Inauguration Day Recap

Sorry it's taken so long to get our final posts out summarizing inauguration day.

Our alarm went off about 5:30am on January 20th. That was probably a bit late but we wanted to get some rest as we went to bed about 11:30 the night before getting all our gear. As usual, it took some time for us to get out of bed and then we had to strategize about what to eat and what to drink since we were really worried about the bathroom situation at the Mall and figured we wouldn't be able to go. We had a little food and drink and then our savior Loren got up downstairs and drove us to the Metro around 6:45am.

Our train station was Takoma on the Red line (metro map) and when we got to the platform, there were lots of people waiting. 1 train went by without stopping so we decided to go 2 stops north to Forest Glen (away from DC) so we could catch a train going south. That was a good strategy as the Silver Spring station had lots of people so we were able to get on before them.

Our plan was to switch at Gallery Place-Chinatown (woman fell on the tracks at this station) to the Green line so we could get off at L'Enfant Plaza which was close to the Mall. We heard some people talking about switching at the Fort Totten stop instead to the Green line (they were from Texas) and we thought that sounded pretty smart as it would be less crowded so we went ahead and did that and it worked out very well. We were cruising along until we started to get closer to downtown and then had lots of waits for other trains to clear stations. Finally, we were coming up to our stop at L'Enfant Plaza and we whizzed right through it. There was an absolute wall of people and the station was filled to capacity. We ended up at the next stop which was Waterfront-SEU. After wondering if we should try to catch a train back up to L'Enfant, we worked our way patiently through the station with the rest of the crowd. It was great to get out of the station and breathe some fresh, crisp air. We tried to duck into Safeway to use the bathroom but there were no public bathrooms so we started walking to the Mall.

We were able to walk for 8 or 10 blocks and then we started encountering lots and lots of people. We thought 'we've got tickets, where's our line?' Turns out this was the line for people with silver tickets and we kept walking and walking and walking for about 10 blocks till we hit the back of the line. A very helpful volunteer told us that security machines had broken and lots of people were being redirected over to the security gates we were walking towards and we thought there was no way we were going to get in but thought we'd try anyway. We got to the back of the line and all of a sudden, the line broke up and everyone started walking towards the capital. We had to stop of course to buy some Obama air fresheners but after about 3 or 4 blocks, we hit a wall of people. We could actually see the capitol and the stage and see what was happening and we couldn't believe it. We were close enough and this would have been fine to watch the ceremony but the blob of people was actually advancing towards the entrance. There was hardly any pushing and everyone was really friendly and we were all having a good time. It took about 1 1/2 hours but we finally got through security. Ellen and I separated near the end but regrouped right before security. They did a pat down as the machines were broken and they didn’t even look at tickets. We got into the Silver ticket area about 10:15 and the musical portion of the program had just started. It was really very open in the area we were and there was only about 1 or 2 people in line for the toilets which was a good thing because we were really ready to go. We took an area behind the reflecting pool, all the way to the left looking out from the capitol. We tried moving up closer on the right of the reflecting pool but we couldn't see much better and couldn't hear nearly as well so we moved back to our original position.

There was a lot of room until about 11:30 when a rush of people came from the back. We don't know if they just let lots of people in or they break down the gates but all of a sudden, it was very packed in but still very friendly and lots of pain. We watched the ceremony and could see some activity with our binoculars but couldn't make faces out on the stage. We all let out a huge cheer when Joe Biden was sworn in and yelled something about how great it was to see Cheney go. We sat in amazement when noon came and went and President-Elect Obama still hadn't been sworn in. We were so excited when it came time for the oath to be administered. When the mistake happened with the words of the oath, we were a little confused as we couldn't quite hear what happened through the loudspeaker but were so happy when the oath was completed. What a relief to be free of the Bush administration and so nice that we can have a peaceful transition of power in our country. We listened to the Inaugural Address still a bit in shock but really happy to be with all the people. When everything was complete, lots of people filed out onto the reflecting pool ice and everyone waved and sang good-bye to the helicopter taking George Bush away! Yeehaw!! That was really fun!

We started filing out of the Mall on our way to the Rayburn building. By this time, Dave's feet were freezing cold and he could hardly feel anything. Once we started walking, that helped a lot. We sat in line at the Rayburn building over an hour trying to get in to attend a Minnesota party in the Transportation and Commerce room. We were able to get a little food there at least and then we made our way to Congressman Walz's office to find a place to rest. Once there, we made ourselves at home and had some food and plunked ourselves down on the couch and had a good rest. We met some other Rochester folks and had a nice greeting with Congressman Walz and then another good long chat with Gwen Walz. Both she and Tim related to us the most poignant moment of the day. Congressman John Lewis from Georgia was able to greet Barack Obama coming out on the stage and they both thought about the journey for Congressman Lewis from one end of the Mall with Martin Luther King at his “I have a dream” speech August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to the capitol for inauguration of Barack Obama. Here's an article discussing John Lewis and Barack Obama’s relationship. Gwen Walz also spoke of the incredible sound waves rolling up the Mall and how amazing it was to hear them. What a great day!

Videos Posted on You Tube

Today, we posted a bunch of videos on YouTube. There is a playlist of 10 videos. If you just watch one, I think this is the most inspiring.

New bling

To come...

Hi all, we had difficulties posting from Mall but have tons more
photos and stories to share.

We plan to update and finalize the blog this weekend.

We were so fortunate to have been there and want to spread the love
around!

Sent from my iPhone

In the warmth

Enjoying parade from Walz's office. Nice to rest Ellen's sore back and
Dave's cold feet.

4:21 pm

America wins!

Sent from my iPhone

It's cold but we're so excited!

We moved back a bit to hear better.

Sent from my iPhone

Senators coming in

10:45

Sent from my iPhone

We're in!

Marine band playing. 10:27am

We have some hope!

9:34 am Playing Franti with the crowd. Staying warm. Moving with the
masses. Previous line disintegrated. There had been some security
machine problem that caused delay but now there is lots of movement.
Can see Capitol so even here we feel part of it.

In security line. We think.

Line broke up and reformed. It's not moving very quick but we have hope!

Sent from my iPhone

Can't find end of line

Line

Line is probably 3 hours long. Too bad ceremony starts in an hour.
Maybe a miracle will happen????

Sent from my iPhone

Made it off metro

Had to take a variety of alternate routes. Hope to see toilets en
route.

Switched to green line

We were worried about switching downtown so switched up the line at
fort totten instead and getting off at l'enfant plaza to get in the
silver section.

Sent from my iPhone

On the metro

Just did an obama cheer

We will be I'm silver section

Inaugural.senate.gov/documents/Doc-2009-map.PDF

Sent from my iPhone

We're up

Woke at 5:53, quite exhausted and quite exhilerated at the same time.  Doing some carbo-loading to get through and hope to take off to Metro soon. 

Don't think we can email from the Mall, but will certainly try.

Hope to make it through to the 3:00-5:00 reception at Walz's where they will have cocoa and sandwiches.  Only small snacks are allowed in to the ceremony.  Water won't be available either.

We have some conflicting information in the materials we got about where to enter through security, so are a bit concerned about that and taking the more conservative approach going on the source that says there are fewer gates.

There is a spot in our Silver standing area where it may be possible to see the ceremony AND the parade.  Gates open at 8:00, and we are sure there is already a long line.

Time to get our gear and layers on!

the capitol's getting ready!

We're getting ready too. Trying to finalize when to leave (aiming for 7:00?), confirm if better to Metro to Judiciary Square or Federal Center, and plans for post-ceremony. We scoped out our ideal spot for the AM with view of JumboTron and Capitol Building, but we'll take what we can get. We will likely not try to see the Inaugural Parade, but that would be so great if we could.

Ohh, we can't forget to bring binoculars!

And, people are buying Depends because of the 4,000:1 ratio of people to port-a-potties.

The Tickets!!

oh goodie!! we are in the silver section just behind the reflecting
pool. we got a fancy formal invitation, tickets, info etc!

Hanging out with Tim and Gwen

We were so delighted when we got to the 7th floor and saw Tim and Gwen Walz cruising down the hall. They shared an hour of time in his office where we talked about their motivation to get into politics, our life stories and surviving eight years of George Bush. We will never forget their generosity and time.

Waiting in line at Longworth Building

We thought about calling up to Tim Walz's office to see if they would come down and give us our tickets but it was great to stand in line. We met some great people. The woman below from Florida from Florida told us about her regreat at missing the March on Washington and was determined not to missed tomorrow. She was even inspired to run for office this last election and won. We'll post Ellen's interview with her later. It was really moving.

We also met these 2 young men from Sudan who came to the US in 1998 and just finished college and have started a business to get better water for Africa. Their web site is http://aqua-africa.net.

to Longworth Building

Walking from Hart Office Building to Longworth

We had a great time trying to take the subway to the House Office
Buildings (it was closed), walking by the Supreme Court, waiting in
lines, and meeting lots of people. On the Hill, many less vendors.
The lucky people were carrying large ticket-containing envelopes.

The men working in the background of this photo told us at ~3:30 PM that they had to report to work at 3:00 AM and would be taking a lot of Red Bull to get through.

Many people were really dressed formally for the big occasion of ticket-getting. Everyone wanted to share where they were from, why they came, etc.

At both Senate and Office buildings, staffers came out to the lines
and asked for North Dakotans. Those folks got to go to the front of
the line!

At Senator Amy Klobochar's reception

We had a great time at Amy Klobuchar's reception in the Hart Senate office building where we ran into our mayor, others from Rochester and hot-dish loving Minnesotans. Amy spoke on video about how excited she is for Obama. Then we were off to find our tickets at Tim Walz's office in the House Longworth office building.

We were shocked to run into our Mayor while in the lobby of the Hart Senate Office Building! He was just as excited as we were to be in DC.

Senate office building

In line Hart Senate Office Building

Lines were 30-45 minutes to get into Congressional office buildings. Most offices were open ~8-4 for people to get tickets. some of the fun was figuring out which building to go to, meeting fellow state-mates in line, and hearing inspiring stories.

Heading to reception at Klobochar's office

Survival Gear

It's not that's cold really (now that we're Minnesotan), but we aren't taking any chances.  Our inauguration gear includes: 

1 bottle of water each 
Energy bars 
Camera, 2 extra batteries, 1 extra disk 
Phones - Ellen's doesn't work on the Mall, but Dave's sometimes does - texting most reliable 
DC map 
Lip balm 
Lightweight blanket from JazzFest which can serve as a poncho in case it rains (no umbrellas allowed). 
Ellen is dressed to go skiing but without the goggles and skis. 
        Awesome socks from Minneosta mohair farm: http://www.austinsmohair.com/ 
        Ski bibs (fashion sense is long gone) 
        Ski gloves (in case it's really cold) and regular gloves 
        Full wool ear-flap hat 
Dave has on 2 hats (one with ear flaps), long-johns and jeans had cold toes after a while.

Hanging out with the people

After the show, we took photos and rested on a blanket by the Wash. Monument (find us at www.redbowphoto.om/obama2009 in gallery 0089). 

Then witnessed people having fun with George Bush's head (some kicked it to let out anger and some kissed it to thank him for enabled the election of Obama) and made our way to the Lincoln Memorial.  Couldn't get too close but met a nice group from Ohio that was hamming it up a the CNN news truck 

By the White House, we saw interviews for Spanish TV of the crowd including folks from London who came to see the day.  Saw the set up of the reviewing stands for the Inaugural parade and started shopping, shopping, shopping.  Established souvenier stands and stores have stocked up on Obama gear, empty store fronts became temporary Obamavilles, and lots of people on street selling everything you could imagine.  Groups who made CDs during the Campaign, knock-offs of Official Programs, etc.

In the evening, dressed-up people with ticket holders around their neck started appearing, cars of people with clipboards and lists pouring out of them, and welcome wagons for what seem to be musicans coming out of limos.

The Welcome Concert

Ellen was quite upset that we were late to the show, but we got to hear the last half and to see a tiny silver of a JumboTron.

We got out at Farragut North metro and walked ~ 12 blocks south the Mall.  No crowds at all really (everyone was at the show already).  Walked/ran past tons of sellers of merchandise including the usual T-shirt, hats, etc, but also Obama snowglobes and other unique things worth examination later.  We went to the Washington Monument side of 17th St and there was no security when John Mellencamp was singing "Little Pink Houses".  We were bummed to miss Mary J Blige.

Then Queen Latifah, Shakira and Usher with Stevie Wonder, will.I.am, Ashley Judd, Springsteen, Jack Black, Garth Brooks.  The crowd went WILD whenever they showed Obama.  Highlights of the show for Dave was U2 singing Pride which Bono et al wrote about MLK's speech on the Mall, and, for Ellen, it was singing "One Love" with the masses and seeing the awesome Pete Seeger.  We really enjoyed Obama's speech and got it on video.  There was a bit of groaning among the crowd when they announced the more traditional things like the Marine Corps Glee Club, but folks got really excited about Samuel L. Jackson and especially Beyonce.

Here's a nice news story about the show:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-te.concert19jan19,0,2342420.story

The absolute best part of the concert was being part of the crowd.  Everyone was so excited and kept saying to the person next to them "isn't this incredible"?  Just so much happiness, relief, and excitement within a diverse group of people.  Coming from all over the country and even the world.

Made it to the Mall

Came in during Mellencamp. Singing One Love with Will I Am...

Starting to buy goodies

Starting to stock up on Michelle and Barack stuff. Dave's cousin
Patti in Alaska sent a long list for the high school students where
she works, and various folks, including us, want some special and/or
tacky momentos of the day.

Some travel problems today in that rental car wiper fluid froze and
had to swap cars. Clearly, we're not in Minnesota anymore! Now we are
in the car heading back to DC hoping desperately to connect to public
transportation to get to the mall in time to see Beyonce etc.

We trying to work out details of what parties we will attend.

We would have loved to attend the Green Inaugural ball on tuesday but
tickets were $500 and, like all balls they sold out in15 minutes. Now
tickets are over $2,300.

Franti's Tuesday show at the 9:30 Club sold out on Saturday just
before we tried to buy.

Lots of invites to daytime Minnesota parties with our politicians
which we hope to do. Al Franken had a fundraising brunch this AM
which we didn't hit, but we sure hope Norm Coleman's lawsuit is
defeated and Al can be in DC for us.

Obama unites!

People see our pins and can't help but tell us how much they love
Obama as we travel today. He has inspired a wonderful spirit. Met
someone who worked at airport who just bought an Obama pen and wanted
to show us. Momentum is building throughout the land!!

Heading out from house

Did our usual last-minute packing job last night. Got up early to
shovel snow because it got above zero finally! Ellen's holding one of
many Obama pins. We got this one in 2006 when we saw him in Rochester
campaigning for tim walz and amy klobuchar. If you can't see, it says
"Barack Obama for president. Coming Soon!". Who would have thought?

Looking forward to our tropical inauguration

I doubt you can read the temp but it is about -20F (on wednesday i
think) with an even nastier wind chill. We hear DC is going to be
mid-30s on tuesday. We're thinking about wearing shorts!

Franti and Obama

We got carried away again this weekend watching Obama related videos on you tube. Here's a couple of our favorites:

It's a New Day

Obama Song

Michael Franti is one of our favorite artists. You can download the Obama Song for free from his website. I've included a couple pictures of Michael Franti with Ellen. The first is from a concert in Hawaii when we happened to catch him by luck when we were in the southern part of Kauai. The other photo is from a benefit Michael Franti headlined in the 9th ward in New Orleans during Jazzfest 2008.

Obama Love Fest

Over the christmas break, we were in Seattle visiting friends and family. My cousins Rich and Annette graciously hosted us on Christmas day and we had a great time talking about how excited we were about our new president with Rich, Annette, my great aunt Lorraine and cousin Patti.

Rich and Annette are having an inauguration day party and we'll be doing some eyewitness reporting for them if we can actually get out on our cell phones! Otherwise, we might try a text message.

A couple days later we went back to their house to watch the WSU Cougars play basketball and had more talk of Obama. We decided to get out the cameras and take some pictures to show our support for Barack Obama.





Rich and Annette also shared with us something they signed on election day as they gathered for a party with friends to watch the election results.

To our surprise

Here's the email informing us we got tickets to the swearing-in ceremony in Washington DC January 20th. I'm very grateful that we were selected to receive tickets but couldn't they have indicated it in the subject line and not the 4th paragraph? I could have thrown the email away!

Needless to say I was in shock and showed the email to Ellen who was also in shock. We never thought it was a joke for some reason and sent all the information the next day and then contacted the office for confirmation December 18th.

From: Congressman Tim Walz
Subject: 2009 Inauguration
Date: December 9, 2008 7:42:49 PM CST

Dear Mr. Rider,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding tickets to the Inauguration ceremony for President-elect Obama on January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets to this historic event, my office held a lottery to determine how to distribute tickets to residents of Minnesota's First Congressional District.

I am very pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive two tickets to the Inauguration ceremony.

This historic event is expected to attract an unprecedented number of people who want to witness the ceremony. You should be aware that lodging in Washington, D.C. over the Inauguration is very difficult to come by and that travel to our nation's capital may be very expensive. As a result, some people who have been selected to receive tickets to the Inauguration may not be able to attend.

Also, please note that those attending the Inauguration will be standing outside for several hours, with very limited facilities available. Due to the projected crowds, security lines may be hours long, and January in Washington is typically quite cold and rainy.

To ensure that as many residents of southern Minnesota as possible are able to attend the Inauguration ceremony, I will need to know whether you are able to travel to Washington and make use of the tickets you have been allocated. By December 19, 2008, you must contact my office and confirm your interest in traveling to Washington for the Inauguration to use these tickets.

If you do not contact my office by December 19, 2008, your tickets will be distributed to another individual who has expressed interest in attending the Inauguration.

To acknowledge your interest in making use of these tickets, please e-mail Sara Severs in my Washington, D.C. office by Dec 19, 2008. In the e-mail, please include the following information:

o Full name of each member of your party
o Full name of person who will picking up the tickets in Washington
o Cell phone number of person picking up the tickets
o Date arriving in Washington
o Date departing Washington
o Location where you will be staying


Please note the following:

o Because of high demand for these tickets, I regret that I am unable to provide tickets to individuals who have already received tickets from another Member of Congress.

o Any tickets that you receive from my office must be for your own personal use and may not be traded or sold to another person.

o A photo ID will be required to pick up tickets from my office in Washington.

o Due to the extremely limited supply of tickets, I regret that my office will be unable to replace tickets that are stolen or lost after you take possession of them.

Tickets may be picked up in my Washington, D.C. office in room 1722 of the Longworth House Office Building on Monday, January 19, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please note that the individual picking up the tickets must present a photo ID that matches the name you have listed above.

I am interested in hearing some of the stories of southern Minnesotans who are coming to our nation's capital for President-elect Obama's inauguration. If you like, please write a few words about why you're coming to Washington for the inauguration and what your plans are for this historic event and include it in your e-mail to Sara.

Thank you again for your interest in attending the Inauguration of President-elect Obama, and I look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day!

Sincerely,




Sincerely,


Tim Walz
Member of Congress

First Contact

We decided we wanted to go to the inauguration of Barack Obama around the beginning of December so we emailed our congressman Tim Walz and senator Amy Klobuchar to see if they had tickets figuring the tickets were already spoken for.  Both wrote back saying essentially that there were lots of requests for tickets but not many tickets.  We went ahead and made plans anyway, figuring we'd be without tickets but wanted to have the experience of being there with all the excitement and energy.