Inauguration Day – Part 4 - We Stop to Rest, Meet Amazing People

Exhausted, cold and thirsty for beverages, we wandered around trying to find anything resembling a restaurant. So many roads were blocked off for the parade that we were pushed completely off course. We eventually found ourselves near the Farragut West Metro, which is near the Lombardy Hotel and features a cute little bar. We decided to step inside for a drink.

There were no seats available, but two very nice women made room for us. After more than seven hours of standing in the cold and our muscles aching, God bless these beautiful women for making a place for us to sit down. My vodka martini ended up just being straight vodka with a few olives in it, but being that I could barely feel my toes, I wasn't exactly complaining. Christopher ordered a beer and as we defrosted, two more people joined the area we were sitting in.

The newcomers were filming a documentary about the inauguration as it related to race. They had found that younger people at the inauguration were not as focused on race, but more on Obama’s ideals and outlook on the world. We all began chatting and found out that one of the women who had made room for us was actually an ancestor of Booker T. Washington . Her sister who joined later, Sarah Rush, is a public speaker from Oakland who talks about their family history. The other woman who helped make room for us was originally from the South and had experienced segregation first-hand. When she was young, her father insisted that she and her brother attend one of the white schools in town and they had to be walked to school accompanied by the National Guard. The gravity of the day struck us.

We were eventually decided to head "home." We popped into a Starbucks to get a couple of coffees and in the long line, I ended up chatting with a chemist and doctor from Switzerland. She kept saying how happy she was to see that Obama had become President and that Bush was out of office. "Bush not only ruined America," she said, "he reeked havoc on the entire world." Beyond her hatred of Bush, she had incredible insight into American politics. I asked what her advice would be for Americans, on our new journey with President Obama. "I just hope that people realize Obama's not a magician. He can't snap his fingers and make the world instantly better. He can help lead your country to a better place, but it's up to you to get the work done."

Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is one of my favorite places in the world. We were lucky enough to visit on Inauguration Day. Such a peaceful, wonderful place to be, even with about 100 other people.

Guantanamo Detainees Tour DC

When we said everyone was out for the inauguration, we meant it! The Guantanamo detainees even showed up. Well, it was really a Human Rights Watch protest, but still a nice shot. I mean, uh, photo.

Who Throws a Shoe?

After going to the Korean War Memorial in honor of Christopher’s grandfather, we headed to the Lincoln Memorial. We were disappointed to see that the monument was still blocked off with the concert stage from the Friday before, but luckily we had to walk around because we saw this:


Some genius had a blow-up Bush statue that they were tearing down like it was the Sadaam Hussein statue in Iraq. The best part was that crowd-goers were throwing shoes at it (arrow points toward flying shoe). Ah, political humor at its best.

Inauguration Day - Part 3 - We Wave Good-bye to Bush

Shortly after President Barack Obama (yay!) gave his speech, we turned to head towards the Lincoln Memorial. We had seen what was in front of us for more than five hours, but had no idea about the amazing mass of people who spanned from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. It was awe inspiring.

As we walked toward the Korean War Memorial, the Marine One helicopter with President George W. Bush inside, circled overhead. We waved a happy good-bye, while others behind us shouted, “Eat a dick, George!” Some people just have a way with words, you know?

Inauguration Day - Part 2 - Hope Happens

It was as if everyone around us was collectively holding their breath, waiting for it to happen. Was Barack Obama really going to be elected President of the United States? For so long we had heard and shouted "Yes We Can!" We made calls, organized get out the vote campaigns and knocked on doors. We did it because we wanted to see Obama elected as President and it was actually happening.

Yes We Can!



Yes We Did!

At the moment President Obama said the following, we both teared up. That our new President said something this profound and powerful, makes us grateful that he is now the voice of our country.

“We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”

More powerful excerpts from Obama’s speech:

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

“Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.”

“With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, ‘Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.’”

“Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.”

“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”

“America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”

Inauguration Day – Part 1

Apologies for the late post on how the actual Inauguration went, but due to camera difficulties, we had to go old school and actually get film developed.

About the day - Wake up time: 4:45am. Departure from hotel: 5:30am. Temperature: Not Hopey warm, very cold. The bright spot: It wasn’t raining, snowing or pelting freezing rain. We heard that some people, including Ben Affleck, stayed out all night to hold a place along the parade route and on the National Mall. With the wind chill, how only 34 people got hypothermia is miraculous.

Thankfully, our hotel was just three blocks from a Metro station. The Metro wasn’t packed at first, but steadily got very crowded. We arrived at the L’Enfant Metro station near the National Mall around 6:45am and emptied out into an incredible mass of people. With little breathing room, everyone shuffled slowly towards the exit. A couple of important items to note:
- No one we saw was rude and people were very patient. The crowd was in good spirits, even at 6:30am. The excitement of the day, of the moment to come, seemed to overtake any pettiness.
- The escalators at the station were out of order and everyone was forced to climb the steps one by one. One woman asked if this was Obama’s “get in shape” plan. When each group of people reached the top of the long set of escalators, a cheer rang out. “Whaa-hooooooooo! Obama! Obama! Obama!”
- Not only did the Metro trains run frequently, but all of the ticket machines worked. Bravo Metro! Really, cheers to the Metro workers who made things run so smoothly.

On our way toward the National Mall, we grabbed a couple of “coffees” from a stand at the price of $3.25 each. The coffee was pretty laughable. Really, it was water with a drip or two of coffee. To all of you who know how much coffee means to both of us, you’ll appreciate that Christopher cursed this woman throughout the day. If Karma means anything, this woman’s coffeemaker is in ill-repair right now.

Post-coffee, there were thousands of people around us, all trying to cram in to get the best spot in front of the Capitol. We realized that we might not get a close spot and opted to head towards the Washington Monument to find a good viewing area. Although we couldn’t see the inauguration stand, we had a view of the Capitol Building, could see a big screen TV for a close-up and could watch the event happen before our eyes.

At 7:15am, the area around us was fairly empty:

For hours, we watched as people poured onto the National Mall in front of us toward the Capitol. The sea of people was astonishing. People literally flowed from all directions. Where were they all coming from? And where were they all fitting?

By 10am, there was little breathing room around us:

While Christopher froze his butt off saving our spot on the cold hard granite around the Washington Monument, I stood in line waiting for hot chocolate and food for an hour and a half. The man behind me was disappointed to find out (after 45 minutes) that there was no coffee available, but was happy to know that there was at least something warm to drink. He was from Seattle and had made the trip out to DC for not only the Carter inauguration, but also for both of Clinton’s. He said that Clinton’s first inauguration had also been especially cold and I determined that cold on inauguration day was like rain on a wedding day – a good sign.

As the big moment approached, Christopher realized that two kids near us (whose parents were already crying tears of joy) couldn’t see the big screen and he lifted the kids up in front of us for a better view. Part of the reason I mention this is to say kudos to Christopher. The other is to say that this was the general spirit of the day. With the exception of a few, there was no shoving for a better view. Many times, the woman next to me asked to make sure that I could still see and held me arm in arm so that neither of us would fall off the platform. Even if we couldn’t see much, the good in everyone made being there worth the while.

Stay Tuned

As my digital camera broke (ugh, still very sad about it) we're waiting for photos to be developed to post a blog about inauguration day. Stay tuned...it was a fabulous day with incredible stories (and hopefully photos).

Home Sweet Home

After a few elbows to the head, children of the corn eyeing our food, smelly seat-mates, and an out of control loud speaker on the long plane ride, we made it back to Portland in one piece. This morning I said we were tired and not much has changed. One bright moment in our travels was this guy at the Seattle airport. Now those are some pants.

Naptime?

It was a long day yesterday, but we made it through. We'll post details later about the big event.

Cute!

This Was Empty @ 7:30a

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John King Setting Up

This is a shot of an alcove on the 4th flr. Looks like they'll go to air soon.

This One is for Phil

A printing press on the 5th flr of the Newseum.

Penn Ave Newseum Deck

Cherry Tree in Winter

No More Standing Room

The metro is so full that I am standing in between a seat with a lady in it and the wall. PETA has a bear and a rabbit right in front of me. DC is zoo, people.

That's a Lot of Hope

When Christopher said there are a lot of people here, he wasn't lying. CNN is reporting that there were one million people on the National Mall today, spanning from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. Incredible preview for what's to come on Tuesday!

Bonus: Marine One helicopters were flying overhead during our visit to the Washington Monument. Video of one of the helicopters landing at the White House below.

Highlights from Today

More photos from today - that is, before my camera broke. Noooooooooooooo!!!

US Capitol from Pennsylvania Ave.

All areas around the White House were blocked off and this the best we could do. Security is TIGHT. Note the guards on the roof.

Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Beautiful fountain from The National Gallery of Art

Building along Pennsylvania Ave. There are welcome and congrats signs everywhere!

Close up shot from behind the Capitol Building, where we made friends with a Russian brain surgeon.

Metro ticket with Obama on it. :-)

Lots of hardware.

This is the row of 2nd tier trucks on the capital-end of the mall. This is some kind of big deal, ah?

There are a lot of people here.

A lot.

Pottytown!

That's a butt-load of crappers.

Headed to the National Mall

The back of the whitehouse has a bunch of people on the lawn. Not us.

Caption Contest

Caption Contest - Winner gets their very own Barack Obama beer cozy! No joke, they've put Obama's name on absolutely everything in DC. Submit a caption for the photo (at left) in the comments section, we'll pick a winner on Wednesday and send a beer cozy to the lucky writer. Don't forget to include your name after your entry.

Tonight we are headed to the cool part of town called Adams Morgan. Luckily there is a bar there called Madam's Organ to cheer us up after Arlington National Cemetery.

Amy and I watched the guards play Taps. I really wanted to record it and post up the video, but I thought better of it. If any of you really want to know what it feels like to hear Taps at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, come here and see it first hand.

Defending ideas is more expensive than can possibly be imagined.

This is How We Roll

DC is beautiful. Just look at the view from our hotel window. Gorgeous.

PS We're so happy to be here!

Land of 5,000 Beers

After bragging to Christopher about how Brickskellar is Beer Mecca with 5,000 beers on the menu and the most knowledgable waitstaff anywhere, we got the new waitress (I don't know that she drinks beer at all) and realized that most everything on the menu was not in fact available. Rough start, but we ended up with two big winners:

- Peak Espresso Amber Ale (MA) - The best of beer and espresso combined. Think a lighter Black Butte Porter with coffee taste.

- Weyerbacher Delta (PA) - Very, very different ale with ginger undertones and a touch of cinnamon. Christopher: "Whoever made this beer, cared about it a lot." Only 40 barrels made, 7.5% alcohol.

HOLY CRAP THE SUPREME COURT

This is so cool.

Union Station

Apparently DC will be closed for a series of private events leading up to the inauguration. Will keep you posted.

Metro ride

When you are poor and/or cheap you take public transpo. In DC, the trains are just like the PATH trains in New Jersey, only with luxurious cushions. Buy a $20 card, and get on with it. The card gets charged when you get off the train.

We made it here. Didn't hit any birds

This is the DC on approach. Look for Washington monument.

Second leg

Seattle is fogged in to about 30 ft above the deck. Amy checked the latest weather report and it is likely to be snowing leading up to the main event Tuesday in DC.

I'll be wearing a red white and blue Libby's hat during the inaugural parade. My parents earned it with soup can labels in the 70's.

If you see a dude in that hat getting tackled by the National Guard, please call me a decent attorney.

We didn't sleep much.

We're boarding now. This is the first leg, a hopper from PDX to SEA.

A group of passengers on the way to Montana have started the entertainment. They are all blond and fair-skinned, except for the sketchy older brother. The littlest Klampit is pulling seat cushions up and shoving on the security doors. Can't wait to see where their seats are.

And yes, Amy is still working...

Having Reservations

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
- Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Was I confident that Obama would beat Hilary Clinton in the primaries? No. Was I sure that Obama would beat McCain in the general election? No. Did I still book two plane tickets to DC in May, make hotel reservations, and plan for Christopher and I to attend the inauguration anyway? Yes, yes I did. Everyone (sans Christopher) thought I was totally insane, but who’s laughing now, eh? - Amy

Let Us Not Relive This Moment

On Thursday, January 20th, 2005, I was sitting on the couch in my DC apartment, pissed off. I was watching history take place on TV, when the real thing was happening just eight blocks away. I could have walked over to the US Capitol to witness the moment first-hand, but it was the last place I wanted to be.

At 9:30am, the sound of a beer cracking open echoed from the kitchen. My roommate walked into the living room with a freshly opened can of Guinness. "What better time for a beer?" she asked, taking a big chug. Beer seemed like a fabulous idea. I grabbed a drink and we forced ourselves to watch the second inauguration of George W. Bush. Several beers (and a mini-depression party at our house) followed, but none of it eased the pain. – Amy