Finding a seat was easy. Military ushers moved you to your spot. My seat was in Orange 16.
Sitting with me were former interns, people who work on Capitol Hill, President Obama campaign workers, donors and also Princetonians, including Jonathan Johnson '06.
It was cold and everyone sat waiting with excitement.
It was quiet, although we could hear chanting from further down the mall. As the dignitaries filed in many were met with cheers. Sen. Ted Kennedy received chants of "Teddy." The reaction to President Bush was slightly different, however. While the front sections were quiet, we could hear the crowds further down the mall singing "Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye."
When Obama arrived, the cheers were deafening.
-- Kate Benner '10
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sitting, waiting, wishing?
Daytrip? Not quite.
Traveling from Alexandria to the National Mall along with 2 million other visitors was an experience. It started early. I arrived at the Metro station at 6:30 in the morning while the sky was still dark. It became quickly clear that it was going to be impossible fit in one of the blue trains headed to the mall. The trains would arrive and the doors would open, but there would be no room for anyone standing on the cold platform to fit in. I instead took the next train headed away from DC and rode it all the way to the end. We then waited to travel the half the length of the line into DC.
There was so little room on the train; our car had visitors from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Kentucky, Arizona and of course, Virginia. The train would stop and start as we traveled along the route and we were informed of the Metro closings.
When we arrived at Federal Center SW (my metro stop, Capitol South, was closed) we exited and inched along the platform in a line that was double the platform's length.
The whole trip took two hours.
Leaving the city after the inauguration was also an adventure. Instead of crowding the platform metro police controlled the number of people allowed into the station. The line was four blocks long and it took an hour and a half to leave.
-- Kate Benner '10
First brother
Spotted: Craig Robinson '83 sporting orange and black Princeton scarf ... or is that for the Oregon State Beavers?
Sights and sounds
From senior writer Kate Benner '10: "After an epic journey that required that I take the metro to the furthest blue line stop and then take the metro all the way into the city, I've made it. It's amazingly well-organized. Security was very fast once I made it to the orange section. The boy's and girl's choir of San Francisco are singing and harmonizing very well."
Monday, January 19, 2009
Button up!
Staff writer Sarabeth Sanders '09 reports from Washington: people covered in Obama buttons from head to toe outside George Washington University!
Remember this story? Pinning down support for Obama
Change we can blog about
Starting ... um ... NOW!, the Prox will be featuring stories and pictures from our reporters on the ground in D.C. and here on campus about the inauguration of our 44th president. Check back throughout the day tomorrow for coverage, and check the 'Prince's main site for stories and Twitter updates from D.C.
Posts
