Wow. It's difficult to do justice to the euphoria and excitement that exists in Washington DC today as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.
Today, there was a general feeling of a nation pulling for itself. Barack Obama embodies that hope and his inaugural address touched upon the challenges that lay before us.
Natalie and I got to our Inauguration staging area gates around 7:45 am, before the gates opened. We waited in line for 3 hours before reaching the security entrance to the Inauguration ceremonies.
The rumor was that a generator broke down and the metal detectors at our security check point did not work. But it may have been that there were so many people in line that security forces were ill prepared to process so many people.
Either way, Natalie and I and thousands of others were left outside in the cold, right outside the entrance to the Inauguration ceremony.
The crowd around us was disappointed about not getting into see the festivities first hand. They had been waiting in cold temperatures (teens to mid twenties) for hours (some as early as 4 am). The crowd, for the most part, put a positive spin on the morning's delays.
"It's like a wedding", said one woman. "Everything can go wrong, but as long as the couple gets married, that's all that matters."
Natalie and I overheard another woman say, "If Barack Obama becomes President today, I'd say, all-in-all, it's been a pretty good day."
And it has been a pretty good day. Our good day will hopefully become a good night as Natalie and I attend the Southern States Inaugural Ball at the National Guard Armory, where President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to attend. We'll take some pics of our own and let you know how the Ball went soon.
Today, there was a general feeling of a nation pulling for itself. Barack Obama embodies that hope and his inaugural address touched upon the challenges that lay before us.
Natalie and I got to our Inauguration staging area gates around 7:45 am, before the gates opened. We waited in line for 3 hours before reaching the security entrance to the Inauguration ceremonies.
The rumor was that a generator broke down and the metal detectors at our security check point did not work. But it may have been that there were so many people in line that security forces were ill prepared to process so many people.
Either way, Natalie and I and thousands of others were left outside in the cold, right outside the entrance to the Inauguration ceremony.
The crowd around us was disappointed about not getting into see the festivities first hand. They had been waiting in cold temperatures (teens to mid twenties) for hours (some as early as 4 am). The crowd, for the most part, put a positive spin on the morning's delays.
"It's like a wedding", said one woman. "Everything can go wrong, but as long as the couple gets married, that's all that matters."
Natalie and I overheard another woman say, "If Barack Obama becomes President today, I'd say, all-in-all, it's been a pretty good day."
And it has been a pretty good day. Our good day will hopefully become a good night as Natalie and I attend the Southern States Inaugural Ball at the National Guard Armory, where President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to attend. We'll take some pics of our own and let you know how the Ball went soon.
