The Day

I was up by 5:00 the morning of the Inauguration, and Kitty was up before that! We caught the first hotel shuttle to the Metro, which was already packed at 6:15, and headed into the city. Everyone on the train was chatty, friendly, excited. A few poor souls were trying to get to work, including some hospital workers who really didn't have any choice. Instead of being annoyed by the flood of out-of-towners who were slowing down their commute, they were kindly offering insider info and advice on Metro stops. Word was to get off at L'Enfant Plaza to get to a good place on the Mall. No problem telling which station was L'Enfant, since almost everyone got off there.
We moved in a flood of people leaving the trains and heading for the Mall. Some disenchanted people were trying to buck the tide and head back to the trains, saying there was nowhere to stand and no way to see. They were heading back. We just couldn't imagine anything that could make us turn back at 7:00 a.m., but we emerged from the Metro station with some anxiety about what we would find.
What we found were thousands of people already standing on the Mall.

(To be continued! I'm still in DC, staying at the Dulles Hilton, since I couldn't get out on the planned flight tonight. Too many standbys! However, I must get to sleep so I can get up in time to get out on one of the early flights. I promise to try to finish this on the plane tomorrow)