On January 20th, I had the opportunity to be among the millions of people gathered on the National Mall for the swearing in ceremony of our 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama. My journey began at 4am on the way to the Metro station, and included hours of waiting in lines for the 11:30am inauguration. At the end of the day, it was ALL worth it. During the ceremony, I was standing in the section directly behind the seats. I must say, after being a part of the crowd and witnessing the emotion that day, I will never look at those DC monuments and Capitol building the same again. The crowd was about four or five times larger than at the Lincoln Memorial concert two days earlier. Here are some images from Inauguration day in DC.
Waiting in line before sunrise.
Secret Service and the back of the line for my gate.
The view from where I stood
Another view from the same place, zoomed in.
The moment of the day
People taking photos with the presidential seal
I was there!
Colin Powell waving to the crowd, while waiting to do a TV interview
The view of the Mall from the Capitol
The beginning of the parade route, view from the Capitol
People were walking on the frozen reflecting pool, some more nervous than others.
Kodak moments everywhere…
Even police officers couldn’t resist.
Lots of interesting signs
Steady stream of people exiting the subway station, just after sunset.
