Does it sound crazy to get on a bus in NY and ride for hours to DC just for one day? Not if it's an amazing day of history being made. I want to thank our great organizers for getting this trip together. I never knew this would also be a trip where I made two great new friends, Mary and Kristen, and would share an adventure with other sweet fun people. I had almost zero expectations and it skyrocketed up from there to one of the best days EVER.
I took all these pix and little videos because I wanted to share what it was like there on the ground in the celebrating mass of people- I wanted my brother Julian to especially know what it felt like because he was unable to go. He worked so hard to help get Obama elected in WA, I hope he gets a feel for the fun this was!
We met up at a club in NYC and were organized and everybody got onto the buses and just headed out into the unknown. Traveling like this is not easy neither is waiting for hours and hours in the freezing cold but it pales in comparison to where and what it was! DC was beautiful, it was a clear sunny day and everyone was so happy.
I have to say the cold weather was on my side since I have EB (Epidermolysis bullosa, Weber-Cockayne Subtype of EB Simplex) and even though I felt the blisters forming the freezing weather kept my feet blocks of ice and did not give them the heat needed to fully form. So maybe I was one of the few people happy for the numb feet! As part of the request for service from the new administration I am mentioning this personal condition to help raise awareness of EB. I hope you'll look at the website and see the help still needed to find a cure and if you can, please donate what you can. Click here:
This was a great day and I hope I have shared how much fun it was and how wonderful the feeling there was. I would have been very sad if I had missed this crazy wild trip. All the people I met made it an even greater gift in my life- thank you to all for making us feel like a new little family. Thank you Mary and Kristen for being such wonderful people! Okay pix and vidz!
Santos Party House, meeting up to go to DC!
The Gift bags, my incense Obama's Blossoms went in there the rest is going to the WHITE HOUSE!!
On the bus wondering what it will be like
On our way
Hours later arrival in MD to get on the Metro! It was about 4:30 am
MD Metro down the hill, getting ready to reach DC
On the Metro getting more excited!
Off the train..
Heading out of the station..
Up the Metro escalator- almost there!!
Out of the Metro in the early morning DC air!
Everybody on the move.
We are in DC just keep walking!!
Seeing the Capitol in the distance it is all sinking in!!!
The Capitol glowing like an alien space ship :)
A dog in line waiting to woo hoo the new president :)
Making our way to the Mall after a rest stop. (Thanks FEMA building and staff!) The streets in DC look like Paris here.
Barak? Who is he?? LOL we called these Barakulars
Happy to have her Barakulars
We arrive on the Mall!!!
Mary Pryor one of the great organizers of our trip
The BATs as some called them (Big A** TVs!)
Obama speaking at the Lincoln Memorial
Our fun group, part of the bus trip that came to DC for the day
Jamal taking everybody's picture. Say Cheese!!
The lady getting her t-shirt signed by "everybody"
Rick and I waiting, cold yes, but we were prepared. We had on some WinterSilks LJs highly recommended! :)
Me on the ground, this laying down thing was colder than standing and hopping around tho! :)
Rick warm and wrapped up
Milling on the Mall
The reporter from the UK who interviewed us and took our pix. She came up and said are you from New York? Yes! She was amazed, she was told to find New Yorkers and she walked by chance right into all of us! Jamal with her here, he kept telling her we had been awake since New Year. I have no idea why she didn't believe him because it was true! ;)
Dancing on the Mall! Everybody was dancing and singing in the cold waiting to see Barack Obama take office.
You see all kinds of people, even Bunny People!
The sharpshooters! Everytime we used the binoculars to look at them they were looking right at us! They missed nothing and I am sure would not have "missed" anything.
Military helping. A man suffering from hypothermia is carried out of the Mall area. We saw one other man shivering and being treated by medics. It was brutally cold, you really had to be layered and prepared for it! We saw all ages though, children, senior citizens, people in wheelchairs and crutches, and all ages in between wrapped in up the cold and wind and ready to wait the hours to see our new president take office.
Booing Bush. From where we were on the Mall in all those fun celebrating people we heard the wave of the booing coming toward us before George W Bush appeared on the Big Screens and then it began all around us and we saw him on the TVs. Quite amazing.
Chanting Obama. Obama had arrived outside the Capitol and people were being introduced and people just wanted to see Barack Obama!
Obama arrives. Everyone sees when he arrives and gets out of the car- and goes crazy. :) I wonder what we must have sounded like to him as he got out of the car. The cheering was roaring in waves from all directions it was amazing.
Biden takes office
Obama takes office
Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office. Barack Obama gets sworn in as seen from the crowds on The Mall. Amazing day's whole point, soo worth it.
First picture of us in the new world
Leaving the Mall
The legendary Porta Potai
Everyone leaving as the Monument looks on.
The cute church social where we stopped and got warm and took a brief rest
The line to get into the Eastern Market metro (this was a short one compared to others!)
Bye Capitol!! Lovely seeing you again.
Getting settled back in.
On our way back home after an amazing day!
All the other happy people leaving DC on their way home like us
NYC lights flickering in the distance. Home again
Wish you had been here Julian!! :) Thank you Rick for being such a fun and wonderful traveling companion.
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