Alexandria Watches the Inauguration
Chad and I did not end up going to the National Mall like we thought we might. The pictures of Sunday’s crowd and the below freezing temperatures kept us out of the district. Luckily, the City of Alexandria had other options for us.
We started walking in the cold towards Old Town a little after 9 am. We saw the people waiting at the metro stop and thought: I hope they’re not heading towards the Mall. As we went down King St., we were surprised at how few people there were. We stopped and got a paper on our way to Market Square, which, at barely before 10 am, was practically empty!
Then we headed over to the Torpedo Factory to see if it was open yet. No such luck. However, we did walk over the the waterfront to see the little harbor had frozen! In search of warmth, we finally found all of the people. They were in Starbucks. Of course. Chad got a coffee and I had some very very hot tea, and we went back in to the now open Torpedo Factory to see how it was set up.
It was also practically empty. They had a screen setup and a projector was streaming Fox over the Internet. The few people who were there were getting the free cocoa and cider ready. We decided to head back over to market square so we wouldn’t be dependent on a shaky internet connection to watch the event.
We were still early enough to be able to get a good seat on the side of the (empty) fountain. Then we waited with the other people there, watching Katie Couric and the rest of the CBS team try to fill the empty spaces in their coverage with little stories. When the local news came on to announce metro closures, the closing of the 14th Street Bridge and the closing of the Mall, we were very glad we chose to watch the inauguration in Alexandria. There were plenty of people there, enough to make it feel like a celebration.
The people there watching with us were awesome. Especially Sonia from St. Louis. She was awesome. She and her group got Chad to play photographer for them, and unfortunately, one of the ladies was very afraid of dogs. Alexandria is not the city to be in if you’re afraid of dogs. There are just too many of them wandering around (leashed, of course, but definitely given their own right of way). She ended up having to watch just a few feet away from a (thankfully) mellow German Shepard.
There was clapping every time someone from the new administration showed up on the screen, and complete silence whenever anyone spoke. By the time it was over, there were cheers and hugs all around, and everyone was very happy. Especially Sonia from St. Louis.
At first I was a little disappointed in myself for wimping out about going to the Mall. Then I realized (rationalized, justified) that by staying in Alexandria, I was completing a circle. I helped the people who live in Old Town Alexandria (almost overwhelmingly) vote for President Obama, so it seemed right to celebrate his inauguration with them. Besides, it was also nice to be able to go to Fontaine for crepes when the ceremony was over. =)
