CK1

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Heading Home

We're exhausted. That's the result of four days surrounded by millions in DC for the inauguration of a new president. We figured we walked maybe six miles yesterday, due in part to our confusion about how to actually get onto the National Mall. Kristin's dad dropped us off close to the action, but our route turned out to be closed because of the parade. So we had to walk from 7th and E to about 19th and K. Which means we had to walk the entire length of the mall then back around the White House. Normally, a walk like that would be relatively easy. But there were massive crowds in the downtown streets -- flag wavers, revelers, families, vendors and even a few protesters. It was packed, and moving through the crowds was quite an experience. There were so many people surrounding us at times that it was hard to fathom. C says he can remember looking back up a hilly street downtown that was rippling with people as far as he could see. Even so, there were no problems. Everyone stayed positive, cheering and joyful, despite the tight conditions that often resulted in zero personal space. After the inauguration, we walked for miles again to get out of the masses.

We feel lucky that we made it onto the mall to even see anything. The papers this morning are reporting that many people, even ones with tickets, were blocked out of the main event. We were far away from the action, but we could see everythimg on a jumbotron next to the Washington monument. It was thrilling to hear the spontaneous cheers. "Fired up! Ready to go!" "o-ba-ma! o-ba-ma."

We're now in northern Virginia on the road back to Nashville. We are tired. A little sore. But we are hopeful, encouraged and energized.


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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

inauguration 09

kristin with angelique and courtney, a Vanderbilt student we met while walking to the mall.

c on the mall

k on the mall

happy man on steps of constitution hall

inauguration 09

waiting

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inauguration 09

waiting

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Banksy #2

Another fresh Banksy piece

Obama mural #2

C standing with the mural near 14th and U.

K with the mural

C with the mural

Obama mural

A girl is getting her picture made with an Obama mural near 14th and U.

Building where we found the big O mural.

Banksy

Christian is standing in front of a new Banksy piece. A DC native was nearby taking pictures with her husband and she said it is brand new.

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Ben's Chili Bowl

The line wrapped around the corner to get inside Ben's Chili Bowl.

Ben's Chili Bowl

PETA was protesting outside the popular DC eatery.

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

snuggie dude

yeah, he's rockin' the snuggie for Obama.

snuggie dude

nothing says livin' large like a man with a snuggie.

snuggie dude

A girl getting her picture made with the snuggie dude.

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on the mall

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Concert Brings Out The Snuggie

We're out here at the mall in front of the lincoln memorial with the throngs waiting for the concert, and it's packed!!! We're pretty close and we'll post pictures later. There's even a guy wearing a pink snuggie. We took pictures of him too. We can't upload photos now but we'll do it when we get more wifi.


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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Potty Party

Okay, now it's getting serious. We've been seeing signs warning us about heavy volumes of people traveling to DC for the inauguration since we hit Virginia. But we just passed a rest area 30 minutes outside the city, and saw a large flock of portopotties grazing on the front lawn. Complete with a police escort.


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More cop action

We got a cop two-fer outside Kingsport. Just saw the first one for Virginia. Which means we're in Virginia now, I guess! Christian is speeding us north. Kristin is knitting. Better hurry up and finish this scarf - we're gonna need all the warm stuff we can get our hands on!


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Will.i.am

Christian was moved again this morning on the ride to d.c. when he heard will.i.am interviewed on npr about his song, "yes we can." The song is a tribute to, or really a musical version of, an exceptional speech Obama gave during the campaign about the power we have to change and repair unjust and intolerable circumstances, even when the odds seem impossible. Will said he was driven by that speech to accomplish something -- in this case to use the power of his ability to highlight the speech's importance so that children will study it in schools along with other great American speeches.

C and K are planning to catch the will.i.am, Bono, Springsteen, etc. show tomorrow at the Lincoln Memorial. So curious to see how many millions will be there.


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Blue Light Special

So far, only two. The latest was just east of Cookeville.


Geolocate this post.



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the change express

On the road to Washington D.C. -- only 9.5 hours to go!

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Friday, January 16, 2009

We're back, and we're going to DC!

Whew! That was a long spell without a post!

Anyway, we're cranking up the ol' blog as we head to Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. We'll be live blogging with pictures and on-the-ground reports from Jan. 17-21.

We hope you follow along here or on Facebook. Christian will be twittering @cbottorff.

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