Inauguration Day

FIVE AM Grab some grub and head for the sub (way)

Arrive at the Lawn just before dawnThe group is all here! Let's give a cheer!

Still dark you bet, but see Monument? (Washington)Almost sunrise, does that mean temperature rise?
Here comes the sun and here comes the fun!
This flag is no rag!
Red white and blue, can you see just a few?

Shot in overzoom finds bleaches have room.
Barack on the "Tron" and Capitol down yon.

I'm distracted, no clever rhyme here. Maybe Kate will take over now and I'll eat ice cream.

Yeah, I can't rhyme. Here's a cute little girl Brian took a picture of.



We heard that some people who had tickets for the ceremony didn't get in because the lines were so long. It was good that we left so early. We left the hotel at 5:15 and were on the mall by 6:30. We ended up about midway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, directly in front of the Air and Space Museum. We were also right behind a jumbo-tron, so we had a great view. We heard that the police blocked off our area of the mall at about 7:30, so we actually had a lot of room around us....room for dancing!


The Capitol during the ceremony. The mood on the Mall was festive. People were glued to the jumbo trons. It didn't matter what was happening according to the announcer; all that mattered was what the screen was showing. Any time an image of Obama or his family came on, everyone would cheer and wave their flags. People cheered for all the former presidents and vice-presidents, but when Bush and Cheney were announced, it was almost silent. A few people still waved their flags and some booed. But most of the day was about Obama chants and flag waving and dancing around in an attempt to stay warm.


Joe taking the oath of office from Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. I think JP is going to retire now that a Dem is in the White House.

Proof of attendance.
Obama's inaugural address.


What a good looking class!


After the ceremony, the Mall cleared out pretty quickly, but we knew the Metro would be a mess so we went over to the Air and Space Museum to grab some lunch and warm up. Here are Brian and Andrew on the floor because there weren't enough seats.

We waited almost an hour and then a small group of us set out for the Metro to try to get home. We got to the Metro station and it was absolutely packed! Some officers we asked said it was closed. Others said it was just backed up. Either way, we faced the prospect of hours of waiting in line, so we decided to walk home instead (about a 4 mile walk). Along our way we stumbled across this man who also appeared to be walking home. For those of you who aren't geeks, it's Colin Powell and his wife :)

Here we are walking across one of the bridges headed into Virginia...

...along with many others.

Where's Waldo?
We all made it home safe and sound. What an amazing experience to be a part of history!