Saturday, January 24, 2009

Back to No Lines...No Waiting


What an experience it was! Unlike the thousands of Inauguration ticket holders behind us who never got in, my son and I gained entrance to the Mall with our tickets. I don't think I've ever spent so much time standing in one place waiting for a line to move (thank goodness for my son's height and creativity). After the Inauguration, we seemed to walk forever, but we ended in a great place to view the parade, which was a bit of a disappointment--way too much time between performers. We did see the presidential limo, the Bidens, and some high school bands, but 4 hrs. later we decided to call it quits (chilly!). Hopefully the DC folks learned something about crowd control--there's no such thing as too much signage.
On a brighter side, it was such an exhilarating feeling to watch and listen to our new President take his oath of office. Witnessing such an historical event and being in DC for a few days was well worth using two personal days from work.
The food served at the various receptions around the city was excellent (NEA sure knows how to feed folks!). The Friends of Hillary luncheon at her Senate office was a highlight. Former President Bill Clinton and the now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other dignitaries, were in attendance. Later in the day, NH's delegation (Gov Lynch, Senators Shaheen and Gregg, etc.) were present at an Open House at the historical Willard Intercontinental Washington, the same hotel where Obama would spend his last evening prior to becoming our 44th president. I felt so proud to be a native of our Granite State. After a night of dancing into the wee hours, I boarded a plane for NH. One more thing checked off the 'bucket list'...and now it's back to no lines...no waiting.

3 comments:

  1. I can only imagine what it was like to be there. We went down to a local pub where the Democrats of Thailand where holding a gathering...it was magical even from this far away.

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  2. So amazing to be a part of history! Good for you! I can only imagine how magical it must have made you feel inside. I know watching it from my television in my room at school, it gave me chills.

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  3. If only citizens would work so closely for world peace.

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