Easter Egg Roll
Apr. 14th, 2009 02:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchanWe managed to get tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll this year. I'm not big on those types of things, generally. I don't like big crowds, and massive swarms of people are pretty much a "given" with anything like this. Still, hubby was so set on going ... plus, I thought it would be fun for the kiddo. So, off we went.
Oh my. O_O
I have to admit I'm rather torn with regard to how I feel about the overall experience. In many ways, I wish I had followed my initial instincts and stayed home. In other ways, it was a fun and neat experience. I guess I'll just wrap it all together by saying it was a fun thing to do once, but I'm not sure I would want to do it again. Or, if we ever tried doing it again, I would definitely try for an earlier group, in the hope of cutting down on our waiting time. Basically, we spent a LONG time standing around and waiting. We had to get there an hour before our scheduled time of 11:30 - 1:30 PM, in order to get through security and everything. So, we got there a bit before 10:30. We had to walk a LONG way to get in line for our group. Then, we stood around and waited. And waited. Around 11 AM, they started letting us filter through the first set of gates and security. Since we had gotten there fairly early, we were near the front of the line and got through security fairly quickly. Then, we found out everything was running behind schedule, which meant ... more waiting. -.-" We weren't able to get into the grounds until 12:30, an hour after our scheduled time and after two hours of standing around (literally) and waiting in line. And waiting with an impatient and excited five-year-old -- yeah, so much not fun. >.O
The real kicker is that they had different activities for each time slot. My daughter had been really excited about doing a few of the things during our time period, but, by the time we actually got access to the grounds, those activities were already over. She was a little disappointed. The one thing she really wanted was to see The Imagination Movers. They are the stars of a show on Playhouse Disney, and she LOVES that show. She was thrilled when she found out they were going to be at the egg roll. Sadly, they had already played and left the stage by the time we got to go in. It wasn't a total loss, though. A couple of the guys were hanging around the stage, talking to the kids, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. So, my daughter at least got to meet them. She got their autographs and had her picture taken with a couple of them. It was the highlight of the whole day for her, and I'm so glad she didn't miss out completely. She also got to do the egg roll, see Winnie-the-Pooh, Diego, and Dora the Explorer, and dye an egg. We were supposed to get extra time on the grounds, since our group's entrance was delayed by an hour, but that didn't work out. They announced it was time for our group to exit around 1:15, so we only had about 45 minutes of our supposed "two hour" time slot at the egg roll. Normally, I might have stayed longer, but the kiddo was ready to go. She was exhausted after all the standing around and waiting -- plus, she had seen the Movers. Nothing was going to top that, as far as she was concerned!
It was neat being so close to the White House. So, that part of it was really great. Also, the activities were fun and the people staffing the event were really nice, friendly, and helpful. I guess those things somewhat balanced out the disappointment of feeling short-changed on time and missing out on certain things the kiddo had been looking forward to doing. So, overall, some good things ... some bad things ... something I'm glad we did, but, again, something I'm not sure I would want to experience again.
But! I did get a few photos (behind the cut)
The White House ... far-away view. Plus, it gives a small idea of the crowds. This is when we were waiting in line, of course. >.O
Another far-away view, taken with the ZOOM lens (lol). Also another "good" view of the crowds. There were a LOT of people there!
The White House close up. It was such a kicker being this close to the White House. Definitely the thrill of the day for me. =)
A magnolia tree blooming on the grounds.
Another magnolia shot -- closer up this time.
Oh my. O_O
I have to admit I'm rather torn with regard to how I feel about the overall experience. In many ways, I wish I had followed my initial instincts and stayed home. In other ways, it was a fun and neat experience. I guess I'll just wrap it all together by saying it was a fun thing to do once, but I'm not sure I would want to do it again. Or, if we ever tried doing it again, I would definitely try for an earlier group, in the hope of cutting down on our waiting time. Basically, we spent a LONG time standing around and waiting. We had to get there an hour before our scheduled time of 11:30 - 1:30 PM, in order to get through security and everything. So, we got there a bit before 10:30. We had to walk a LONG way to get in line for our group. Then, we stood around and waited. And waited. Around 11 AM, they started letting us filter through the first set of gates and security. Since we had gotten there fairly early, we were near the front of the line and got through security fairly quickly. Then, we found out everything was running behind schedule, which meant ... more waiting. -.-" We weren't able to get into the grounds until 12:30, an hour after our scheduled time and after two hours of standing around (literally) and waiting in line. And waiting with an impatient and excited five-year-old -- yeah, so much not fun. >.O
The real kicker is that they had different activities for each time slot. My daughter had been really excited about doing a few of the things during our time period, but, by the time we actually got access to the grounds, those activities were already over. She was a little disappointed. The one thing she really wanted was to see The Imagination Movers. They are the stars of a show on Playhouse Disney, and she LOVES that show. She was thrilled when she found out they were going to be at the egg roll. Sadly, they had already played and left the stage by the time we got to go in. It wasn't a total loss, though. A couple of the guys were hanging around the stage, talking to the kids, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. So, my daughter at least got to meet them. She got their autographs and had her picture taken with a couple of them. It was the highlight of the whole day for her, and I'm so glad she didn't miss out completely. She also got to do the egg roll, see Winnie-the-Pooh, Diego, and Dora the Explorer, and dye an egg. We were supposed to get extra time on the grounds, since our group's entrance was delayed by an hour, but that didn't work out. They announced it was time for our group to exit around 1:15, so we only had about 45 minutes of our supposed "two hour" time slot at the egg roll. Normally, I might have stayed longer, but the kiddo was ready to go. She was exhausted after all the standing around and waiting -- plus, she had seen the Movers. Nothing was going to top that, as far as she was concerned!
It was neat being so close to the White House. So, that part of it was really great. Also, the activities were fun and the people staffing the event were really nice, friendly, and helpful. I guess those things somewhat balanced out the disappointment of feeling short-changed on time and missing out on certain things the kiddo had been looking forward to doing. So, overall, some good things ... some bad things ... something I'm glad we did, but, again, something I'm not sure I would want to experience again.
But! I did get a few photos (behind the cut)
The White House ... far-away view. Plus, it gives a small idea of the crowds. This is when we were waiting in line, of course. >.O
Another far-away view, taken with the ZOOM lens (lol). Also another "good" view of the crowds. There were a LOT of people there!
The White House close up. It was such a kicker being this close to the White House. Definitely the thrill of the day for me. =)
A magnolia tree blooming on the grounds.
Another magnolia shot -- closer up this time.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-14 10:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-15 12:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-15 04:13 am (UTC)Sounds like you had a nice time, despite the crowds. It was my first time in the capital--I had a wonderful time. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-15 01:03 pm (UTC)I'm glad you had a good time! DC is a really pretty and fun city, especially in the spring, when everything is blooming. Plus, the weather is nice, usually. Well, I like chilly weather, so I think it's nice -- LOL!