Inauguration: There and Back Again.

4:15 AM. The alarm rings. Press snooze.
4:23 AM. Snooze goes off. Grumble. Swear your going to die. Stand up and blearily look at clock. Yes, it really is 4:23AM and yes you really are going to wake up now.
--Make pb&j's, throw on all clothes you own, bundle, bundle, stuff sandwich in pocket and candy in other pocket, grab camera.
4:55 AM. Walk out the door.
Make way along Mt. Vernon trail. It is a 3 mile walk to the Memorial Bridge, but be damned if getting on metro this morning. Over a million people expected to use metro and will be walking, thank you very much.
Walk is brilliant. Ice flows in Potomac, we hear it cracking and echoing in the quiet morning air, geese sleeping on the icy shore, as we near the bridge we start to see more people.

6:00AM. Momentous occasion as we cross memorial bridge. Camera crews are setting up, national guard standing around waiting for assignments.
6:15AM. Use PortoPotty as last minute attempt to use facilities until post-inaug.

6:30AM. Come to spot on mall. We are right in front of national history museum, right at 7th street. Not bad - 7 blocks from the ceremonies. There are jumbo-trons set up in front of us and loud speakers. It is cold. It is dark. Everyone is freezing. Already massive amounts of people. But there is a reason we are all here.

7:15AM. Sun starts to rise. Warmth is imminent. Crowd starts to stir. Hokey pokey and electric slide is performed and chants of O-ba-ma to stay warm and avoid frostbite.
9:30ishAM. We are all tired and excited and still freezing, but the jumbotrons start showing the inaug concert from Sunday. Sad to have missed that, but relived the experience and the crowd started singing along with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Garth Brooks, etc. I cannot feel my toes.

11:00AM. Ceremony starts. Choir. Entrance of congressmen and women, senators, Oprah! *cheers from the crowd*, Dustin Hoffman!, old people, Dustin Hoffman again (why?), Beyonce! And she brought Jay Z and Puffdaddy! *cheers*, MLK III *cheers*, pan to Bush and Laura walking through capitol *boos*, dick cheney is in a wheelchair? Totally evil! what a way to go! *boos*, then we see the First Limo *cheers cheers cheers*

12:00AM. Anytime Bush is mentioned: silence or boos. Obama speaks. Crowd goes completely wild. I cry. Guy next to me from France with video camera records me and others in crowd. Surrounding crowd shouts "amens" and "yes" and other notions of agreement.
Obama is sworn in and everyone celebrates. Hugs all around. Cheers. Little american flags waving in the chilly air.

We are ready for this.
1:00PM. Then the walk home. Crowds, crowds, crowds everywhere you look. We stand on 7th for about 10 minutes without moving. Someone breaches the chainlink fence. The fence comes down and we all make a break for it. Smithsonian gardens trampled, people running on top of stone walls, we all want to get out!Finally we see a way out: They are letting people walk back to Virginia on the 395 bridge. Cool. We walk back to Crystal City on the highway. Almost get run down by bus. Eat candy. Celebrate. Marvel at our wonderful country.A truly remarkable day, not one I will soon forget. To get the real effect of "being there", compare the crowd reactions in 2 videos below. First is Obama, second is Bush.