We were there - 1/20/09

Yeah, a while ago, but BLTN

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Before we ventured out into the cruel, cold morning (HA! Barely! It was really still night!), I thought furiously about what coat I could wear to afford me the most protection from the elements. I thought that the perfect coat would be long (i.e., cover my bum), windproof, dark so it wouldn't dirty easily, and have a hood. I reviewed my outerwear collection, but couldn't think of a single coat that would meet those desired characteristics, so wore my long, white peacoat and a wooley hat. No sooner than we'd arrived at the Metro when I saw someone wearing this actual coat:

Mine of course, was safely tucked at home, warm and roosting in my closet, alongside this coat:

Bah and fie!!! I am not going to brag about my wardrobe inventory skills for awhile...

I took pictures of the mobbed train cars and almost literally suffocating underground Metro experience, but they were a) depressing and scary and b) not good pictures. Suffice it to say that I've never been so sorry to be short in my entire life. I actually appreciated my, um, sturdiness, though, because it enabled me to hold myself upright several times when I could have been bowled over or shoved aside. Reaching the outdoors was another experience in mob surfing:

Our spot wasn't so bad, because it was so damn far back, but it was still a mite crowded. Getting in and out of these bathrooms was quite an interesting experience, especially while inside and listening to/feeling people clamber all over the top. I made the mistake of using the first one at a human traffic juncture. I was shut in for a short period because I couldn't get the door to open into the pressing crowd. That was unpleasant and more than a little disturbing.

These pictures also represent most of the sum of our views. We weren't really able to see the jumbotron to follow along the celebration, and we weren't really able to hear, so couldn't tell what had happened. Mostly, we just drifted around, exclaiming about the masses of people, chatted with out-of-towners, cheered when others cheered, and were very, very cold.

It was a neat day.

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Those folks at the American History museum sure work fast. I guess they knew that, with all the people taking refuge in the museums during the inauguration, people might want to see some indoor acknowledgement of the day.

I wonder if they unveiled the new entry after he made the oath, or just kept it up all day like a done deal.

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Swagalicious.