On Tuesday morning, I got up with Noah at 6:30 am. We were staying with some friends who live near Eastern Market. By 7:30, there was a parade of people passing by the window, on their way to the inauguration. We had breakfast andstarted walking around 9:15 . The excitement in the air was palpable! People were everywhere, all over the streets.
Since some of the roads were closed to pedestrians, the walk was not easy. At one point, we had to squeeze through a very narrow space through bushes and brambles where the equivalent of 25 lanes of traffic were reduced to 3 -- it was tough! The walk was also confusing -- there was no clear information about street closures or the best ways to get through. Lines for people with tickets got confused with lines to get through small spaces. We soon had a view of the Capitol!
We got to the first entrance, at 7th and Independence, and they were not letting people in. They said to continue to 14th street, which is about as far as the Washington Monument. However, along with a few apparently savvy people, we made a byline through a museum entrance at around 10th St, and went into the Sackler Gallery. We had been told the museums would be open to help people keep warm, and figured there must be a way to get through to the Mall.
We walked down 3 flights of stairs, and passed scores of people lining the walls of the hallways, sitting down, or laying down, resting and keeping warm. It was around 11:00 by this point, and yet these people were not on the Mall waiting for inauguration. They must have burned out, and just wanted the warmth. I finally asked one group what time they had arrived, and they said they had gotten to the Mall at 5:00 am! Here's one guy sacked out:
After crossing the museum and fighting our way back up 3 flights of stairs that were lined with people just trying to keep warm (just the last flight of stairs must have taken us 15 minutes!), we finally made it to the Mall! We were jumping with excitement!
The crowd at the mall was fabulous! It was diverse, and I even saw one other infant (most other kids around were at least 5 or so). They booed at Bush; they cheered fanatically when Obama appeared and when he took the oath of office. It was cold -- probably about 26 when the ceremony started, but with all the people around it didn't feel quite as brutal as you might expect. Some people looked well-prepared, others looked cold, and still others had clearly felt compelled to retreat to the museums for warmth. Comforters doubled as coats and Obama ski hats abounded.
We left before Obama's speech was over to beat the crowd on it's way out, since Noah had reached his maximum patience and comfort levels. We made it home by about 1:15 pm. We spent a total 4 hours out in the cold, but had stopped at two buildings on the way there for warmth. When we got back to the house, we were exhausted, but happy! All in all, it was so worth it!
It turns out we were extremely lucky. There were tons of people stranded on the metro, stuck in lines (even ticket-holders), or just could not get there, so ended up missing it, or watching it on TV. Every restaurant we passed on the way (McDonald's, a Mexican restaurant) was packed with people watching it on TV. I heard one person say she watched it at the CVS. One group we met had left at 7 am, and kept going to 14th street, and didn't get back for 8.5 hours.
Noah sleeping on the train back:
Here is a video memory of it all:
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