Welcome to tokoni

The title pretty much says it all, but I'll give you all the detail and color I can remember and fill in for you.  Our day began at 6:00am with a quick breakfast and the process of  bundling for the cold.  I wore Under Armor Compression under my clothes, and I've got to tell you, it really does the job.  Much better than my silk long johns.  As soon as I put the stuff on I was too hot in the house.  After adding wool slacks and two layers of wool sweaters, warm socks, boots my heavy long coat, hat, scarf and gloves, not only did I look like the Michelin man, I believe I could have rolled all the way to Washington with just one really good push.

Our Inaugural Special train left Fredericksburg at 7:15.  I was hoping it would be decorated with bunting and flags flying, but it was just a regular VRE train with special route designations.  Divalicias, you were right, it did stop at L'Enfant, but that was the south side of the Mall and we needed the north (hmmm....we are Yankees by birth, there may have been some symbolism there).  Everyone was pleasant, cooperative and excited.  I did not encounter one angry or difficult person this entire day, something that has never happened before....Hscheiwe, does that count for your challenge?  There were people on the train from Florida and New York, and pretty much everywhere in between, who somehow had a connection in Fredericksburg and thought the train would be the best way to travel.  They were right!  It took a little over an hour and meandered along the Potomac River with spectacular views of partially frozen waterways gleaming gold with the reflection of the early morning sun.  Truly it was a new morning in America, and the logo from the Obama campaign came to life before our eyes.

As we crossed the Potomac into Washington, the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument looked as though they had been waxed and polished, their majesty worn proudly as on no other day before this one.  In the city we could see the huge crowds lined up at security checkpoints, choking roads and underpasses, all on foot.  Vehicular traffic was limited to police and security teams, and there were red and blue lights flashing everywhere.  I grew up in the DC area, and this was surreal.  Never have I seen so many people and so few cars.  Parked buses lined many of the streets, and vendors were everywhere, selling buttons, flags, posters, feather boas, hats, T-shirts and dozens of other souvenirs.  If one judged only by what we saw today, our economy would seem to be well on its way to coming back.

At last we pulled into Union Station.  If you have ever seen the movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, this is where Jimmy Stewart first arrives and can look across and see the Capitol.  The trees have grown a little bigger now and the view is not as clear, but there it was, welcoming the bundled masses yearning to witness history.  And I do mean masses.  We stopped to use the restrooms at the station, and of course the line for the ladies' was about a hundred yards long.  Merciifully, it moved quickly and only took about 20 minutes.  This was a strategically wise plan, eliminating the necessity of using one of the 5,000 portapotties outside in the freezing cold.  Take a moment and imagine how that would have felt!  The direct road to our security checkpoint was indeed open to pedestrian traffic despite published reports to the contrary, and so we proceeded down Louisiana Avenue to the Purple Gate, no more than a quarter mile away.  About 50 yards out it was all stop.  A mass of humanity was trying to funnel through a 6 foot wide gate in the barricade.  Security personnel were letting people through in batches so they could proceed to the lines for metal detectors and bag checking located on the other side of the gate.  Our precious purple tickets were required to get through, but apparently, even though the woman with the bullhorn was regularly proclaiming the need for purple, and only purple tickets, lots of people did not get the message.  No matter.  Everything was cool.  Actually it was hot.  Even though the temperature was below 30 degrees, in the crowd, it was getting warm.  I took off my gloves, unbuttoned my coat, and never had to break open my handwarmers.  This was going to be a piece of cake. 

In the crowd around us there was a man from Wisconsin who had quit his job and gone to Iowa to work for Obama in the caucuses, then stayed on for the rest of the campaign.  There was a young Senate staffer from Olympia Snowe's office (a Republican) who was nevertheless very excited.  She did admit to having voted for John McCain, but it was easy to forgive her today.  All was calm, everyone was patient, and after about an hour we finally made it through the gate.  On the other side there were about twenty lines for metal detectors and bag checking, and we walked down to the lines farthest away yet closest to our destination.  We made it through very quickly and were on our way to "Purple North Standing" from which we would view history as it happened.

More to follow.