I spent the morning with 7,000 of my closest friends for Queen Elizabeth’s arrival at the White House. It was a beautiful day in Washington, perfectly suited for the British royal family to visit President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

I arrived around 8:45 a.m. at the Southeast Gate of the White House to find a line of people about two blocks long waiting to make their way to the South Lawn. The line moved quickly, and I was through security within 30 minutes. Finding a decent spot to stand proved more challenging than I expected. With no places left in the front row and little room on the hills, I made my way to a spot near the putting green underneath a nice tree. Unfortunately, two people separated me from the front row, so I constantly had to finagle to get pictures.

After standing for about 90 minutes (it actually wasn’t too bad, except when I went to walk later), we got our first glimpse of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s car. Moments later she emerged with President Bush. The photos I’ve posted on Flickr tell the rest of the story.

It was a remarkable experience. I’m so grateful that I was able to attend.