Unexpected Inaugural Fun

Today, was a morning just like any morning: we woke up with Aidan in our bed and Leo was calling from his room "Da-deeee". At some point in time, I don't know exactly when, Leo stopped getting out of his bed in the morning to run into our room and now when he wakes up he just yells for one of us to come and get him.

Yesterday we decided that Doris and I were going to go to the movies. We were planning to see Slumdog Millionaire at 11:20am in Bethesda. Doris picked me up at 10:30am. On our way to the movies, I asked Doris if she would rather go downtown so that she could buy an inaugural button instead of the movies (she really wanted a button and was disappointed that she did not go down yesterday during the concert). I figured we could see Slumdog anytime but the inauguration festivities would be once in a life time. So we decided to skip the movie and go downtown and check out what all the fuss was about.

Stop 1: Macy's Metro Center - We jumped on the metro and headed into town. On our ride in there was a woman on the Metro selling buttons $5 a button or 5 for $20. We didn't jump thinking we could find something more downtown. So far, so good. It is really cold outside and I was not prepared for such an event so we stopped at the Macy's at Metro Center and bought a pair of Ugg-like shoes to keep my feet warm and a pair of gloves. Since we moved to our new place, I have not been able to find my gloves and I have been without them all winter. I had a gift card from Christmas (thanks Pa and Crow) and now we are all set.

Stop 2: Hay Adams Hotel - Off the Record Bar - "Best place to be seen and not be heard"
Now that our hands are warm and are feet are toasty we set out to satisfy our hunger for both food and movie stars. We walked towards the White House to the Hay Adams Hotel (where the Obama's stayed when they first moved to Washington) and we decided to have lunch at Off the Record. We were hoping to get some lunch and spot some movie stars. We had a great lunch but unfortunately we didn't see any stars.

Stop 3: The White House
We headed over to the White House to see the parade route and where the Obama's would watch the parade. There were lots of people hanging out around there and taking pictures. We think we spotted someone famous. What was the clue? He is super tall, had a camera following him around and at one point he started waving. I made Doris run up in front and take his picture. Here it is: Anyone know who the mystery man is?

Mystery Man. Anyone?

Stop 4: The Official Inauguration Souvenir Store.
Every person that came to the city for the inauguration was in this store. It was crazy. Doris and I got our picture taken with Obama and we bought a few souvenirs. I bought an inaugural poster and a button and pin for each of the boys. Doris bought a button. She got what she was looking for.

Stop 5: The Mall-CNN
We headed down to the Mall to see how many people were out and about and to see if we could find the news broadcasters and their stages. There were so many people all over the Mall and mind you, there really isn't anything going on today. First, we found the setup for CNN and we spotted Soledad O'Brian and Roland Martin. We were actually hoping to see Anderson Cooper but he was not around. While we were here I called Jason and told him to watch on CNN to see if he could see us. He said he couldn't believe I was standing outside waving with a cell phone to my ear. I told him there were a bunch of other idiots like me waving, with a cell phone, trying to see if I'm on TV.

Stop 6: The Mall-MSNBC
We stopped by the MSNBC studios and stood around trying to get on camera again. While we were waiting around we saw Luke Russert (the late Tim Russert's son) coming out of the studio. I'm not sure if you know, but Doris, Jason and I all LOVE Tim Russert and we were so sad when he passed away so by association we love Luke Russert as well. His smile is just like his Dad's. We ran over to try to get a picture with him but he started to walk away. I made Doris follow him and I yelled "Luke! Luke!" and he came over and I got to take a picture of him and Doris. I love this picture!

Stop 7: Gallery Place Metro
After all that we decided it was time to go home. We walked over to Gallery Place to catch the metro home. I could not believe how many people were around there and how many vendors were selling their wares. Gallery Place is really not that close to the Mall. People are making SO much money off of this inauguration it is unbelievable. Everything Obama sells, from T-Shirts, to Dog Tags, to CD's, DVD's, posters, scarves, hats, buttons, lapel pins, reusable grocery bags, you name it they have it with Obama written on it. It is incredible. The Metro ride home was fine. The platforms were super crowded but an empty train picked us up so we had a seat all the way home.

All in all, it was a really fun day and it was fun to be part of the inaugural celebration. I kept thinking while I was out that I wish Aidan could see it (I think Leo is too young to remember) but there were many times when I also thought he would hate it (the crowded stores, the packed metro, the cold, the walking). He would especially hate it because he has a cold and a cough too. I just want them to know what a special day this is and what a big event it is in our history. We are planning to watch the event on TV together as a family. I hope he remembers. I bought Aidan an Obama t-shirt for him to wear to school on Wednesday. For their show and share they have to bring something in about their new President.

It is times like these when it is great to live in our Nation's Capital.