:::the day before inauguration:::

{this was initially going to be my spt post, but i wrote a new post after the inauguration}

yesterday i ventured out to take some photos of the inaugural sites.

now, i realize there are much, much better photos of these locals on the internet, but sometimes i think that professional photos are too perfect to convey the sense of realness that you would feel if you were there for yourself. rejoice in the point-and-shoot!

before we start, here are some things to ignore:

1. the total lack of makeup.
2. the smurf like hat sitting on top of my head.
3. my gigante cheeks. i like to think they're filled with hope, not fat.

and now we begin.

{the swearing in site -- the mall side of the capitol, technically the back side, which faces west.}

{ticketed seated seating. the rest of the millions get to stand.}

{you can see the corner of one of the jumbo-trons on the right side of this photo. i think there are going to be at least twenty of them on the mall, stretching all the way back to the tidal basin.}

from the capitol i walked down pennsylvania, which is the parade route, to the white house. it's like 2 miles, people. i walked two miles in the cold to get these photos for you.

{on pennsylvania at the white house near the end of the parade route.}

{still at the white house.}

{the bullet-proof viewing stand directly in front of the white house on penn. one of my life goals is to become so important that i have to be ensconced in bullet-proof glass.}

{now i'm standing directly north of the white house in lafayette square. can you see it in the background?}

{one more in lafayette square, and a shot of the other viewing stand across from the bullet-proof stand on penn. the people sitting there aren't important enough to be behind security glass. ha! schmucks...}

{across the street from lafayette park is the hay-adams, where the obamas had to stay for a short time because the blair house was 'full'. sure, georgie...}

{leaving the white house, walking to the metro on k street. do you check yourself out in windows?}

{metro may welcome the visitors, but rebekah says, 'go home, i want my city back, but thanks for your tax dollars.'}

{union station is the metro stop near my house. as i was coming home yesterday they were setting up for an event so i stopped to take pictures. aren't the linens and place settings wonderful?}

{turns out there was a dinner there last night honoring biden that was attended by the obamas. i bet the hot dog king from the food court catered it. that evening i could hear the motorcade sirens from my house, and there were some aircraft above as well. }

{really, i love these tables. i took quite a few pictures of them, much to the amusement of the catering staff.}

so, there you go. it's now 7:56 am. there are planes and helicopters going over my house like crazy, with the sound of their engines occasionally punctuated by sirens from the streets. i'm going to go take a shower, get dressed, grab every government id that i have, and start walking outside to see how close i can get to the mall. could be interesting, but more than likely i'll have a panic attack as soon as i see the crowds as turn back around.

the king is dead! long live the king!
{please follow this hyperlink so that you'll understand that i'm not a terrorist.}