Blue Devils at the Inauguration

12:12 AM (January 21, 2009)

2009-01-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am back in my room and find it hard to believe that I have only been gone for 24 hours (and that the majority of that time has been spent on the charter bus). It was definitely a day well spent, even if I learned the painful lesson of how I should dress in triple layers for such cold day. I can’t believe how quickly such a historic event seemingly flashed by, but it’s one that I won’t ever forget.

6:00 PM

2009-01-21T07:25:00.004-08:00

We’re on our way back to Duke! Everyone back on the bus and accounted for. Everyone’s talking about how historic the day was, as well as how they battled the cold and the hunger. There’s all-around agreement that it was a fun and memorable experience, well worth the time and suffering we put in.

For the time being though, the warmth on the bus is what is making me the happiest. It’s perfect welcome back because I’ve never felt so cold in my life. I’m exhausted. Time to sleep. Early goodnight.

4:56 PM

2009-01-21T07:25:00.003-08:00

Back at RFK Stadium to board our charter bus. Mai and I both fell (deeply) asleep on the shuttle bus ride; when we woke up, everyone around us was asleep too. I guess we weren’t the only exhausted ones. On the walk back to the charter bus, we stop to buy a souvenir Obama t-shirt. We wanted something simple and classic, so it just says “Obama ‘08” on it with his campaign logo “O.”

4:00 PM

2009-01-21T07:25:00.001-08:00

We caught a shuttle back to RFK. Fortunately, the lines had died down so we didn’t have to wait long in the cold.

3:00 PM

2009-01-21T07:24:00.001-08:00

After giving up hope on making our way to the parade route, we’re walking with everyone else along the only exit out of the Mall – down 6th Avenue. We did manage to see the Presidential helicopter flying to the Capitol building over our heads, and we also saw some of the parked parade floats, namely floats for Obama and Biden’s home states of Illinois and Delaware.

Exiting with everyone from the Mall seems like the running of the bulls (but walking). People keep bumping into each other, jostling and pushing for position. The scene is a distant cry from the organization in the morning. Everyone is confused about which way to go, and even some of the volunteers and officers don’t know. We asked a couple of volunteers and U.S. Army soldiers where we could find food and get back to the RFK shuttle stop, and none seemed to know. We eventually found an officer who was able to point us to the shuttle stop. However, by the time we got to the stop and saw the crowd of thousands waiting, we needed to use a restroom, and fittingly, there were no restrooms around. Plus, we just realized, we hadn’t eaten anything but a hot dog all day and were starving.

All the buildings along the street were closed, and there were no porta-johns. That meant thousands of people leaving the Mall – hungry and looking for places to relieve themselves – with nowhere to go. We weren’t the only ones desperately looking for public restrooms and a restaurant either. Eventually, we found a small Subway restaurant, where Mai waited 45 minutes to use the bathroom and I waited 45 minutes to buy two sandwiches. It was the most delicious Subway meal I’ve ever had. And what’s more, we got to enjoy inside a warm building. It didn’t matter that we had to eat on the floor; we were just happy to be out of the cold.

12:40 PM

2009-01-21T07:23:00.002-08:00

We left the Mall just before Obama finished his inauguration speech in order to get a head start on the crowd heading to the inauguration parade. Unfortunately, every north exit (from the Mall toward Pennsylvania Avenue) has been blocked off already; apparently the parade-viewing crowd is already full. We searched in vain for other ways around the blockade to get to the parade area, only to be mobbed by the rest of the exiting Mall crowd also looking for ways to get to the parade route. Never have I seen so many people. It looked like multi-colored ants had taken over the hill at the base of the Washington Monument. There weren’t this many people even at the Washington, DC, 4th of July celebrations I attended in 2000.

12:05 PM

2009-01-21T07:23:00.001-08:00

Obama has finally been sworn in! A truly historic moment. People were mostly silent and respectful while he took the oath but went berserk as soon as he finished saying, “…protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." We’re lost in a sea of red, white, and blue flags. Never have I felt so patriotic.

11:35 AM

2009-01-21T07:22:00.002-08:00

We were able to find our original viewing spot on the Mall, from where we witnessed the swearing in ceremony. It was a little awkward when Bush and Cheney were introduced and shown on camera. There was silence, as well as scattered boos, and I felt shame that some people couldn’t at least show some respect for the outgoing president on his last day in office. Regardless of his political party, presidential decisions, or public perception, Bush is still the outgoing president, and he served in a difficult time. That alone should be enough grounds to at least be respectful when he is introduced. Just my two cents…

11:10 AM

2009-01-21T07:22:00.001-08:00

We ended up talking a nap in the Smithsonian, on the floor outside of the bathrooms and in front of the wooly mammoth skeleton. The warmth was just too comforting. When we woke up, we found about 8 other people around us napping on the floor too – looks like we started a trend.

But we’re back outside now, ready to reclaim our viewing position on the Mall for the 12 noon swearing-in ceremony. We grabbed a hot dog and hot chocolate on the way out of the Smithsonian, which took way longer than expected. 20 minutes. The lines for food and bathrooms are just incredible.

10:05 AM

2009-01-21T07:12:00.001-08:00

The cold weather has made our face and limbs numb to the core. It hurts to walk, to talk, even to put our hands in our pockets. Luckily, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science (which we are next to on the Mall) just opened up, so we’re heading inside for some warmth and a much-needed bathroom break.

9:12 AM

2009-01-21T07:11:00.004-08:00

We an into Sam Champion of ABC’s Good Morning America and stood behind him waving American flags as he did a live broadcast on the inauguration day weather. I believe we managed to get a couple of cameo appearances in his report.

8:34 AM

2009-01-21T07:11:00.003-08:00

I’m with my friend Mai, and we’re finally on the Mall. The shuttle bus dropped us off a few blocks from the Mall, so we had to walk the rest of the way. We were herded like cattle with the rest of the general admission crowd down 6th Avenue; there were friendly volunteers everywhere greeting people with “Welcome to DC!” and providing directions.

One thing I was a little disappointed about: I stopped at a restaurant to grab breakfast, and they tried to price gauge by charging me $5.99 for a sandwich that was listed as $2.49 on their menu. Not cool at all.

The Mall itself is filling up quickly. We managed to find a spot about 2/3 of the way between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. While we can’t make out the people on the Capitol steps from this far away, we have a clear view of both the Capitol and one of the several jumbo screens on the Mall. Volunteers were handing out free American flags to everyone, so we took a few and plan on waving them indiscriminately. We can see several Secret Service agents on rooftops of the various Smithsonian museums along the Mall. Every few minutes, a military helicopter will also do rounds overhead. Once again, the all-out effort and organization has so far been most impressive.

The atmosphere is electric. Despite the freezing 20°F weather, people are huddled together chatting excitedly or even singing patriotic songs. They’re replaying last night’s inauguration concert on the Mall, so every once in a while, you can hear the crowd cheering or singing along with songs like “American Pie.”

7:00 AM

2009-01-21T07:11:00.001-08:00

On a shuttle bus going to the Mall. I’m impressed with the level of organization so far. The event planners put a lot of thought into the shuttle system running between RFK and the Mall. With the throngs of people eagerly waiting in the cold to catch the shuttles, they really made this part of the trip as painless as possible; I just counted 43 shuttle buses (summoned from all different public transportation systems around DC, Virginia, and Maryland) lined up, waiting to pick people up at RFK.

6:15 am

2009-01-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

Buses, buses everywhere at RFK Stadium. I didn’t sleep too well on the bus, but we just arrived so I can’t worry about that now. (OSAF staff handed out snacks and water during the bus ride, which was nice.) All you can see are hundreds and hundreds of buses parked side by side around you. I’m in a sea of thousands of people walking toward the shuttles that will bring us to the Mall for the inauguration. Along the walking path, there are already vendors at 6:15 in the morning hawking souvenirs – t-shirts, pins, calendars, posters, newspapers air fresheners, you name it – and people snatching them up. With the smell of funnel cakes and hot dogs in the air too, it feels like I’m at a carnival, but boy am I freezing.

We're leaving tonight at midnight

2009-01-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

We're leaving tonight at midnight. I'm trying to get some work done before the trip but thoughts about the inauguration keep distracting me. I know the terms have been thrown around almost too much, but there really is a sense of hope and change that makes this inauguration special. (Although I can't help but wonder sometimes how much of that hope/change image was created by Obama's publicity team and how much is warranted...) Politics aside, I'm looking forward to catching a piece of history; I don't ever remember there being so much hype surrounding an inauguration. Only about 24 hours until his swearing in. Apparently Obama has a busy schedule of prepping and attending inaugural balls today; I wonder how he feels right now...

About to board the bus. I plan on taking a looong snooze during the trip up to DC so that I'll have energy to wrestle with the crowds tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get in by 7 AM, after which the task of finding a viewing spot will pose a real challenge. It will be interesting to see all the security measurements in place tomorrow. I bet the Secret Service has been working nonstop over the past few months to deal with the headache of protecting the President in front of 2 million people. The gameplan is to get as close to the Mall from the bus parking lot at RFK Stadium.

Growing up, I loved learning about presidents

2009-01-19T04:16:00.000-08:00

Growing up, I loved learning about presidents - not so much about their political achievements but more about their personal lives. My favorite books were those filled with useless presidential trivia.
(Did you know?...John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of the 4th of July.) In fact, I had a childhood dream of becoming president one day. Thus, it's only natural that the first presidential inauguration I am witnessing firsthand will also be one of the most historic in U.S. history. I'm not interested in the politics, just hoping to see the start of a return to American basics.