Across the pond from D.C.
I am here in Alexandria, Virginia – across the Potomac River from D.C. – ready to explore the city that has everyone’s attention. Nirav (the kind friend who invited me to join him on this adventure) discovered that our tickets are in the purple area for the swearing in ceremony, which means we will be among 240,000 ticketholders right in front of the Capital building. Behind us there will be something like 1 million lined up to watch the festivity.
After the ceremony tomorrow we will have a few hours of down time, so perhaps we will try to see some of the parade. In the evening we will be attending the Youth Ball – which will feature Kid Rock and Common and covered by MTV. I am thinking maybe I can put on some of my amazing dance skills and make my smooth skills national.
The weather is not terrible here right now. There is no snow and it is about 30 degrees, a welcome departure from the freezing temperatures of Chicago. Along the way we hit a few patches of snow in Ohio but for the most part it smooth going all the way. The entire drive took about 12 hours.
Alexandria is sort of like any old suburb with chain stores, strip malls, and the like. As we arrived last night and headed to Arlington, Virginia to visit a few friends we saw the Pentagon on the side of the road. It was a surreal sight because I didn’t imagine it to be located close to hotels and apartments.
I will continue to post each night as I am here so stayed tuned for more adventures and misadventures in D.C.
Three goals for the trip – eat some Ben’s Chili (or Legal Seafood), visit the White House and the typical D.C. sites, and buy some really strange Obama gear.
Tags: Alexandria, Arlington, Capital, Chicago, Common, D.C., Inauguration, Kid Rock, MTV, Obama, Ohio, Pentagon, Potomac, Washington, White House, Youth Ball
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