Tag: South Carolina

The White House

Sixteen-hundred Pennsylvania Avenue is among the most famous addresses in the United States. The 132-room home and workplace has also been known as the Presidents House and the Executive Mansion, but since 1902 its officially been called the White House.

When George Washington was President, government meetings were held in various cities. He and Martha Washington kept two homes in New York and one in Pennsylvania. Seeing the need for a federal city, the President and Congress agreed in 1790 to the Residence Act. This provided for a district not exceeding ten miles squareon the river Potomac. The new federal city would be designed by Pierre L’Enfant, and the city planner would hold a blueprints contest for the Presidents house.

James Hoban, an Irishman living in South Carolina, won the competition with a classic Georgian design. (Thomas Jefferson was also among the entrants; he competed under a pseudonym.) Hoban based the building on a dukes palace in Ireland.

Two states, Maryland and Virginia, ceded land for the new federal district. Both were slaveholding states, and slaves broke ground for the home. The work was completed by European immigrants. The new house wasnt built in time for the Washingtons to move in; John and Abigail Adams were the first to take up residence in 1800.

The building has undergone countless changes since the years of John and Abigail Adams. Interior redecorating and structural changes started with the next resident President, Thomas Jefferson. He ordered French furniture and French wallpaper, and he added space outdoors to conceal stables and storage. Other Presidents would make even larger additions: Theodore Roosevelt — who had six children and required more space contributed the West Wing; and FDR added the East Wing during World War II to conceal construction of an underground bunker.

Each Administrations time at the White House brought something new, but here are some of the more notable changes:

* British soldiers burnt the building in 1814 during James Madisons presidency. Most of the home and its contents were destroyed by fire. A thunderstorm saved outside walls, and Dolley Madison rescued a famous portrait of George Washington. The architect James Hoban was available for renovations.
* The White House needed an extensive washing after 20,000 muddy partiers celebrated Andrew Jacksons inauguration. Jackson soon installed running water. He also planted magnolia trees and made plans for later landscaping.
* James Garfield installed the first elevator.
* Harry Truman extensively renovated the whole house and added a second porch. He also added basements for wartime safety.
* The White House was made more wheelchair-accessible during FDRs service. A pool was also added in consideration of his physical challenges.
* Richard Nixon cemented over the FDR pool to create a Press Briefing Room.
* Jacquelyn Kennedy directed the most extensive and historically accurate White House restoration. She also planted a flower garden.
* Rosalynn Carter contributed an Office of the First Lady.

Today the White House Complex consists of six stories and 55,000 square feet of space. The Executive Residence spans several floors. Two basement levels also provide storage, service areas, and a bomb shelter for the Presidents family. The West Wing holds executive offices including the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Situation Room. The East Wing is home to offices for the First Lady, White House correspondence staff, and other White House staff members.

Some of the interior is visible to the public, but tours must be pre-arranged by a member of Congress. Visitors might tour the State Floor, where several rooms are simply named by color: the Green Room, Red Room, and Blue Room. The Green Room is named for the moss green silk that lines its walls. Its used for informal meetings and photo opportunities with foreign political leaders. Famous Green Room paintings depict Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, and Abigail Adams. The Red Room is decorated like an early-1800s parlor with a marble mantel. The Blue Room is the White Houses most formal setting. Its shaped like an oval and is furnished with gilded furniture. This is where the White House Christmas tree is traditionally placed. Visitors might also see the Map Room, the State Dining Room, or the famous Lincoln Bedroom.

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A Party in Your Mouth

One of the great joys of travel is getting the chance to experience some of the great tastes in the foods from around the country or around the world. The great thing about America is that there are so many ethnic populations and the country is so big and diverse that you can travel for many years and still be surprised by wonderful new tastes and culinary delights in the restaurants from around the country.

In the movie My Cousin Vinnie, two New Yorkers find themselves encountering culture clash as they work to help a relative with legal problems in the American south. As the southern mechanic explains that they have some of the greatest mud collections in the world in South Carolina, the New Yorker responds, Hows your Chinese food?

The Chinese food in New York has taken on certain fame and reputation of being the finest that can be had this side of China. While one can find good Chinese food in virtually any city or berg in the country, the small area of New York City called Chinatown boasts the best that can be found. And to be sure, that boast is not without merit. The chefs who prepare the Chinese food in these restaurants possess the recipes and perhaps age old talents that they can put a Chinese meal on your plate, whether its simple or very complex, that will have you off of Chinese food in any other part of the country or world because, to be frank, none other can compare to it.

New York boasts of being the home of some of the greatest food in the entire country. While it would take a gourmet chef months to test out that theory, there is no question that the city has some reason to stand behind its claim. From famous New York pizza to a gyros sandwich that melts in your mouth to the proverbial hot dog at Yankee stadium, eating in New York is as much an attraction as the museums and theater district.

But when it comes to seafood, there is plenty of competition for The Big Apple. In San Francisco on the other side of the country, some of greatest delicacies are harvested from the warm Pacific Ocean to be served in the great restaurants along the harbors. You can go back many times and try every delicacy from sea bass to swordfish before you can decide you truly have tasted it all of the San Francisco cuisine.

But for lobster, it might be yet another plane flight to Cape Cod, Boston or even northern Maine. In the pristine towns up and down route 1 on Maines east coast, you dont need a suit and a tie to enjoy the finest lobster that can be had anywhere. In season, you can drive up to what they call a lobster pound where you can gaze down into an over packed cooler full of live lobsters and pick your own. You can watch as your future lunch or dinner is tied in a burlap sack and dropped into an outdoor pot of boiling seawater to be served to you to eat with your hands at picnic tables outside. It is both a fabulous taste treat and a truly unique dinning experience all at once.

Great foods abound all around this great nation of ours. From the finest steak money can buy in Kansas City to the exotic tastes of Cajun cuisine in southern Louisiana to a bratwurst that will make you German even you arent in Chicagos busy pubs and restaurants to salmon that was leaping up the falls this morning in far west Washington state, the food that abounds in this rich country is truly a delight that is not to be missed.

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