Waking up at 5:15 a.m. wasn't easy except for Sully who woke up at 3:00 a.m and was so excited she couldn't go back to sleep. Were on the bus by 6:00 and on our way. Metro got more and more crowded the closer we got to D.C. A couple of women across from us had 5 kids between them, all sleepy eyed and dressed in layers heading to the Capitol Mall for the big event, history-in-the-making. It's was so awesome to see folks of every age braving the freezing cold to witness this exciting event.
We were in the Mall by 8:20 and placed ourselves close to a big screen monitor in front of the Washington Monument. The next challenge....stay warm and pass the time until the ceremony starts. Nor managed to read the paper cover-to-cover while Sully just did people watching. Met a nice man from Ohio who brought his 84 year old father who had last attended Kennedy's inauguration and wanted to attend Obama's to "close the parenthesis". One guy looked at my binoculars and said "honey, you need a peroscope not binoculars". He then put me on his shoulders so I could take a picture of the crowds looking towards the Capitol and back towards the Washington Monument. Lots of folks, lots of stories, lots of excitement and obvious emotion all around.
Finally the ceremony started....lots of pomp and cirumstance. Fun to see some of the notables but really everyone just waiting for Obama and his family to make their entrance. The crowd cheered some, booed others (like BUSH). It was good to see Ted Kennedy. Aretha Franklin's "America the Beautiful" was moving. Obama's speech was so right on target and (hopefully) shamed some in the former administration. Being in that crowd at that moment felt like such a privelege and I was so happy we made the trip. It was worth every minute to see him become our president. It feels good to say Barack Obama is our president!
Getting out of the Mall took some time and once back out on the street we decided to go to the Mayflower Hotel, warm-up and celebrate with a glass of wine. So we found comfortable table, visited with others celebrating the occasion and enjoyed watching the parade on TV....we stayed warm and cozy. We heard stories from a few who had inaugural tickets and weren't able to get in because the security stations were overloaded and they just stopped putting people through. So we didn't feel so bad about not having tickets.
Walked around town a bit more where the streets were full of people partying, tuxedos and gowns heading to balls, sounds of celebration goin on! Finally got home after being gone for 15 hrs, getting on trains going the wrong way and seeing tuxs on the Metro line. What a day, an Oh-Bama Day.
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