Before I traveled to our nation's capital city, I was advised by some friends that I should write my congressman and request VIP passes in order to get access to the White House without having to wait in the long lines that typically eat up half of one's day for a 30 minute tour. I was assured that with these passes I wouldn't have to wait as long, so after requesting the passes, we were on our way to Washington, D.C.

The morning arrived and we hopped on a bus headed for the President's home and a major tourist attraction for almost anyone who goes to this patriotic City. We had asked the bus driver to let us know when it was time for us to get off the bus when it was time. He did and after we asked for walking directions, he replied, "Go straight two blocks, make a right, go another block and it's the first big white house on the right." We thanked him and stepped off the bus. As he drove away his pun finally hit us. The first big white house is the White House.

Once we arrived to the White House, the line was huge. It seemed to go on forever. But, we smiled and even felt sorry for the poor saps that have to wait in line while we got to walk right in. As we approached the gate and felt the angry stares of those wondering who we thought we were just ignoring that there was a line.

As we got up toward the clerk at the front we flashed our passes and the lady directed us to the end of the line. We smiled and said, "But you don't understand, we have VIP passes" to which she replied, "Yes, I understand, that is the VIP line so please go back to the end of the line." Sadly, we returned to the end of the line realizing everyone was a VIP guest of their congressman and wondering how long someone who didn't have one would have to wait.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.