The Hay-Adams Hotel, which is just a couple blocks from the White House and is where the Obama family stayed for 10 days until they finally got to move into Blair House two days ago, has a pretty nice bar under the lobby. Unlike in the Mayflower or the Willard or one of those monster hotels—the huge, stately ones—the lobby of the Hay-Adams is pretty small, and the bar downstairs is pretty small too, although red and cozy and covered with famous faces.

Zooming out, so you can see a couple more...

On another wall, in another style, were Bob Dole, Ronald Reagan, Jesse Jackson, etc., etc., plus tons of faces not even my father could identify. I mean, other than Reagan on the top row second-from-left and Jesse Jackson on the top far right (obscured by the reflection of the glare of a picture on the opposite wall's reflection), who the hell are these people?

Upstairs, as we were leaving, we chatted with the concierge, who spoke about the Obamas as if they were not only the nicest politicians he'd ever met but the nicest people he'd ever met, hands down. This may have just been politic, but it didn't seem like it. He was barely able to finish his sentences, such was his astonishment at the charms of the Obamas, including Michelle's mom, whom he said he got to see the most of, and Malia and Sasha, who got to hang out in the hotel's kitchen one day. He said on the last day of their stay, he and the rest of the employees were called to that downstairs bar and got to shake Obama's hand. I don't remember what he said about it, but it was as if he were recounting seeing a UFO land in the hotel's lobby and being lucky enough to be present for it. And this is a guy who works across the street from the White House.

We thanked him, and walked back outside into Antarctica.