Inaugural recap (or, Woohoo! No frostbite!)

Simultaneously the coldest and most heartwarming experience I’ve ever had…

Although it’s cheesy to go on about how positive everyone was and how uplifting the whole event may have been, in my experience, both things are absolutely true.  I have a friend who traveled all the way to DC with her family–very likely the only four non-Republicans from the entire state of Wyoming–waited for 2+ hours Monday to pick up senatorial tickets to the swearing-in, got up at 4am Tuesday morning, waited in line to ride a packed Metro train into the city, stood in line to get into the Mall for 4+ hours, didn’t wind up getting in anyway, sat in a Subway restaurant during the ceremony, and STILL raved about her trip and how she would do it all over again tomorrow.

I was wearing hiking boots, wool coat, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, 2 pairs of gloves, earmuffs, a scarf, a hat, and the hood of my coat–and the knock-you-over wind made it feel like I was just hanging out in shorts and a t-shirt, with my fingers and toes firmly packed in ice.  (On top of which, I had just been put on medicine for bronchitis and sinus and ear infections, after being sick for a couple weeks already.)  However, we stood as close to the Washington Monument during the ceremony as was possible (they had a railing barricade just inside the circle of flags), and could see a jumbotron, the Capital dome, and the White House without even having to lean in a different direction.  It was a beautiful day.

Some of my favorite non-ceremonial moments from the week:

• Street vendor #1 yelling, “Souvenirs!  You gotta buy ‘em now!  Or you gotta buy ‘em later!”  …huh?

• Street vendor #2 yelling, “T-shirts!  T-shirts for warmth!”

• Street vendor #3 (my favorite) yelling, “I have hats!  Get your hats here!  Buy two and wear ‘em as mittens!!”

• Had an “Obama Burger” from the Good Stuff Eatery–restaurant opened by Top Chef contestant, Spike.  Cute name, if you don’t think about it too much…

• Sitting in a bar, having a delightfully rum-filled spiced cider, it was wheels-up on former-Air Force One as it carried the Bush family back to Texas — lots of woohoos and claps and waves from fellow bar-sitters.  (seemed much less disrespectful than the booing before the ceremony, in which I didn’t take any part…)

Altogether, it was an amazing experience, and I appreciate my sister-in-law even more for letting us crash in the city for free.   : o)

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