Jan. 23, 2009

As many of you have already heard, my trip to attend President Obama's inauguration
didn't go exactly as planned.
But I ended up with warm accommodations for the ceremony,
landed an ideal spot to watch the parade and had a grand time
at the Grits and Granite Ball that night. The day was a great success.

Like many in D.C., my husband, my daughter and I got up early
and dressed in long underwear and good walking shoes.
We were out of our hotel shortly after 7 a.m. and already the Mall
was packed with people. We had to cross Pennsylvania Avenue to get
to “our” security checkpoint as purple ticket holders. On the way, we
saw police officers from every imaginable state.

After getting in our gate line (which extended deep into the I-393 tunnel), we waited for three hours to enter
the Mall. Despite the cold, everyone was in good spirits. There were people from all over the country -- children
 and grandparents and all ages in between. To pass the time, we sang songs. We were surrounded by friendship,
compassion and high spirits. Just before 11 a.m., the line began to move – except suddenly people were coming
back from the gate rather than going through it. They had stopped letting people in!

Fortunately, we had plans to attend a reception after the ceremony at the Teamsters building facing the Capitol.
So my husband Bob and I and our daughter made our way there early.

We ended up with a 12^th floor balcony view of the inauguration and while I couldn’t see much beyond the Mall,
I could hear it all and watch Barack Obama’s swearing in and his speech on TV while sipping hot cocoa.
Not so bad at all!

Our son Nate was the only one of the family to make it into the Mall for the inauguration and he tells us a tree
blocked most of his view and the crowd was packed so tight, he couldn’t lift his arms even to take a photograph!

At the end, we worked our way out onto the parade route. We caught a glimpse of President Obama’s smile
as his motorcade passed. We were positioned right by the parade announcer and saw and heard most of the
marchers.

When we got back to the hotel to change for the ball, it looked like a disaster zone, however. The Metro station
under the hotel had gotten so crowded that some people had trouble breathing and were brought upstairs to get
medical attention and recover. Again, I was impressed by everyone’s kindness and patience.

Fortunately by the time we left for the Grits and Granite Ball, the Metro station had cleared and we got to
Alexandria , Va. without a hitch. The ball occupied two floors and drew 1,300 people from New Hampshire
and South Carolina . One of many bands playing was a South Carolina group called “Smoky Weiner and the
Hot Links” !

Over the course of my time in D.C., I also got to meet Al Franken, chat with former president Bill Clinton
and watch a performance by a professional Martin Luther King Jr. impersonator!
                                                                                                          
It was wonderful time, filled with the spirit of our great American community coming together, 
and an Inauguration Day I will never forget.