We are just getting back into the swing of things after our trip to DC. I did a quick check to see if anyone had posted about first hand experiences at the Inauguration but didn't see any trip reports. I thought I would share a little bit.

We drove down to DC on Sunday in a snow storm but made pretty good time once we put New England behind us. Having left extremely early in the morning, we got to my sister's house in time to see the concert at the Lincoln Memorial on tv and the playoff games.

The following day we drove out to Monticello. I've always wanted to see Jefferson's home. It was a very pretty drive through Virginia countryside past several Civil War battlefields. The tour of Monticello was given by a very interesting dedicated fellow who clearly loved what he did. Jefferson's home was much smaller physically than I had anticipated and the tour was relatively short. After we saw the majority of the first floor we were free to wander the grounds and the working sections of the home (kitchen, stores, etc.) It was interesting to hear so much about Jefferson's belief that all men were created equal yet there is no escaping that he was a slaveowner.

After Monticello we drove around the campus of UVA (just gorgeous) and had a great burger at Miller's which looked like a pool hall but locals assured us that they had the best burgers around. The locals as usual were right.


The next morning we took a bus from Fredericksburg into DC. We had bought tickets in advance for a 6:15am bus but it was oversold and we weren't able to get on it. Another bus came at 7:30am and took well over 2 hours to get to DC because of closed roads and detours. But the passengers on the bus were patient and excited. Many asked each other to say a few words on their videos and one young boy had a book that everyone signed which was a great great idea. I would have loved to have that book as a momento.

We were lucky enough to have tickets to the now infamouse Purple zone. We walked from the bus station (near Union Station) right up to within 30 yards of the Purple Gate, arriving around 10am. We waited about 30-45 minutes before making it past the gate and headed to stake out our spot. We had no idea how fortunate we really were to get through security. It wasn't until later that we learned that thousands of people who had Purple tickets never got anywhere near the gate and never saw the ceremony.

Unfortunately we could only get an obstructed view of a jumbotron, we couldn't see the main stage area at all. It was so crowded that I couldn't even lift my arms to take a picture, though my daughter managed to get many photographs.

Despite the incredible overcrowding, the crowd was for the most part wonderful. There was one nasty individual who was such a jerk I will never forget him but he was the exception. Everyone else was jubliant, happy and awed by being there. Some in the crowd booed Chaney and Bush while others chastised them for being disrespectful. Rick Warren was also greeted by a handful of boos and his prayer sounded more like a speech. The best part of his benediction was when he started to pray the Our Father - the crowd got very quiet and calm and many prayed quietly along.

The music was wonderful and the crowd was quiet and listening intently.

No one listened to the poet - she was hard to hear and even harder to understand.

After Obama was sworn in the crowd went crazy of course. I saw many many people with tears. It was just so special to be in the crowd despite the physical discomfort and close quarters.

After the ceremony, we followed the crowds to Union Station in hopes of warming up. There were street vendors everywhere selling some of the most incredible stuff. We bought t-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers - all junk but what the heck.

We did manage to find ourselves a spot in Union Station to catch our breath and even scored hot chocolate and pizza. They evacuated the building after we were there for a bit (I think to get ready for a ball) so we were out on the street again. We found our way to the parade route, went through security and secured a spot by the Newseum and Canadian Embassy.

We got to talk to people from all over - SF, Chicago, Puerto Rico, France, NYC, DC, Memphis, Raleigh. It was great to hear everyone's stories. Despite the long delay the crowd remained friendly and happy.

Our patience was rewarded as we were able to see President Obama drive by in his motorcade but we didn't see him get out and walk.

Finally we headed back to the bus station and eventually home. Tired, cold, hungry but very very happy.

What a wonderful experience for you, bennie. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

thanks so much for sharing that with us. I would've wanted to be there too and am glad I have your experience to imagine how it was like.

Thank you, bennnie, for sharing your trip with us. I would love to have been there too!

We had company for the inauguration -- old roomie came with her 11-yr-old son from Syracuse, NY. My husband dropped them off at the subway about 8:30 am. Fortunately they had our Metro passes and did not have to stand in the loooong line of people trying to get fare cards. They ended up near the Washington Monument, watching on the jumbotron. Afterwards, they just sort of surged with the crowd and ended up in Dupont Circle(!) for lunch. Then walked all the way back to the mall to see the WWII Memorial, then back to the subway. I picked them up at 7pm. Long day, lots of walking, cold temps. But they were happy that they came and were there to experience it! (I guess having been born and raised here, you get a bit jaded. But I did watch in TV at the pub and everyone applauded after "...so help me God"!)
BTW, I spent a summer working on the garden crew at Monticello way back -- it's worth another trip during the growing season!

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading your trip report.

Thanks bennie for sharing your experience.

Thanks to all for your comments. There was so much going on that day I hope I conveyed a little bit of the excitement,hope, pride and sense of community. It was a good day for America.

SoloNoMo - I would have loved to have been at Monticello in the spring. You never know - both of my teenagers were pretty taken with the campus of UVA so a return trip is likely. How lucky for you to have worked there.

Thanks for another viewpoint. My 18 year old dtr and 4 friends (one a student at Georgetown) walked from Georgetown at 2:30 AM and got a space right near where the infamous Purple Zone should have been - they arrived at 4 AM, walked onto the Mall and later were moved in a huge herd - but they were "as close as you could be without tickets" according to her. She heard about the congestion that caused ticketed people to miss the ceremony.

Wondering how you managed to get a spot on Parade route - they were unable to do that and ended up walking back to Georgetown. Also wondering how you managed to get out of the City on Tues - they had to walk because of street closures but caught a ab for last mile back to Georgetown since they were so exhausted and cold.

You are lucky you did not try to fly out of DCA on Wednesday - she reports it was also a nightmare, but got there early enough, checked in on-line, and had no luggage to check so it worked.

Glad you got to witness history.

Gail, After we left the Purple Zone we headed toward Union Station. After getting the boot from there we headed back toward Pennsylvania and Louisiana (I think). We cut through an alley and there was a security check point not far from there. No lines at all. I am not sure exactly what route we took. It was about 1:30 My sister is much more familar with DC than I am. All in all we never strayed more than 5 or 6 blocks it seemed to me.

We lucked out on transportation. Our original plan was to take the Virginia commuter rail into the city but didn't buy our tickets in time. So my sister found the Greyhound bus service. It wasn't great but we did get back with a lot more ease than most I am guessing.

And I have to thank my husband for doing all the driving. He had no interest in going to the inauguration (hates crowds) but he did all the driving back and forth to Boston area.

One other highlight of our trip was our stop at Corrado's market in Clfton NJ. We had heard raves about this place from our BIL. What a find - total old school Italian supermarket with produce, wonderful meats, olives, cheeses, pasta. It was huge. Could have spent hours in there. We will definitely be headed back there on our trips to NY and DC.

Gail - forgot to add to my post that I'm glad your daughter and her friends made the journey. Its easy to skip something like this but you regret it later. I regret not taking the free bus from my school to see Pope John Paul II on Boston Common in 1979. If I had only known...

Thanks for posting this. We watched it on TV. It was uncomfortable when the crowd starting booing Bush (and we definitely aren't Bush fans), and we wondered what made it die down so fast. Haven't really seen much comment on it (and we do have free speech) so we wondered if others in the crowd told them to stop. From what you said that is what happened.

We were able to hear the poet -- still was boring and hard to understand what she was saying.

Maj - regarding the booing - people definitely were of two minds - those that booed and those that didn't. Some in the crowd near me shouted to the booers to stop. I clearly heard one woman shouting "Don't boo the President - He's still the President". Another young man was saying "no no no - respect the office you have to respect the office". I was thinking to myself that just because you can doesn't mean you should.

There was the same sort of reaction to Rick Warren - don't boo him even if you don't like him because you don't want Lowrey booed.

I definitely understand the frustration with Bush, but felt at the time that it didn't represent what I feel Obama stands for, so was glad to see it diminish so rapidly.

Thanks again for your detailed report -- makes me want to go back to see DC and surrounding area again.

Thanks for posting! I enjoyed reading about your experiences.

Lee Ann

maj, come on back! There's so much to see here and a lot of it's free! Just return when the weather's nicer!!! (January is really not a nice time -- cold and no snow!) But April, May, June, even summer -- it always cools down (relatively) once the sun sets! I guess I'm a bit biased, but, hey, my hubbie decided to stay!

Hello bennie, as a born and bred Californian I cannot stand being real cold and I have never enjoyed being in large crowds. But having said that as I spent the day in my comfortable wing chair watching TV I envied those of you who were actually there to witness history.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I have so enjoyed reading your thread.

Thanks for posting this! I have several friends who flew back for the inauguration, some with tix to balls, etc., some with tix just to stand around they said, all had different experiences, but all loved it and felt very happy to be there. Oh happy day!

And I haven't been to Monticello in a dog's age, but yes, I too remember thinking how small it seemed. And I had a guide who said, "Thomas Jefferson took an almost paternal interest in his slaves; he considered them really part of the family." I remember thinking, Well that's putting it mildly, isn't it?

thanks for sharing this, Bennie, it's great to get first hand on the ground reporting and experience. I was in Chicago the night of the election so I can imagine what it must have been like for you and the effect of being part of that crowd.

bennnie! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your trip to the Inauguration. I really enjoyed it.

My niece was one of 200 children in America to attend the Inauguration. She was picked based on her grades and achievements. Talk about PROUD!

My DB and SIL were really debating whether to let her go or not. For several reasons. The biggest one being it would cost close to 3000.00 to go. And they were having a hard time letting her go on the plane with just one other girl who was her friend. The families paid 100.00 extra for the airline to provided a staff member to take the girls from one gate to the other. My SIL couldn't reserve a non stop flight. But after all the talking and me pleading the case for my niece she got to go.

The day of the flight I called my Bro to see how my niece had did getting on the plane and he was sick with worry. Seems they missed their connection and they had to be shuttled to another airport to catch the flight to DC. I told my SIL and Bro not too worry, this happens and they airlines will take care of her. And they did and she made it to DC just fine. And had the time of her life.