Earlier this month I had the privilege to attend the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. People came out en masse for this celebration, making it an interesting weekend to be in DC. While I had originally planned to drive from Greensboro and leave my car at a lot in Arlington, the "powers that be" intervened and I ended up flying! After seeing the traffic reports, I'm glad that things turned out that way. I've visited the district on the 4th of July, which usually draws about 500,000 tourists from what I understand. However, a number of sources reported four times this number of people - around 2 million - attended Obama's inauguration and the related events. Fortunately, I have a number of friends in the area, so lodging was not a problem. We had to do a fair bit of walking, however, as the subway was packed. And I won't even talk about the taxi situation!
Festivities for my weekend included a concert on the Mall, an inaugural ball, and the official ceremonies on Tuesday. The concert was free, but so many people showed up that it was hard to get anywhere near the performers (located at the Lincoln Memorial). Still, thanks to the jumbo-tron televisions positioned on the Mall, we could hear and see just fine from our spot under the Washington Monument. On Monday night we attended the New Mexico State Society Ball at the National Museum of the American Indian. Though walking two-and-a-half miles in a full suit through freezing weather wasn't my idea of fun, the food, drinks, and music made it well worth the hike! The rest of our free time was spent visiting some museums and doing a little shopping. We didn't have official tickets to the inauguration on Tuesday, but once again the jumbo-trons were present. Under the shadow of the Washington Monument once again, we watched President Obama take the oath of office. While we may not have been very close to the podium, it was still a once in a life time experience. Politics aside, you got a special feeling - standing in a cheering crowd of millions of people, realizing you were watching history being made.
Visiting the district is always a delight, and this trip was no exception. While I could certainly deal with being able to taxi or metro places (not to mention eat at just about any restaurant), I was willing to make those concessions for this event. One thing we all noted was the positive attitude of everyone present. Throughout the weekend, National Guardsmen were posted on just about every street corner. However, it certainly didn't feel like a state of military lock-down as one might have expected. Rather, instead of being tense, everyone just seemed to want to come together and have fun. That's saying a lot - especially for that many people in a city like DC.
(Photos by Dean Rhoades)
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