Inaugruation 2009 - Finding our place

When we got onto the mall we tried to decide where we wanted to go. We started off standing near a giant brown tarp covering what we would later find out was the boom camera for the crowd. If we'd stayed there we probably would have been on TV. I think other people must have known that because that area filled up fast. It was also very windy in that spot and between the cold our desire not to be squished for the next 3 hours we opted to look for another spot a little further back. I think given our recent experience with the barricade we opted to weave our way through the crowd rather than risk getting swept away again. It took a bit of doing because people had already staked their areas with blankets and chairs, or just linked arms to prevent people from passing. That sounds like they were being mean, but it wasn't, even this early in the day the crowds were big enough that people in the middle of an area were getting pushed around quite a lot. We stopped about two jumbotrons from the Washington Monument, right in the center of the mall. We had a nice view of the screen and could see the Capitol Building in the distance (but nothing really of the stage).

From Inauguration 2009 Obama

Susan went to test the port-a-pot situation, which is when we realized one of the downsides of a central location. With all the small shifts in the crowd Susan lost track of where we were, and had a hard time getting back to us. She'd noticed that closer to the edge there were some open areas, so we 'excuse me, pardon me, excuse me'd' our way over to a new spot under the trees and found that there was more space and a good view of the jumbotron. We spread out the 'space blanket' I'd brought (a $3dollar tinfoil like emergency blanket) to claim some space and settled in.

Before the ceremony itself they replayed the concert from Sunday nice,which was great...a big variety of performers and great songs. The crowd really got into it. You really haven't lived until you are part of 2 million people singing and dancing along with "Shout".

From Inauguration 2009 Obama

Dad decided to take a walk and see how things looked further back (still wrestling with the idea of heading to the Lincoln Memorial). He didn't get far when he got waylaid by a stream of people pouring on to the mall at the Washington Monument. It was such a huge crowd that he realized there was no way that he'd be able to make his way through it, so he turned back. By that time more people had filled in around us and Susan and I were beginning to worry that he might not be able to find us again. He did,thankfully and he and Susan entertained the folks around us with more dancing.

While the size of the crowd was a little daunting, the people themselves were delightful. For the most part folks were polite when trying to move through the crowd, people offered each other food and hand warmers, people were anxious to know where everyone was from and what their experiences had been so far. It was in many ways like a big family reunion.