No matter what political party you subscribe to, you can't miss an opportunity to attend an Inauguration! This may be the only time I'm stationed near DC during an election with a boss that will let me ditch work for a day, so I snagged that once in a lifetime opportunity!
We started the drive from Delaware around 5am Friday arriving at the train station at the edge of the city about 6:30. The crowd's wern't too large, we were able to find a parking spot and metro ticket pretty easily. The transfer was painless, and getting to our ticketing area and security checkpoint wasn't difficult.
TSA was conducting security searches, we had to empty our pockets and go through a metal detector. Once through, the streets were still pretty empty. This was about 7:30 at this point.
A perk about no crowds is some nice views of the Capitol!
We found a spot in the middle of the red-ticket area, but couldn't see much, so we walked to the edge of the crowd to see if there were open spots and an available jumbo-tron screen.
Success! We got a clear view of the Capitol and the reflection pool! And a jumbo-tron was right to the side of us.
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| Some people camped out with blankets |
Their introductions...
There were many policemen and military patrolling the area, everywhere you looked, there was security.
After the inauguration, we tried to go find food before the parade 3 hours later. We passed the path, this was the beginning of the route.
After we ate, we tried to find a way to see the parade, since thousands of other military members would be in it. Again, regardless of who you support, this is still an amazing opportunity.
However, protesters were blocking all the security checkpoints... the lines weren't moving, and we couldn't get in.
It was extremely frustrating. I understand that they wanted it to seem like no one supported Trump because no one would be at the parade. However, we weren't there to support either political party. We were there to appreciate the troops marching and the other parties that had dedicated thousands of hours to putting this event on.
As we were leaving the crowded entrance, we watched several policemen walk towards the crowd... and minutes later we saw some pushing and shoving down at the entrance. Knowing the tendency for violence with protestors, we kept walking the other way.
It was a wise decision on our part. Later that day, we heard on the news that violence had erupted in that area.
Overall, despite some frustrations at the protestors, it was worth the early morning and cold weather. I don't know if i'll ever be able to go to another inauguration, but at least I was able to check it off my bucket list.
