It was a moment in history I knew I had to be a part of. People will forever talking about this day. People have fond memories of seeing the Queen on one of her visits, or some people remember where they were when Martin Luther King Jr. marched to Washington. I can say, "I was there", when Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.
I didn't really plan on staying in Washington to see the sights or anything like that. I knew the city was going to be bonkers, I just wanted to drive down and see the Inauguration and drive back. Along with me came my trustee pals, Vinh & Bo Wen, and my cousin Treeesh. The Big Black Machine was originally coming but backed out the last minute. So it was us -- and I just packed up the car and we headed down. I left around 7pm from Toronto, aiming to get to Washington around 5am so we could get there early enough to get a good spot. I drove all night through sleet and ice to get to our destination. We arrived around 4am -- and parked the car at a metro rail station. We got on the train and rode it to the main station nearest to the National Mall entrance we wanted to be at. When we surfaced, the streets were already crowded. It was 5am! People were lining up at the entrances. We followed signs and officers leading us to the line for the National Mall. We stood in line, with no movement for 3 hours! It was just after 8am or 9am where we found out that the REAL line to the National Mall wasn't even a line but fully moving through a tunnel that took you there. We wasted all that time and could have been so much closer to where we wanted to be if it wasn't for misinformation!!!
So we walked over to that way... our feet were so exhausted from standing all that time in one place but we found the energy to walk the long underground tunnel. We kept walking and walking and walking which seemed like forever until we ended up by the Washington Monument. In other words the very back of the back!!!! There were nowhere to sit.. just stand AGAIN. It was freezing cold, nowhere to sit and we've been standing for hours on end. Not to mention no FOOD anywhere and the bathrooms (port-o-potties) were far away. It wasn't really a pleasant experience on that end, but we were there for a major moment in history -- so we all felt that if we just get through this, we'll be fine afterwords to discuss the whole experience!
Everyone around us was also not comfortable, but the spirits were very high and excited to welcome the new President. When Obama was finally sworn in, people were cheering, crying and celebrating this moment. It really was something I will have with me the rest of my life. After it was over, we all headed back to the signs leading us to the subway or stations leading out. We were so exhausted from standing up we couldn't wait to sit down somewhere! Apparently, that wasn't going to happen either since the extreme amount of people clogged the streets disabling people to walk! It was like everyone crowded into intersections and just stopped. It was impossible to move, or get to someone else if you were separated. We were stuck for another 3 hours, just standing there! People around us were crying, there was an ambulance trying to break through the crowd, but it wasn't working as nobody could move anywhere! It was such a disaster! The planning committee didn't plan this out at all, or under planned this entire operation of people logistics before and after the event. The subway stations nearby were closed, and they had shuttle buses taking people to another station. The line up for that, was horrendous! Eventually, we broke free and made it to the subway. We boarded the train and slept until we got back to the station where my car was parked.
Once I got into my cozy and comfortable car, we drove to Boston Market and had a fantastic dinner. We then called up a number my friend in Amsterdam gave me to call -- it is a friend of hers that is in Washington. So I called it up and they invited me over. So we went there to meet up with them. The person was Jazz pianist,
Frank Owens! Frank is a legend in the business, working with Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Petula Clark, B.B. King, Louie Armstrong just to name a few! Anyways, he invited me into his home where there was a Barack Obama party! There were guests from all over. We all made new friends there as they invited us to eat in the fantastic food they prepared. However, Frank couldn't stay long as we was invited to one of the Presidential Balls happening that night. He got all dressed up in a tux and then had to leave. However, we were welcome to stay at the party with others and hang out. Mickey was Frank's partner taking care of everything and making us feel at home. It was so good to finally relax, get off our feet and drink wine!
They invited us to stay longer, but promptly at 12 midnight, we had to go and start the journey back to Toronto. Mind you, I haven't slept in 2 days! So we start the drive and I drive all night crossing back into Canada around 9:30-10am. Once I got back to Toronto -- I was so exhausted fell asleep for a day! The experience was definitely a story I had to share!
