Inauguration Day

It's official: Barack Obama is the President of the United States! We woke up extremely early this morning, groggily ate our cream cheese and bagels on the bus, and hiked to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to see one of the many large screens scattered around the mall. We could clearly see the Capitol from our spot, so we were in one of the closest sections. Sure, it was freezing (temperatures in the teens!), and we had to stand to prevent our rears from freezing off, and we were all extremely tired, but it was worth it to be at this historical inauguration. After the inauguration, we made our way through tightly packed streets, moving at a snail's pace with nowhere else to go. I'll admit, it was a bit frightening; it's easy to get claustrophobic when you're within about an inch of everyone else around you. The documents in the National Archives had more breathing room than I did! Finally, we made it to our warm bus with its comfy seats. We just sat there for a while, relaxing as we let the crowds die down a bit. Then it was off to the ESPN Zone, where we played tons of video games; most were sports-oriented. I drove a virtual BMX bike, rode a virtual roller coaster, and played some real air hockey, beating my aunt 5 to 3. Good times were had by all, and we went back to the bus. At first, we thought we would be eating at a restaurant. Then, of course, the road we would have had to take was closed due to none other than Mr. President himself. Now, I'm in the hotel room waiting on pizza (not that I'm complaining about pizza). We leave for Houston tomorrow, so clothes will be packed inside suitcases tonight. I'll try to post tomorrow, but I can make no guarantees.

Quick Night Post

As you can see, I have no time to post pictures right now. It's 10:16 PM, and we have to leave the hotel at 4:30 AM tomorrow. We had a full day today, and I might be able to talk about it tomorrow. I just need to sleep right now.

War Memorials

Today, we went to many of the war memorials. We saw the Korean War
Memorial (pictured here), passed by the World War I Memorial, and
visited the World War II Memorial, which was more personal for me
because of my great-grandfather (he's still alive, by the way). In
other news, I learned today that all the buses in D.C. right now lined
up nose-to-nose would measure 75 miles.

Day Two

Today was our first full day in D.C., including our early morning. We ate breakfast at a church, got back on the bus, and headed to the Arlington Cemetery. Seeing the Kennedy gravesite was the most interesting part for me. We would have seen the changing of the guards, but the road was blocked off. As you may have heard, Obama and Biden laid wreaths at the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers; we saw the motorcade, which was really exciting. The rest of the day was mostly spent at the Smithsonian American History Museum. Not everyone went there, though. Some went to the Holocaust Museum, some saw the concert at the Lincoln Memorial, and the rest spent their free time at the Smithsonians. By the time we were done there, it was already dark. We went to the Jefferson Memorial (where the gift shop was, unfortunately, closed) and called it a day.

Our First DC Day

We're finally able to rest our feet and warm up in the hotel, the Aloft. We've been to the Smithsonian, the National Archives, a few monuments, and a Cleveland airport. We even got to see U2 practicing for tomorrow's concert. Several pictures were taken; here are just a few...

Inside the National Archives

This is on the wall above the original Declaration of
Independence......you can't take pictures through 6" thick glass with
a cell phone.

Day One: Flight