DC perspective on Inauguration 2009

For those of you who did not have the pleasure of being in the DC area for the inauguration of President Barrack Obama, here is what it was like for us. We have had a four day weekend due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday and Inauguration today. Everything is closed, including school, which we're not complaining about. However, all of the bridges from Virginia to DC were closed down, so no private vehicle traffic at all! We were told that some buses would be allowed by, but no cars. So if anyone wanted to get into DC from VA, the metro was the only way. Since we didn't want to bring Lillie along and join the millions of people jamming in the metro starting at 5am to get onto the national mall for below freezing temperatures, we hung out in our warm apartment and watched the swearing-in and inaugural address on TV. Since we wanted to take part in some of the craziness just to say that we did and so Lillie can say one day that she was there, we took a bus and the metro into DC before the parade started. Here we are at the Metro Center Station where we got off to see the parade. We thought we would be able to go through a security checkpoint and get a good view of the parade, but it wasn't that easy. There were cages, tents and cement barricades like in these pictures that were a block away all the way around the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue, so we couldn't see anything. There were huge bleachers in the way as well, so we didn't even catch a glance of a big float.We didn't get through any of the checkpoints, which I'm not even sure we would have been able to, because of this huge line that was pretty much not moving the whole time we were there. Notice the tent, which is supposedely the checkpoint. All of the streets in downtown DC were blocked off like this with huge buses overlapping and preventing any vehicle traffic from getting through. That still didn't prevent the hundreds of vendors selling souvenirs along the pedestrian walkways and in the middle of streets where no cars were allowed.Despite the freezing weather and crazy crowds, we still had a fun time experiencing up close and personal the inauguration of our country's first African-American president. Even Lillie enjoyed herself being all bundled up. (Notice the beanie and scarf that Anna just sewed for Lillie out of an extra blanket we had...isn't she a great mom!)Here's me and Lillie (although her eyes are covered and she can't see anything) checking out the crowds and decorated buildings.A close-up.So that was how it was for us. Also, we have almost been here 6 months and we are going to be here for a while longer, so we are finally shedding our last piece of contact info from our lives in Provo. We are getting new phone numbers with 703 area codes. If you want this info let us know because we will still have our old numbers until Tuesday the 27th; so call us, make a comment or email us, whatever works for you.