My Visit to the White House

What it looks like when you get the most famous house all to yourself for one extraordinary afternoon

Special reporter for the Journey Home - Press Briefing Room, West Wing of the White House (Photo: Camilla Vogt)

Here I am in the White House Press Briefing Room trying to get a word in edgewise…

The silence was deafening. ☺️

Seriously, I never dreamed that I would one day get to experience the West Wing up close and in person. This was truly one of best surprise birthday presents I received from our DC-based daughter (and Alyssa, her friend on the inside who made it possible).

All those iconic spaces we’ve seen hundreds of times on TV — from the Rose Garden to the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Press Briefing Room — became very real on a recent crisp November Sunday afternoon. For such a famous house that has been at the epicenter of every major world event, I was struck by how small, and welcoming, and unpretentious it was.

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Don’t ask me how, but somehow we managed to get these hallowed halls all to ourselves, which made our wandering through them even more dreamlike and surreal.

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I thought today you all might enjoy a small taste of what we saw. With cameras off limits for part of our visit, there were two areas I was able to capture in colorful detail: the Press Briefing Room and the Eisenhower Executive Offices — the White House staff building across the street that no one ever talks about. Built between 1871 and 1888, it is a huge, commanding space. The staircases alone, which go on forever, will take your breath away.

The Press Briefing Room

In brief…

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The Eisenhower Building

In spacious splendor…

Checks and balances

On the up and up

Between worlds

Gentleman’s quarters

Rotundas galore

Ceiling of the Secretary of War Suite

Secretary of War Suite video clip….

Into the blue beyond

Bowled over

For a little historical context: young JFK, Jr in 1963, with the Eisenhower Building in the background and the West Wing on the far right.

Credit: “Kennedy,” Episode 8” –– the History Channel

And that’s a wrap!

Happy campers

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What’s an experience you’ve had that surpasses your wildest imaginings?

Ahhh 🏡✌🏼

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In case you missed it…

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