We made it!

Where shall I begin? We left Mo'town at noon today. We were less than 2 miles outside of Morristown when we saw the first vehicle traveling to DC for the inauguration. This group was from Arkansas. As we passed we gave each other a "thumbs up." From that point it was the equivalent to the orange flow of traffic on fall Saturdays in Knoxville. Only these folks were all traveling to see the 56th inauguration and the first African American president sworn in to office. We were 10 miles SOUTH of Bristol when we saw the first of many "Expect Delays. DC Traffic On Jan. 20" signs. On the way Robb and I tossed around our many theories about inauguration traffic jams and the number of attendees. We'd both read articles and listed to predictions about the numbers. But, no traffic jams today.

Before I go into too much detail, I need to share some background. My parents always took me on summer family vacations. Two of those vacations were to DC. Traveling with my parents requires stops at many Wal-Marts and Cracker Barrells along the way. I have been to DC three times since and we never stop at Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrell but Robb and I always hit a Hooters. THERE ARE NO HOOTERS IN VIRGINIA! I drove and drove and searched and searched and had to settle for a burger. I shall survive.


We drove straight into Washington, D.C., at about 7:30 PM. There was no need to take the beltway. For the last two hours of the trip we were the only people on the road. When we got into town we were excited to see the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. I was astonished to see so little traffic and NO TRUCKS. It was extremely obvious that security measures were already in place three days before the big event. We traveled down Constitution and heard sirens (I was talking to my grandfather on the phone and he heard them too.) Apparently a truck was traveling down the avenue and within minutes there were three patrol cars surrounding the truck. I'm assuming no trucks are allowed into the city right now.

So, here we are. It is such a neat story about how we found lodging. Robb found a college friend, Regina, via Facebook about a month ago. She has a friend who wanted to auction his apartment for the inauguration festivities. Since Robb knew Regina and Regina knew Michael, we bid. Michael is an attorney and has been in South Africa teaching deaf children to sign. He is also deaf. The money we paid him for his apartment is being donated to the deaf advocacy group for which he works. So here we are in a very nice section of the city, in a comfortable one-bedroom apartment right on Connecticut Ave. . We are sleeping under a framed Harvard Law Degree (which we can't even read.) Oh and Michael got his undergraduate degree at Princeton. I hope to one day meet him....he has a copy of The Devine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood: one of my favorites.

So, back to the city. It looks as if The National Mall is fenced off with double fencing. I think there will be a walkway between the rows of fencing. There are portable buildings and white tents set up along the Mall. I think these are security checkpoints. As my grandfather said, I think there are more police, security and secret service than visitors. I am sure we will find out more tomorrow as our adventure continues during the daylight. We had an hour or so before we got the keys tonight so we walked around the neighborhood shops. I was surprised at how many stores and restaurants close at 9 on a Saturday night. Y'all just think Morristown is weird. It is terribly cold (20 degrees) so we wanted to find a place to get a coffee and maybe read. We went to one place and they carded us at the door. I'd left my license in the car, the host told me, "You can't go anywhere in the city without your identification." Geesh, I just wanted a cup of coffee.

I think that is all for tonight. I could just write and write and you'd yawn and yawn. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you about the speeding ticket Robb got on the way up.

Hugs and love,
Liz and Robb