Donna and Walt’s Obamadventure:
Several steps from history…
Washington, DC, January 2009

 Photos on Flickr

5:00 pm, Saturday – 67 hours from inauguration

Donna and Walt arrive in Philadelphia a few hours behind President-elect Obama, who had left on his journey from Philadelphia to DC on a train – an environmentally-friendly symbolic journey retracing Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 inaugural trip. Donna and Walt are in a gas-guzzling SUV with Texas plates.

10:00 pm, Saturday – 62 hours from inauguration

Walt drops off Donna at her brother’s in Northern Virginia and heads to southern Alexandria, just a few miles from Mt. Vernon – the home of our first president – to visit Todd. Along the way, Walt sees signs along the DC Beltway stating “DC Event, Jan. 20, Expect Delays”. Walt wonders: what might this “DC Event” be?

2:00 pm, Sunday – 46 hours from inauguration

Donna tries to pacify her nephews by out-jamming them on Guitar Hero; she has only moderate success at jamming and pacification. Walt watches some of the opening concert at the Lincoln Memorial. He doesn’t see much as he’s across the river in the SUV going 50 mph on his way to his friends Dave and Carol’s.  But he listens to the concert on the radio. Todd is at that moment near the monument trying to work his way past annoying security guards randomly enforcing rules. As Walt listens to the concert, he drives past homages to other past presidents – the Lincoln Memorial, George Washington Parkway, Ronald Reagan Airport, the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

2:00 pm, Monday – 22 hours from inauguration

Walt picks up Donna from her brother’s and heads to Todd’s. But first they stop by the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum Annex to check out some patriotic products of American technology, such as the Enola Gay, the SR-71 Blackbird, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and the Concorde. Well, the Concorde was actually built by the French, who are far too wimpy to be considered American. But the French did help us during our Revolution and they did give us the Statue of Liberty, not to mention tasty varieties of salad dressing, fries, toast, and kissing. From the observation tower, Donna and Walt also watch several planes land – many bearing a nice post-election, inaugural-themed message for the country: “United”.

8:00 pm, Monday – 16 hours from inauguration

Donna, Walt, and Todd embark on one of the fastest, roller-coasteriest city bus rides ever experienced. The driver took corners like the bus was on rails. Everyone held on for dear life; bags went flying off seats onto the floor. At one point, the bus nearly ran over a car coming from the other direction that had crossed over the double line (only Walt, sitting up front, noticed this). After a thankfully less-thrilling subway ride, they arrive at Mark and Haejin’s one-bedroom apartment, which is beneath their family residence. This was luxury accommodations on Pennsylvania Avenue only three blocks from the Capitol and a short easy walk (or so we thought) to view the inauguration. Thanks Mark and Haejin!
12:00 am, Tuesday – 12 hours from inauguration

The three settle into sleeping bags, hopeful for a good night’s rest before the big day.

2:00 am, Tuesday – 10 hours from inauguration

Sirens blare outside the apartment as emergency vehicles speed up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. This occurs repeatedly throughout the night as security for the ceremony apparently begins in earnest.

6:15 am, Tuesday – 5.75 hours from inauguration

Multiple alarms go off to wake everyone up. Walt gets up. Several minutes later Todd and Donna rise. They groggily turn on the TV to see reports of people already streaming into the Mall. Well, they aren’t going to be first.

7:30 am – 4.5 hours from inauguration

They leave the apartment and start down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol. The scene is one of ubiquitous Obama – on hats, scarves, buttons, t-shirts, face paint, etc. They pass vendors hawking just about anything you can think of with the Obama family on it. They even pass a restaurant selling Obamaburgers (hamburger, bacon, chipotle mayo, sautéed onions, and gorgonzola cheese).

8:00 am – 4 hours from inauguration

The first casualty of the day: Walt stumbles off a step and does a face plant onto marble. Did the builders really have to use such a hard stone?! Fortunately, it is just a minor bruise and Walt is able to carry on. It is not to be the last casualty of the day though.

8:15 am – 3.75 hours from inauguration

The direct route to the Mall is blocked and Donna, Walt, and Todd have to detour up and down streets, through mobs of people, and over a bridge of ticket holders entering a tunnel on I-395. At one point they even have to bushwhack through brush. Donna never thought she’d be doing that in D.C.

8:30 am – 3.5 hours from inauguration

More detours. Todd’s back starts to spasm and he needs to slow down – another casualty. Donna and Walt nearly lose Todd in the crowd several times. They finally reach a checkpoint. There are lots of military, but no metal detectors or hand-searches. However, everyone has to squeeze through a two-foot opening to get onto the Mall. It was about this time that Walt and Donna realize that the “bushwhacking” they did was actually a relevant pun; so don’t feel bad if you didn’t get the pun when you first read it above.

8:45 am – 3.25 hours from inauguration

The three finally finish their Bataan death march and find a spot at the top of the hill in the shadow of the Washington Monument. They are a mile away from where Obama will be standing in a little over three hours. However, unlike many in the massive crowd, they actually have a “view” of the Capitol. With Walt’s super-powerful binoculars, he can make out human-shaped figures roaming the inauguration dias. Unfortunately, the selected spot is, as mentioned, in the shadow of the monument, so there’s no sun. And at the top of the hill, the blustery wind is at its fiercest. So it is bone-chillingly cold.

9:00 am – 3 hours from inauguration

Still cold. Donna and Walt start envying their colleague Ted. Even though Ted is currently in Antarctica, it surely must feel warmer there than it does where Walt, Donna, and Todd are standing. The only nice thing is that they’re showing the Lincoln Memorial concert on the giant TVs. Bono and the rest of the group U2 are performing. Walt and Todd love U2. Donna just thinks they’re pretty cool. Donna’s tastes run a bit more towards Garth Brooks, and she dances to his set to keep warm.

10:00 am – 2 hours from inauguration

Still so very cold. Donna can’t stop shivering and has lost feeling in her feet and fingers. Her teeth start chattering. She makes a break for it to forage for some hot chocolate. Shortly afterward, a group of teenage boys sit down next to Todd and Walt and huddle into their best impersonation of Emporer penguins during a long Antarctic winter night.

10:30 am – 1.5 hours from inauguration

Walt starts to think that Donna is a deserter, that she’s found some secret warm spot and left Todd and Walt to suffer alone. But she finally returns with hot chocolate for everyone. Donna is a hero. The hot chocolate warms everyone up a bit, but seeing the “penguin colony” nearby, Donna sits down next to them to try to get warmer. The crowds start to pour in a bit and the field behind the monument begins to fill.

11:00 am – 1 hour from inauguration

Donna notices the abundance of fur coats. Who would wear a fur coat to an event like this? And over sweats and ski bibs?  But they’re at least warm…or warmer anyway. Donna’s teeth are in danger of some serious enamel damage as they chatter incessantly from the cold weather.

11:30 am – 0.5 hours from inauguration

Though the Washington Monument location is prime in some ways, it is a fair distance from the nearest Jumbotrons and the sound does not seem to be very good. The three contemplate whether the ceremony will be audible from their current position. Todd is certain that their best chance at hearing the ceremony is to move down the hill closer to the Jumbotron.  Donna and Walt are not so sure. In a not so confident decision, they make a move down the hill, dodging swelling crowds, scaling walls, and jumping chain fences. What was empty space just moments before (when, for example, a widely-distributed satellite picture was taken) is now swarming with people. The clearest spot is near the designated bathroom area.  But, do Donna, Walt, and Todd really want to stand next to port-a-potties to witness one of the most historic inaugurations in U.S. history?

11:45 am – 0.25 hours from inauguration

They settle into a spot about half-way between the monument and the port-a-potties. The sound is audible, though it tends to go in and out depending on the gusts of the wind. The video would be viewable except for the fact there appear to be several basketball teams in the crowd. Donna is disappointed in Aretha’s singing. Neither Todd nor Walt notice.

12:01 pm – Inauguration

Well, actually not quite time for the inauguration. Things are running slightly behind and Yo-Yo Ma is playing the cello at the scheduled time. Donna is also disappointed in Mr. Ma’s playing, or more accurately, disappointed in the music written by John Williams. The guy writes the Star Wars theme and this is the best he can come up with? Neither Todd nor Walt notice.

12:04 pm – Inauguration for real

Did Obama just flub his line? Or did Justice Roberts flub his prompting? Oh well, it’s over now. Wild cheers from the crowd. Yay! Everyone can go home now and get out of this cold! Oh wait, there’s still the speech

12:25 pm – 21 minutes after inauguration

Obama finishes his speech. More wild cheering, but cut rather short as folks bolt to get out of the cold, many hoping to catch a Metro train before the lines get long.

12:30 pm – 0.5 hours after inauguration

Port-a-potty stop. This is one thing the planners got right (a most important thing to get right): they had more than enough port-a-potties. Even as everyone is leaving en masse there is still no line to use the bathroom. Apparently someone’s math is very good and the right calculations were made when the order came in for “toilets for two million people, please”.

12:45 pm – 0.75 hours after inauguration

Todd announces that he has tweaked his knee. Now he’s a double-casualty. But he soldiers on. Like lemmings, the crowd is all heading to either a dead-end or at the least a very constricted exit. Todd breaks trail against the grain of the crowd and bushwhacks (there’s that term again) a path back toward open space to find another exit.

1:00 pm – 1 hour after inauguration

Off the Mall and onto the serpentine path through the streets. Donna, Walt, and Todd scale multiple jersey barriers and navigate past tour buses and military humvees. At one point, Walt is asked by a harried gentleman if he was near where the parade started. Uh no, sorry sir, the parade starts on the other side of the Mall, at least a mile away; and you’ll never get through security in time anyway. Todd is asked for directions to the L’Enfant Metro Station. He does the best he can, but who knows which streets are closed; they may have ended up in Bowie, Maryland before all was said and done. 

1:30 pm – 1.5 hours after inauguration

A run-in with Abe Lincoln on Independence Avenue. Well, not the real Mr. Lincoln – it is one of the Washington Nationals mascots, apparently waiting for the parade. But he is behind a chain-link fence, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. It’s a bit freaky actually. Donna announces that her knees have swelled up and are aching. Now it’s three-for-three in the casualty department. Not to mention all three suffering near frost-bite.

2:00 pm – 2 hours after inauguration

They pass the line for the Capitol South Metro station – it extends up from the bowels of the station and winds around the block. Nice not to be riding the Metro right now! A few minutes later, they are finally back at Mark and Haejin’s and can start trying to warm up. Donna’s teeth continue to chatter for several more hours.

12:00 pm, Wednesday – 24 hours after inauguration

Donna is at her friend Fiona Lo’s place and Todd is at work. Walt revisits the scene of the crime a day later. There is trash everywhere. Port-a-potties still line the Mall. He heads to the Lincoln Memorial to bring the inaugural tour full-circle since Obama’s inauguration theme “A New Birth of Freedom” celebrated Lincoln’s inauguration nearly 150 years earlier. It is a long walk. It is still bitterly cold and windy. Only this time Walt is not wearing his full winter gear and cannot believe that he is actually colder than yesterday. He does confirm that the location next to the Washington Monument, where they spent several hours the day before, is indeed the coldest spot on the Mall. Upon arrival, Walt finds a long line to enter the Lincoln Memorial. Normally, one can just walk up the steps, but the stage from Sunday is still being disassembled and there is only one narrow path up the steps and everyone has to wait out in the bitter cold to visit Mr. Lincoln. Walt is now mad at Bono for making him freeze more.

2:00 pm, Wednesday – 26 hours after inauguration

Walt has a memorable moment in the Smithsonian American History Museum cafeteria.

12:00 pm, Thursday – 48 hours after inauguration

After Walt leaves Todd’s and picks up Donna, Walt and Donna reach Philadelphia and visit Independence Hall: the location of the birth of freedom in America (at least for white, land-owning males) seemed an appropriate place to end their inaugural tour. As Donna and Walt had followed Obama’s trail from Philadelphia on Saturday, Obama was following Lincoln’s trail as he prepared to ascend to the presidency in 1861. During his stop, Lincoln raised the flag in front of the hall. Donna stands in the exact location of this flag-raising moment and contemplates 150 years of history. They also stop across the street to see the Liberty Bell, so named by abolitionists in the 1840s to shine a light on the glaring inconsistency of declaring the U.S. to be a “land of liberty” when millions of slaves had no hope at the time for such an inalienable right. (Contrary to popular belief, the naming of the “Liberty Bell” had nothing to do with the American Revolution).

5:00 pm, Thursday – 53 hours after inauguration

Donna and Walt prepare to board their flight back to Denver, still in the glow of witnessing history. They are optimistic that Obama will solve all of the world’s problems – wars will cease, the economy will revive, the hungry will be fed, all schools will have good computers, the environment will be healed, Microsoft programs will stop crashing, telemarketers will stop calling during dinner, and planes will always fly on time. And then: “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen in the boarding area. I have an update on a couple United flights. The Chicago plane scheduled to leave a few minutes ago has a mechanical problem, so we’re going to give them the Denver plane. Those folks going to Denver, scheduled to leave at 5:30 pm, will now have to wait for the next plane to come in around 9:30 pm. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

3:30 am, Friday (1:30 am MST) – 63.5 hours after inauguration

Home. Warm. Sleep. Finally.


What It Means

The experience we had was a once in lifetime event, but as we hope we humorously conveyed above, it was difficult at times. We got little sleep, there were huge crowds, it was bitter cold, and there was unseemly hawking of kitschy souvenirs. At the event itself, it was difficult to hear everything and almost impossible to see much. There was some disappointment in the ceremony – heck, apparently we didn’t even witness the real swearing in (thank you, Justice Roberts; how about practicing your lines a bit next time?!). In all this chaos, we couldn’t help but sometimes wonder if it was all worth it.  And as is often the case amid such excitement, we didn’t really have a chance to think about what being at the inauguration meant to us. However, after some time to reflect on it, we’ve each written our thoughts below. We apologize in advance for the sappiness and sentimentality.

Donna:

Nearly a year ago I was in Australia, and throughout the five week trip the front page of every major newspaper had images of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Which person would take the Democratic nomination? Well, we now know. For years, I have had conversations with people in other countries about American ideals and the leadership we choose. But, only recently have I grasped the true impact America has on the world. As individuals we finally took responsibility for the outcome of this election with “a recognition on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world.”

I went to Washington so that I could feel the energy of hopeful change and be a part of one of the most historic presidential inaugurations in U.S. history. Despite the symbolism of MLK Jr.’s birthday and Lincoln’s presidential anniversary, I did not sit on the steps of the Lincoln memorial to hear the whisperings of “I Have a Dream.” Instead I stood in the shadow of the Washington monument not knowing that Obama would reference our first president and once again remind us of the fundamental rights we each have, and the basis on which this country was formed. I stood with friends and strangers, Americans and foreigners, and remembered that America has a lot to offer.

I continue to be inspired by our new leader to find my humanitarian, and carry with me the “Yes We Can” attitude to give back and make a difference. He raised his voice to some saying “people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.” For me this was the most powerful statement in the inaugural address. I will take this with me in my own responsibility as an American citizen. I will continue to travel to experience global cultures. I will continue to raise awareness for charitable causes. And I will fight for educational equality in the community I grew up in.

Walt:

For me, the meaning didn’t truly hit me until the day after the inauguration. Donna had gone to her friends’ place, Todd had gone to work. I had the day to myself. After visiting the Lincoln Memorial, I stopped in the Smithsonian American History Museum for lunch.

As I sat there eating, a family sat down at the table across the aisle. An African-American family: mother, father, and two little girls. The two little girls were twins, about three years old. They were dressed in identical double-breasted black wool waist-coats with little gold buttons and an American flag on their lapels. Pink scarves swirled from their necks. Their hair was done in twin braided pig-tails. Their big walnut-colored eyes took in their surroundings. Quite simply, these were the two cutest girls you will ever see.

Their father put down a tray of hot dogs and red punch for them. One of the girls spilled her punch and the father gave an exasperated sigh. The girl dropped her eyes in sadness and embarrassment. For a moment, it looked like she might cry. As the dad started to clean up, he looked at and said that it was okay; the girl’s eyes brightened again and she bit into her hot dog.

And I thought:

What does Barack Obama’s inauguration mean to me? It means that progress comes – not always and rarely quick – but it comes. On January 20, 2009 when I stood with two friends and nearly two million other people to witness history, I knew that my optimism for the future is not misplaced. I know that those two little girls will grow up in a country that over their lifetimes will continue to evolve, if ever so incrementally and often too slowly, toward a more perfect union.


Inauguration 2009 Photos

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