USVI-On-Line

Gang, I'm walking to the inauguration from my office in Arlington and headed to cross at Memorial Bridge.

Traffic was scary light this morning, lighter than a Sunday. The locals are skipping the subway and riding buses that get you much closer to the action. The Secret Service and the media succeeded in scaring all but the die hards away. There is free parking available in Arlington within walking distance of the National Mall.

My plan today is to hang out on the Lincoln Memorial steps and watch the inauguration. It is not possible to watch both the inauguration and the parade. If things are reasonable, I'll walk to the west of the White House and cut over to 7th street and hit Gordon Biersch for lunch.

More reports ATT willing.

Cheers, RickG

VERY cool...wish I were there...

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Rick,

Enjoy! I was so sad to leave yesterday to come home. If I didn't have to pick up my cat from the vet, I wouuld have ditched work and stayed. The energy in the city this weekend was contagious.

Thanks for the live reports.

Rick that's so cool! I considered letting the kids stay home to watch, but they'll be getting some exposure to the inauguration at school today, so I'm recording it. My daughter's social studies class is studying China right now, so there are some interesting classroom discussions about the differences in government. Regardless of anyone's political leanings, we can all be grateful for a peaceful transition of power.

What a great day to be in D.C. And its nice you can combine politics with a brewpub visit.

Were you able to take the girls? i hope so!

Rick!

I'm looking forward to hear more about your day.

Linne

Can not wait to hear about the rest of the day Rick.
I could not believe over 1.5 million people they said.
I was blown away by our new President's speech.
I just really believe a good change is happening. It will take a while but together we can do it.

Wow, it was a wild day. Walking through Arlington Cemetery and across Memorial Bridge was the way to go. I worked around the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue after the swearing-in via the human sea of 18th street to see the parade.

At 15th street I saw some friends that were working the DNC party at the Old Ebbit Grill. Under dressed, but full of oysters, it was nice to warm up - Guiness and oysters are a blessing.

The lunch at Congress ran long, so I hit Gordon Biersh and had beers with my buddy Scott, the brewer. Then, up to third/fourth street to see the motorcade and onto the metro.

I can almost feel my fingers.

I'll post some pictures soon.

Praise God. Praise America. But, most of all, praise us all.

Cheers, RickG

One bitchy note, the National Mall had a lot of room available when they closed it off. The parade route was a ghost land - Security prevailed.

Will Obama shut himself off from us? Nah, that guy likes to party. But the secret service ruled the day today. I probably walked an additional 2 miles today due to crazy check points.

I hope that the Obamas are more like the first Bush family, coming into Virginia for good eats. If not, Dick & Lynne Cheney moved back in down the street - walking distance to our local hardware, book and wine stores. We used to see Lynne at the hardware store and book store (buying stacks from the $1 book table) before things got out of control.

Time to head home - it's been a good day.

Cheers, RickG

Good job, Rick. Thanks for all the updates.

Thanks Rick. Look forward to photos either here or on Facebook.

RickG - looking forward to the pictures.

My all-things-presidential husband spent all day watching the coverage and we are now parked in front of the TV watching PBS coverage.

Let me know how to find your pics if they are posted on Facebook.