The next day saw us follow an almost similar drill to get to the White House. After the customary sniffing by dogs and accessing the badges again we were marched in, this time to an area on the south lawn already occupied by a crowd.
We are standing on the South Lawn of the White House in a light drizzle, where thousands of Kenyans living and working in the United States braved a light summer shower to be part of history.
With the imposing white edifice that is the White House standing tall and proud in front of them, the large crowd standing on fresh cut green lawns behind a rope cordon waved small flags waiting to see what this reception ceremony will entail.
A military band was rendering out tunes accompanying troops from different military formations ready to troop their colours and mount a guard of honour.
The mood was euphoric and the air was pregnant with expectation of the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that was set to unfold shortly.
On arrival, President Ruto and First Lady Rachel were welcomed by their hosts outside the South Portico of the White House. As they took their places on the dais, the marine band started playing ''Ruffles and Flourishes'' and ''Hail to the Chief'', with a 21-gun salute echoing in the background.
According to the website Whitehousehistory.org, "Hail to the Chief," with its preceding musical fanfare ''Ruffles and Flourishes'', is traditionally played to announce the arrival of the US President at official functions. "Hail to the Chief" is attributed to English composer James Sanderson.
The national anthems of both countries were then played, with Americans holding their right hands over their hearts.
Even as we stood at attention, many of us Kenyans watched in mild amusement as the marine band struggled through their rendition of the Kenyan national anthem, cutting a few corners where we would traditionally have lengthy drum rolls and long notes.
When the speeches were over and the crowd breaking u, we journalists paused to catch a final glimpse of the leaders before dashing off to try and file our stories in time to beat the day's deadlines.
My next and final assignment at the White House was on Thursday, the penultimate day before the President Ruto wrapped up his visit.
This time after the now normalised security routine with sniffer dogs and other checks, we were at the Front Portico to receive President Ruto as he started the day's rituals to culminate with the State dinner.
Upon his reception and the customary handshake, he and his spouse were ushered in while we journalists re-staged ourselves, to capture the next phase of their entrance.
Traditionally, the evening of the State dinner, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet their guests under the North Portico and escort them to the Yellow Oval Room on the second floor. The President and First Lady with their honoured guests then descend the Grand Staircase to the sounds of ''Ruffles and Flourishes'' and then greet the assembled guests in protocol order.
After greetings, there was departure from tradition where rather than proceed to the State dinner in the dining room, the guests were led outside where electric trams; open air buses were stationed to take them to the large imposing pavilion on the South Lawn where dinner was served.
It was while waiting our turn to alight the bus, with a crowd of other journalists and guests that the evening served up its best surprise.
''Hey, there's Barrack Obama'', someone exclaimed, we scrambled one side of the bus to catch a glimpse of the former president who made the briefest of appearances at the event, coming and going very quickly in the failing light and receiving a symbolic gift from President Ruto at a very brief meeting.
The dinner, particularly the toasts, the cuisine, the music and lighting were something to die for.
Notable guests at the event included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Sean Penn, Melinda Gates, tech executive Sheryl Sandberg and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Members of President Biden's family who attended, including his son, Hunter Biden, granddaughters Naomi Biden and Finnegan Biden, and sister-in-law Sara Biden.
The start of the dinner was set to coincide with the sunset, with more than 1,000 candles lit for the event and a suspended centerpiece with some 15,000 layered reflective metallic strips reflecting the candlelight.
Entertainment was provided by country singer Brad Paisley of the Whisky lullaby fame, who performed hits like ''American Saturday Night''.
Also performing was the gospel choir of Howard University. The institution was founded in 1867 as a black research institution.
The university was central to the presidential visit, for signing a deal to partner with Kenya institutions in education and research.
The dinner's first course consisted of chilled green tomato soup, with marinated onions and cucumber marinated in white balsamic vinegar, while lobster poached in butter, with marinated and lightly smoked short ribs served as an entree.
A homemade white chocolate basket filled with a nectarine paste, a banana ganache, fresh raspberries, and peaches was served as desert.
As night fell, journalists were ushered out, to leave the guests to let their hair down and dine in peace away from the glare of media.
As we left the White House compound for the last time, silent and still awestruck by the opulence and grandeur of the reception, we were once again jolted to reality by the need to swiftly and keenly file our stories to beat our deadlines.
As the heavy steel door at the gates slammed shut behind me, I was jolted awake, realising that apart from my recollection of the events at The White House, the bang of the bus door opening automatically in the present had jolted me.
''Let's get off the bus'', one of the embassy handlers said, anxious to get us through security at our last stop of the entire State visit before President Ruto and his entourage arrived.
It was here that President Ruto oversaw the signing of several deals that included training, supply and joint exercise agreements that were part of the move to designate Kenya a non-NATO US ally.
President Ruto was received by Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III who announced that three Kenyan cadets have been admitted to US military service academies as further evidence of the close partnership between the two countries.
''I'm pleased to announce that three Kenyan cadets have been admitted to three US military service academies.
''They will be the first Kenyan cadets to attend these outstanding schools.
''And I'm confident that they won't be the last.' Said Austin.
The Lloyd also lauded the fact that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the two countries at the State Department earlier in the week to expand Manda Bay airfield in Lamu to receive bigger aircraft.
''Mr President, we're delighted to have you here. Thanks for coming, and I look forward to a great conversation. And with that, we'll allow our friends in the media to depart,'' he said.
And with that, the chants of, ''thank you media'', which meant we were no longer welcome in the room and were being excused, bringing to a close a week of hectic, frenetic travel and shuttling from location to location to bring the details of the Kenya's president State visit to the masses back home.
As we walked out of the room under the close watch of military security and the secret service, before walking into our bus I paused and had one last, long look at the Pentagon; that famous fabled building whose image is screened in movies back home - it looked the same.
As the bus drove out of the complex, I replayed the scenes at the various historic buildings, like the White House, The Senate and the Pentagon, where we had spent our week shadowing President Ruto and the Leader of the Free World.
I thought to myself that whenever he wasn't being wined, dined, saluted or being ushered into some office or historic corridor, President Ruto must have been saying to himself.... 'mwalimu wa maths... hapa ni wapi?'