Pictures!
I went back and forth a lot about whether to go downtown for the inauguration today. There was a lot of, “It’s so cold!” “But…history!” “I should do work! And crazy Metro lines!” “But who knows when I’ll have an opportunity like this again?” Anyway, I talked to Katie last night (who already had a train ticket down from Frederick) and decided to go in.
I got a bus to Silver Spring around 7 this morning–Silver Spring, not Takoma, because trains originate at Silver Spring. Wise decision, too. The platform was packed, but an empty train pulled up, so we all made it on. I even got a seat! Woo! But the train? Was packed. In Silver Spring. With multiple stops before we hit downtown. Anyway, we made it. I met up with Katie at Union Station. The game plan was to go north of the Capitol, then head down to the Mall on the other side of the Mall (so we didn’t have to cross the parade route). This involved getting lost, taking a “shortcut” that involved a large, empty parking lot, and then happily meeting up with the crowds. We kept walking and walking, as some of the entrances to the Mall were closed–already full. We wound up down by the Washington Monument (on the left side, as looking at it from the Capitol), too far away to get one of those flags, but we could see a Jumbotron (if not the Capitol itself). We got there around 9:15 or so. And then…stood around for a few hours. With a LOT of other people. Everyone was pretty festive and happy and taking pictures. It was cold, but not too bad. There was wind, but it didn’t start in earnest until the ceremony was pretty much over. The Jumbotrons were showing the We Are One concert from Sunday.
When the ceremony started, there was a lot of cheering (near me; no idea what was going on up closer!) for Democrats, indifferent silence for certain people (Lieberman, Laura Bush, George H.W. Bush), and a rendition of “Na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye” for former President Bush. When the screens showed Sasha and Malia in the building, everyone went “Awww.” A few times, someone said, “Please be seated”…leading to hearty laughter from the majority of us for whom that wasn’t an option. Lots of big cheers when Obama showed up on screen, and obviously when he was sworn in. Lots of cheering during the speech itself, lots of hugging. Perfect silence when he spoke. And as soon as the speech was over, a lot of people started taking off, so it was kind of hard hearing the benediction.
After, we took off down toward the Fed, then walked up to Farragut North for me–Katie had to hike back to Union Station. No problem getting a train back, so my transportation was largely quite smooth. All in all, I wound up walking something like 5 miles. My legs weren’t too pleased with the combination of the cold, the standing around, and the walking afterward. Ah well. Apparently Katie had some issues at Union Station, but she made it back to the train safely.
All in all, it was awesome–in every meaning of the word. Just seeing that many people, hearing how happy everyone was, seeing how pleasant everyone was, hearing the “Obama!” and “Yes we can!” chants…it was really incredible. The atmosphere was electric and fun. And cold. But very good. It was definitely cool being there. And it’s amazing looking at the images on tv and being like, “I was there.”
