We R Famous...or something much less significant

Links to media moments related to the trip:

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090120/NEWS/701209992

http://hemmingsen.wordpress.com/tag/inauguration/

and our friend Ross' interview:

http://www.kcrg.com/inauguration/37858584.html?video=YHI&t=a

and other Eastern Iowans:

http://www.kcrg.com/inauguration/37944864.html?video=YHI&t=a

Thank you!!

For the crew: Who would you like to give thanks to for the inauguration trip?

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

I snapped this picture right as Obama said, "...so help me God."

It was a very good day.

The Scene at Washington Monument 1-20-09

Bonnie and Braydon Getting to Inauguration Day

Getting to the Mall took some perserverence and quite literally strong stomachs. Both of us were nearly ill (Bonnie on the train--I didn't mention that I am clausterphobic to Jill and Todd until we were on the train so as to not worry them...lots of self-talk...you can do it you can do it)--I only had to take a knee twice to keep from passing out. Braydon told us after we left the Metro station "You know how your mouth fills up with spit right before you puke? Yea. That happened like 10 times when we were in that station."

We knew making it to the ceremony without a hitch would be too good to be true. It started out easy when we walked up to the Metro platform and got on the train that had just pulled up and we made it to our exit station within 20 minutes. We exited the train to a station filled with thousands of people smashed together and not moving. The trains kept arriving and people kept pouring into the station faster than they were letting us exit. It took over an hour to get out and it was quite a tense hour as people were nervous, not understanding why they wouldn't just open the gates and leave them open (the gates would be opened for about 2 minutes and then closed for 5). There was some levity as the Metro staff giving people directions would state a set of directions then say, "Can we do this?" and the entire station shouted in reply, "YES WE CAN!"

Once we were out of the station it was smooth sailing along with a sea of people through the streets and to the Mall. Imagine our surprise, as we did not leave at 3:00 AM like many, that when we arrived on the Mall there was plenty of space right near the Washington Monument and we had a fantastic view of the Captiol plus a jumbotron.

All the kids on the National Mall

On Monday Circe and Bonnie walked most of the National Mall with the kids. There were thousands of people milling around. The We Are One concert was being replayed over and over again on the jumbotrons. There were random bursts of revelry all over the city---as double-decker buses packed with tourists went by they were all screaming O-B-A-M-A and anyone walking by on the street would join in. People were randomly shouting YES WE CAN/YES WE DID as well.

Here we are at Yoko Ono's Wishing Tree. There are papers tied to the branches and you can write whatever you wish for on them. The tree is in the sculpture garden near the Air and Space Museum.

Reaching for the top of the Washington Monument...just a couple feet shy of making it.

Dear friends

I not only reconnected with Polly, Lisa, and Deoria, but my other friend, Lisa, came down from Baltimore for the ceremony and stopped by the house with her hubby, Rob, to warm up. We had not seen each other for (horrors!) at least six years. Here she is with me and Deoria.