Well, I arrived in Washington, DC after ten and a half uneventful hours on the road. After checking in at the hotel and parking my minivan in a garage, I scooted right over the White House to take this picture. The U.S. Park Police didn't miss a beat and asked me the usual questions, ie., "Do you have identification? Do you have a permit? How long are you going to be here?" I know enough to answer, "I don't need ID, nor do I need a permit. And today I'm just going to be here long enough to take this picture." After I'd taken four shots, a different police officer came up and said, "You're not allowed to prop your sign up against the fence." So I thanked him and scooted away. A man with an American accent passed me at that point and said, "Why not?" referring to the words on my sign, "Don't bomb Iran." Oh yes, this is going to be a most interesting week.

But later I was encouraged to meet younger people who not only understood my message but agreed with it wholeheartedly. First it was Harrison and Jenae, both seniors at Howard University here in DC, who stopped to talk to me as I was printing out a new message for side #2 of my sign. I was using a table in the outdoor courtyard of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center--which I thought was very appropriate!--and ended up spending about three hours at my task. For twenty minutes of that time, Harrison and I had an indepth discussion about world events and how/where to find the REAL news instead of what passes for news by our American mainstream media.

After I'd finished printing out the words for Side #2, I asked a table of three young men--who it turned out now live in the U.S. but are originally from Peru--for help taping my new sign to the back of the old one. Luis and Alfredo immediately said "Yes" and Luis did a fine job of putting the finishing touches on my sign. They both expressed gratitude and support for my vigil.

I'll be keeping up this photo-a-day blog with daily entries telling of my adventures here in DC, but I've put up another gallery--"Photos from my Iranian peace vigil"- in which I'll post the photos I take every day. It already has ten photos and you can CLICK HERE to see them.