I slept in, which was sorely needed. Though it did mean we didn’t leave the house until 1pm, and didn’t get to downtown DC until close to 2:30. But the ride was pleasant; everyone was happy and almost festive; and Ona and I chatted up a saxophone-playing, jazz-marketing cutie from Atlanta.
The metro became backed by the time we reached Arlington, but still, people were warm, generous and just in one heck of a good mood!
Out in the street, it was like a giant street fair, with vendors hawking everything from Obama chocolates to $1 bookmarks to hand-warmers.
On The Mall, it was a whole other thing altogether. Apparently, access to the inner sanctum of the concert was closed, but that didn’t stop thousands of people from filling up the space between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Many more milled around as far back as the Smithsonian Castle, in spite of the 36 degree temperature!
Ona and I hung out at the concert for a bit, jockeying for position near one of the jumbotrons. We only heard Mary J Blige, James Taylor and Josh Groban. We caught a glimpse of Stevie Wonder on stage with Usher and Shakira and I shamelessly shook my tail-feather to Garth Brook’s rendition of “Shout.”
Then, as we started to head back to the Metro, we saw U2!! They had the longest set of anyone we saw or heard, and then were followed by a weird and vaguely disturbing parade of two bald eagles who, let’s just say, didn’t like the crowds. But after the eagles, Barack Obama took the stage! Optimism, met pragmatism, met realism and I was simply riveted.
We also felt fatigue creeping in, so Ona and I hoofed it up to the Metro as soon as President Elect Obama finished speaking, and in doing so, we TOTALLY missed the crowds: we caught the first train, had seats and chatted up a few folks who had also been to the concert and bailed while the getting was good.
Anyway, I’m pooped and shall let the photos do the rest of the talking (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7680874@N04/). Tomorrow, there will be no sleeping in, as I have to go to Senator Murray’s office to pick up the Inauguration tickets. That will also be the one day that we actually spend in town. Should be interesting.
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