvenirs, I turned some of the items upside down to check their prices. I had the shock of my life. I noticed that many of the items had been made in China. What a joke! Here I was, less than a mile away from the President’s house, trying to buy a model of an American monument, and to my utter dismay, it was made in China. Finally, I bought a gigantic penny and a stone obelisk representing the Washington Monument. Both of these had been made in America. My experience at the store was humorous and somewhat sad.
My visit to the Lincoln Memorial was a soul-touching experience. The statue of President Lincoln in the center of the memorial gave off a very inspiring aura. On either sides of the statue were two of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. As I stood reading these inspirational speeches, I felt puny and insignificant compared to the giant statue of President Lincoln, both physically and mentally. The memorial itself was majestic. Its long pillars made it resemble the Parthenon in Greece. I felt that the architect who had designed this monument had perfectly captured Honest Abe’s penetrating gaze. It seemed as though President Lincoln was watching over the entire city and would some day pass judgement about the performance of our leaders. During the school year, I had learned about the Civil War and how President Lincoln had helped the country during and after the war. So visiting the Lincoln Memorial refreshed my memory. My parents and I were deeply inspired by the Lincoln Memorial, and my mother was especially moved by it.
The weather in Washington D.C. was very unusual. It was hot and humid for most of the days we were there. However, one day, as we were walking towards the Washington Monument, I saw a few dark clouds overhead. The smell of rain was heavy in the air. When I mentioned this to my parents they did not take me seriously. Soon, we heard an ominous rumbling noise. I suggested that it would be a good idea to go back to the hotel. Once again, they did not heed my good advice. They soon saw that I was right. Suddenly, we heard a gigantic boom and saw a flash of lightning. Within minutes there were larger booms and flashes of lightning, and soon it started pouring. We looked around for a shelter and joined a crowd of people fleeing for a tent that had been set up for the Fourth of July celebrations. At first, finding shelter under the tent seemed like a good idea, but soon, we realized our mistake. The gusts of wind became even more violent, and the lightning and thunder became more frequent. A series of especially furious gusts of wind tore off the roof of the tent. Rain poured down on us already wet, cold, and miserable souls. My hair was plastered to my head and was all over my face. To make matters worse, the cold water dripping down my neck was getting even more frigid. I had the shock of my life when the support structure for the tent nearly tipped over onto us. During this chaos, I accidentally swallowed some rain water. Instead of being concerned about ingesting dirty rain water, I was extremely excited about having my first taste of East Coast rain. As suddenly as the storm had begun, it ended. My parents and I quickly found a taxi that was willing to transport three soaking wet people. We returned back to the hotel room and tried to dry our clothes before the stench of sweaty and wet socks set in.
Throughout our trip, we visited many famous monuments and museums. Despite the strange encounter with the weather, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Washington D.C. I had forgotten all about school, tiresome tests, and backbreaking books. I was filled with great memories and was ready for the next school year.