Obamapalooza

[TimothyBFan]

Wakey Wakey EV--We're waiting to hear from you!

[eaglesvet]

Hi all...you know me when I have something important to write about...I need a laarrgge block of time, which is something I won't have till tonight unfortunately. I have the rest of everyday life to catch up on in the meantime, or else!

Suffice it to say...with so many millions of people around my friend Chris and I, the cold temps reported were NOT an issue in the least. The "sheer humanity" reported literally acted like insulation! And we couldn't believe the 'best behavior' of everyone on that Mall and in the surrounding parts of the city. Not one instance of anything other than warmth, understanding, and shared experience. I know it sounds corny, but it was entirely true!

Not that everything went smoothly, by any stretch of the imagination. We managed to turn it into a slightly harrowing adventure, though I promise it was not our fault! And I KNOW you all watching at home saw and heard way more of the festivities than I did (I'll explain later); but I saw the heart of it, literally and figuratively, and it was all worth it. But I also know exactly what we'll do differently in 4 yrs...ahem, assuming that history repeats itself.

[eaglesvet]

Well, here goes! I had only discovered my 'sweetheart' of a deal bus ticket to DC on Craigslist about 3pm on Monday, after a lot of searching through many different avenues. Ted, the fellow who organized the charter, was super-nice on the phone--although he asked me to "tell him about myself" before he would commit a pair of seats to me. I never did confirm exactly why--I think he wanted to see how much I really wanted those seats! But my thinking was, where else was he going to find others to fill those spots at this late hour? Anyway, after determining I was legit, we arranged that I would drive out to his apt. before 6pm to pay for the seats, so as to guarantee our spots. Of course, at 5pm it started snowing, but I didn't want to call and appear that I was wavering on my committment...so I plowed onward, easily spending twice as long as it normally would to get to his place.

Got our tix, got the 'lay of the land' as far as the itinerary would be for early the next morning, and set off for home. I knew I had a bunch of stuff to get ready and to do, and I realized it would be hopeless to attempt to get any sleep before our 1:45am departure from my house to arrive at his apt again by 2:30am. Know how weird it is to arrive at a relative stranger's apt at that hour to start a social event? Very! And he's the one I knew best! But, with music playing,and OJ and coffee flowing freely, the other 10-12 folks made us feel at home very quickly. It seemed that most of them knew each other from before, with the exception of one other woman who had also just purchased her tix today. Next to Obama, she had one of the best lines of our adventure... when asked why she wanted to go to DC so badly for the Inauguration, she simply said it had been on "her Bucket List!" Funny thing was, she probably was only in her 50's, so that just seemed like an early start for a Bucket List!

[eaglesvet]

Next episode to come later...sorry, I had to take a break, and that seemed like a good stopping place!

[Prettymaid]

Ted, the fellow who organized the charter, was super-nice on the phone--although he asked me to "tell him about myself" before he would commit a pair of seats to me. I never did confirm exactly why--I think he wanted to see how much I really wanted those seats!

I bet he was checking to make sure you weren't a nut! (Usually when a person starts talking freely you can tell very quickly!)

[sodascouts]

Can't wait to hear more!

[Prettymaid]

EV, where are you? I'm waiting to hear about your experiences at the inaugeration!

[eaglesvet]

Sorry, I spent the last few days regaining my strength. I had been on the barest verge of a cold for the past week, and being outside all day in the DC winds definitely brought it on full-force. By the time we were on the return bus ride home, I had no voice (well, part of that was from all of the cheering--but not all of it!), and then I really muddled through the rest of the week at home/work with my tissues in one hand and the cough medicine in the other. But now I'm back on the upswing, so here goes!

The bus was full, about 45 people of all ages, from 4 to 74, I would guess. The largest group seemed to be in their 20's and 30's. Even though my friend Chris and I were two of the last to board, we snagged seats in one of the first couple of rows, right behind the coolers of food Ted had brought as part of his Inaugural Party. Party or not, my first order of the night was to try to sleep for at least a few hours, but I was a little worried by the enthusiasm of this crowd that this would be impossible. Thanks to Apple, however, the bus remained quiet enough to allow the majority of us to get some shut-eye while the others partied in their heads with their I-Pods.

About 6 am, the bus rolled into Stars' backyard somewhere in Delaware, at a rest stop for us to get our Starbucks fix. Ted had brought bagels, danish, and juice for us as well. After that, we pretty much stayed awake for the rest of the journey. The conversations that we had, and heard, were pretty interesting. A lot more worldly than usual...more stuff on people's Bucket Lists such as personal goals and travel destinations...political topics such as previous Presidencies...social topics such as Martin Luther King. I was amazed at how easily words flowed in this environment!

The bus arrived in DC right on schedule at 8 am. We had a parking permit to be only 5 blocks from the Capitol, whereas many charter buses had to park about a mile away at the sports stadium. What everyone failed to anticipate, however, was how effectively the DC police seemed to block off the roads leading into the Mall area with dump trucks and other large vehicles! As our bus took the exit and rounded the bend, we were stopped in our tracks by said dump truck. As our fearless leader exited the bus to negotiate a way through with the police, throngs of people seemed to appear from nowhere, filling the streets to head toward the Mall. Had we known that we were going to spend the next 2 1/2 hours on the bus as the driver attempted to plod through the ever-increasing traffic, find a passage into that area of the city, and then finally find any place at all to park---we would've bailed out at that time too, and joined those throngs streaming toward the Mall. But, in the words of Pink, "Who knew?" Besides, we kinda wanted to know where the bus was going to wind up parked for our end-of-the-day return to it...
(~back in a few~)

[eaglesvet]

Remember I said that I learned some things I would definitely do differently the next time around? 1st Note to Self: If the bus gets stuck in a 'parking lot' of traffic anywhere remotely near the National Mall, get out and hoof it then. Washington is basically a grid, and I have a cell phone. I will find the bus later, and they won't leave without me.

First, for some basic orientation before we leave the bus...the National Mall is a large rectangular park that stretches from 3rd St on the east to 14th St on the west. The Capitol Building is located on the eastern border at the level of 1st St, while the Washington Monument is located just to the west of 14th St. Continuing directly westward from the WM is the Constitutional Gardens, which is another large park leading to the other memorials (WWII, Vietnam Wall, and Lincoln.) The "sea of humanity" that you saw on TV filled not only the Mall but also a good deal of the Constitutional Gardens (although I couldn't see how far back.)

Our bus finally landed at 10:30 am on the Potomac waterfront at 9th St, southeast of the Washington Monument. As everyone put their four other layers of clothing on, Ted passed out the foil tins of lunch his sister had made up: fried chicken and tuna-macaroni salad! That and a bottle of water, and we were all set! Knowing ahead of time that we were each allowed only a 6'' x 8'' carry-in bag, Chris and I had worn our 'Michelin-Man parkas' with the huge cargo pockets. In went the lunches, drinks, tissues, Chapstick, throat lozenges, money, hand and toe warmers, maps, cameras, cell phones, kitchen sink... We actually found no need for the 6'' x 8'' bag!
We sighted the Monument, and off we went!

However, the sea of humanity was streaming in along with us as well, so it made for slow going. People from every walk of life were converging on every walk of DC, as well as the streets themselves--streets that thankfully had been closed to vehicular traffic by those dump truck/bus barricades I had mentioned before. Along the way were dozens of street vendors selling everything Obama...it took us about 5 minutes to make our first button purchases. We had to dress properly for our first Inauguration! The more we trudged along with the crowds, and the closer it got to 11am, the more we realized that scoring spots on the Mall "central" was an impossible dream--at least not in time to witness any of the ceremony. So, we set our sights a little lower, aiming to get within a good view of a large video screen near the WM end of the Mall...which was apparently the first place security was letting people attempt to enter the grounds.

As the crowds got thicker and slower (though surprisingly well-controlled and polite), Chris and I were determined to wiggle and squeeze our way onto that green and in view of one of those screens! We passed large trees with 3 to 5 adults in them, viewing from on high (not for us, thank you); and lines of "Don's John's" porta-potties with folks on top of them as well (definitely not for us!) (Note the 'Little Thing that Reminded Me of the Eagles.') No, we would settle for a viewing spot on terra firma...and we eventually reached it by 11:15am or so. We had made it! We were in the shadows of the Washington Monument, I'd say about a couple hundred yards away. Thankfully, both Chris and I are tall, and could see over and around many of the people around us...except for the blue-pom-pom-hat guy and the thick-green-poufy-hat guy. We did have to maneuver ourselves a bit during the proceedings to avoid these "hat-encounters", but that really was a minor issue. We were there, and that was what mattered! And as I had previously mentioned elsewhere, there was no feeling the cold...the wall of people surrounding us were the best insulation anyone could ask for.

The crowd we "inaugurated" with was very diverse: all ages from infant to grandparent; all races; teachers with their grammar-school students, military personnel, college students, business people, homeless people. Incredible. Unifying. People actually did move over for shorter people to squeeze in; and if someone tried to climb on another's shoulders and was asked to get down, they complied immediately and politely. Couldn't believe it!

We got to our post just in time to see the former Presidents arrive on the scene. In our corner of the woods, Bush was boo'd...which was the only show of discord that I saw/heard. Could've done without that, even though I was glad to see him go. He still deserves respect at an event of this magnitude. I hope the TV audience and Bush himself did not hear any booing. Afterwards, only multitudes of cheers from our gang, with the graciousness to stop immediately as the next words of the speaker started up again, so that we would not miss a single historic moment! The two most emotional moments for me came before Obama even spoke. When Senator Dianne Feinstein said (and I am paraphrasing here) the line about the challenge of Martin Luther King leaving the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 44 years ago, and finally hitting the walls of the White House today--well, I lost it there. The beauty of that symbolism totally touched me! Then, when Reverend Lowery led the masses in the Lord's Prayer, and everyone prayed out loud, I again became teary-eyed. Again, it was so unifying; and then to have it end with choruses of "Amen" echoing around us--beautiful.

Chris and I (and everyone else) were transfixed by the screen during Obama's Swearing-In Ceremony and Inaugural Address. Obviously, I noticed the flub during the Presidential Oath, but of course had no idea who was right and who was wrong at the time! I loved, loved, loved the color of Michelle Obama's dress and coat...although the video screens made it look more of a celery color. And the girls were adorable. Anyway, it wasn't till after Obama finished his address that Chris and I looked at each other and at the others in the crowd, and realized the number of tear-streaked faces around us (including ours). Then, for whatever reason, a fair number of people began leaving the Mall, not even waiting for the end of the ceremonies! We were shocked, but realized that this was our chance to make it to the center of the rear of the Mall...which is what we did. We were like salmon spawning, but we fought the onslaught of people exiting to get there...just to get a full look around at everything. Unfortunately, it made it so we really couldn't concentrate on what seemed to be a wonderful poem...so I will have to read the text of it sometime soon!

(~more later~)

[Brooke]

Wow, ev, I feel like I'm there with you. Good job!