Pool Parties at the White House

Ummmm, maureen over at East Wing Rules, whom I call the "East Wing Historian", is at it again. She goes into details about the pools at the White House and the private, infamous Camp David. And elaborates on pool parties, oh how we all wish we could go....


Camp David pool outside Aspen Lodge - Main Lodge - during Nixon era - Photo courtesy White House

Cherry Blossoms and their annual festival are over for 2009 in Washington DC. Memorial Day is over. At Sidwell Friends, the First daughters end of the school year trumpets summer vacation time. Picnics with the requisite amount of ants and tons of new and old friends to hang out with means making use of the water amenities at the White House. Pool perks extend to presidential vacation retreat at the very exclusive, yet relaxed and woodsy, Camp David as well. Because its outdoors and its been downright chilly and rainy during parts of the Spring in DC, one scene not captured on camera yet are the Obamas using the pool and cabana on the White House property.

Not very far from the Oval Office on the West side of the property is the outdoor pool Gerald Ford put in after Richard Nixon paved over the indoor one FDR had installed and promptly splashed the national press corp into that space. Another daily swimmer, Barbara Bush, upgraded the poolhouse to a full cabana. Millie's son, the Bush's dog named Spot was fond of chasing the tennis balls but was not a big splasher. Barbara Bush recounts seeing a rat up close and personal paddling by her face in the pool as she swam her morning laps. Let us just say Gary Walters, White House Chief Usher at the time, definitely got an earful on that incident. read more here......

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The Obamas had a good time at Camp David

I figured they would.

“It was beautiful,” he told reporters on board Air Force One on Monday as it jetted to Indiana for his first real road trip as president. “The girls just had a great time. They had a lot of fun. You can see that during the summer it’s going to be a nice place to spend a lot of time. Hit a few golf balls. Played a little basketball.”

Mr. Obama said his daughter, Sasha, brought a friend along for the Saturday overnight visit and added that a friend of his and Michelle’s came along with two children. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Mr. Obama’s personal aide, Reggie Love, also made the trip, possibly serving as the president’s hoops partner during the weekend.

Camp David, founded as Shangri-La by Franklin D. Roosevelt and later renamed by Dwight D. Eisenhower after his grandson, can be a rare refuge for presidents who find themselves cooped up in the White House. Some presidents made much use out of the resort, both for the chance to wander around nature without a massive entourage and for political purposes to woo members of Congress or foreign leaders. read more here

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Here go the Obamas to Camp David!! (Pictures)

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Obamas going to Camp David on Saturday

The girls will love it.

President Barack Obama plans to make his first trip to the presidential retreat at Camp David this weekend.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama and his family will spend Saturday night in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. It will be Obama's first trip to the country estate as president.

Gibbs says the Obamas will leave Saturday and return on Sunday. Gibbs joked that the president was "a bit of a restless soul" who likes walking.

Temperatures in the Washington area this weekend are expected to be in the mid-50s.

President George W. Bush spent many weekends at Camp David with aides and advisers. He spent his final weekend as president there.

Obamas Camp David Pics

Source

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