WASHINGTON D.C. – Day two of our trip to the Presidential Inauguration. This post covers the inauguration itself. Read day one here.
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Friday, January 20 started at 4:30am. We got ready for the day and made it to the Metro by 5:30am. From there we rode for 40 minutes to our destination gate near the orange ticketed area. We got through security and found our standing spot around 6:30am. We did not move from that spot or sit down until 12:30pm.
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This was our spot 5 hours before the inauguration just before sunrise. The weather was a little chilly but really not that bad. The biggest threat was the rain. Fortunately it only sprinkled a few times but never really rained. We were spared the mud and wet clothes. This was the orange standing area west. We were pretty much packed in like sardines.
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As the morning wore on the clouds increased and the crowd grew larger and larger. We did not leave this spot the entire time. No bathroom, drinks, food or sitting down for 6 hours. We got to know everyone around us. There were folks from every state in the nation and many people from outside our borders.
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Once the choirs were seated the music began. I think that was about an hour before the ceremony. There were big screens on both sides which helped us see what was going on. The announcer would announce each time a dignitary would walk through that red curtain. Some of the early crowd included Supreme Court Justices, Senators and Congressman along with past Vice Presidents and Presidents.
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Every now and then you could spot a secret service agent. Just like the movies, they wear ear pieces and talk into their hands. This agent was checking out the orange ticketed standing section.
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Ed Henry from Fox News spent a good amount of time reporting from near our location. His camera crew would pan the crowd and cause people to scream and cheer. He interviewed several people from this location.
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One of the celebrities that stopped to speak with Fox News was Willie Robertson from Duck Dynasty. He stayed for a good while and took photos with fans. He was wearing his signature red, white and blue bandana.
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While taking photos of the ceremonies this guy happened to wander into my camera view. There truly was another BuzzHead at the inauguration with me.
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Once the official ceremony started this is what I had to contend with in front of me. There were a few fairly tall guys that would block my view and as soon as I found a way around them I would run into a row of camera phones. Not that the people behind me didn’t have to deal with me sticking my DSLR into the air.
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Here was President Donald Trump giving his inaugural address. If you look through the little archways to his left you can see Melania Trump, Jarad Kushner and President Barack Obama. Some of the cheering was so loud I did not hear all of the speech. My mind was on trying to get shots of the Presidents.
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Another shot of President Trump during his speech. There were so many camera phones in the air I had to stick my camera in the air as high as I could and just snap. If I missed my mark I would quickly delete the photo and try again. I feel pretty lucky to have snagged the photos I did. We left almost immediately once President Trump’s speech was over. We knew there would be a mad rush for the exits.
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After the inauguration we wandered around for a bit trying to get back to Union Station but found that almost all roads were blocked. We were thirsty and starving. We happened upon a little eatery called Tortilla Coast that was serving chips and salsa. After a short time in line we made our way to the bar for lunch! We finally got to see and hear some of the inauguration on the TV.
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More about the Inaugural Parade next.
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