I got to the National Mall around 9am, hours before the inauguration so I had plenty of time to wander around and see what was going on. I walked through the World War II memorial, by some Girl Scout volunteers (and their police escort), by the rows of port-a-potties and down to the Lincoln Memorial.
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I headed back to the mall, going by 18th street again. It was still wall to wall people trying to get to the inaugeration, an hour after I had come down it.
I tried to get onto the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, but they had closed all access because it was full. Just as well, I don't think it would have been as enjoyable if I weren't able to move around a bit.
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I went back to the WW II memorial and got a good seat. Yes, I got to sit down. I sat on the edge of the fountain, which was turned off and drained. Great view of the Washington Monument and a great view of two jumbotrons. No view of the capitol and you couldn't see most of the crowds. I had an hour to go so I lay down for a while and listened to the festivities.
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You can read about the swearing in and the speech about a billion other places so I will spare you the details. The only thing I have to add is that when Sen. Dianne Feinstein gave some remarks the sound and video were out of sync by a good 5 seconds. It was odd. Other those 5 or 10 minutes, the sound and video were synced up. Barack Obama's speech was very good, but you probably know that already.
After a weak poem, I headed up the street. Hugely crowded, and everyone had to stop a couple of times while they let dozens of empty buses go by. I made my way to Shelley's Backroom at 13th and F St and got a table without any wait. It was nice to relax and have lunch (it was after 1pm by the time we got to Shelley's).
I naturally took a bunch of pictures which you can see on my 2009 Presidential Inauguration Photos page.
[where: 2009 Presidential Inauguration, National Mall, Washington, DC]
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