How to properly be a hobo for a day

[silver 2039]

There's going to be a parade too.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

You mean like an Inaugural Address?

 

[silver 2039]

The email I got from my uni democrats:

1. What you can expect at the Inauguration: Like the majority of
Inauguration-goers, we do not have tickets. Instead, we'll be the
National Mall watching the ceremony on large Jumbotron screens. With an estimated four million attendees, it'll likely be the biggest party you'll ever go to.
A big part of the fun will be in the midst of all the festivities. We are hoping to get a location on the Mall close enough to Pennsylvania Avenueso that we can see the parade.

2. Weather & Clothes: It is usually cold and wet in late Jan., be sure
to dress in layers. Wear comfortable shoes since you may be standing for an extended period of time and will be doing a good deal of walking.

4. What you can bring within event perimeter: Backpacks are not permitted, nor are camera bags, umbrellas, and most other large sized items. You are allowed to bring cell phones and small snacks, but as a general rule don't plan on bringing anything into the area that could be deemed a weapon. Check here for what NOT to bring: http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/keytopics.cfm#security (under "Prohibited Items"

 

[Gogf]

Millions, to be sure. DC has been preparing for this since Election Day; I was walking around town before Christmas and they already had bleachers and crowd stands set up and being constructed (especially this huge ass wooden thing on Penn. Ave.), signs announcing new traffic patterns for the weekend of Inaguration, and banners across the street celebrating it.

Yeah, I saw that too. I'll bet we were actually there on the same day. We took a bunch of pictures of the inauguration prep work... it was pretty cool to see it going up so early.

 

[Gogf]

Hey downtown, I'm glad to hear you are attending and you seem to know more about the event than me. Can you tell me some of the events I can attend besides the actual swearing in ceremony? Will there be a speech by Obama?

Obama's definitely going to give a speech. I forget if it's before or after the swearing in, but it's going to be really close to it.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I was there the weekend before Christmas.

You came to DC and didn't tell me?

 

[general_kill]

You mean like an Inaugural Address?

Sure, why not? I have no idea how these things usually go down. How long does the inaugural address usually last?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I live only an hour from DC, if a bunch of people are going to be in town for a few days, we should meet up.

 

[Gogf]

I was there the weekend before Christmas.

You came to DC and didn't tell me?

Oh, no, I was still talking about November. I haven't been since then.

 

[amadeus]

You're going to camp out in Washington D.C. and in the cold?

Write out your will now so your family doesn't have to put up with the legal hassles.

 

[Dachs]

Dude we should have an impromptu CFC meetup.

Sounds like fun. I ain't got class that day, might as well spend the time waiting for room on the Metro to open up. And this time we can figure out where we're going unambiguously.

 

[downtown]

People who are going... I demand pictures!!

Check out www.newarkadvocate.com over the weekend for pictures and my stories.

Hey downtown, I'm glad to hear you are attending and you seem to know more about the event than me. Can you tell me some of the events I can attend besides the actual swearing in ceremony? Will there be a speech by Obama?

The email I got from my uni democrats:

Silver's post is pretty good. There is a jumboscreen at the National Mall where you can watch the speech and swearing in, and there is a parade that starts a 2:30. I think the speech is at 11:30...so you'll want to watch that and then boogie over to the parade. There is a concert on Sunday, another concert on Monday, and various other parties.

 

[silver 2039]

But no booze allowed unfortunateley. And you can't take any posters or signs either. Or food except small snacks. Or thermos, umbrella's or pretty much anything really. So take money.

 

[general_kill]

I live only an hour from DC, if a bunch of people are going to be in town for a few days, we should meet up.

Hey cheezy, a meet up sounds good and it would be great to travel with someone who knows the area. I have a question, do you think it would be possible to drive to D.C. on the day of the inauguration? How close do you think I'd be able to get before being overwhelmed with traffic? Also, would it be possible to take a train into D.C. on the day of the inauguration? Or does everything shut down on that day?

I want to hopefully avoided staying overnight in D.C. because I really don't want to stay out in the cold. Right now I'm just trying to figure out if it is actually possible to get into the city on inauguration day.

 

[silver 2039]

I'm going by bus so presumably it should be possible to get into the city by road.

 

[downtown]

Hey cheezy, a meet up sounds good and it would be great to travel with someone who knows the area. I have a question, do you think it would be possible to drive to D.C. on the day of the inauguration? How close do you think I'd be able to get before being overwhelmed with traffic? Also, would it be possible to take a train into D.C. on the day of the inauguration? Or does everything shut down on that day?

I want to hopefully avoided staying overnight in D.C. because I really don't want to stay out in the cold. Right now I'm just trying to figure out if it is actually possible to get into the city on inauguration day.

Traffic is going to be a super pain. You *might* be able to Metro in if you're willing to get up at the arsecrack of dawn.

 

[Dachs]

Traffic is going to be a super pain. You *might* be able to Metro in if you're willing to get up at the arsecrack of dawn.

Metro opens at like 0400 that day, right? If there is a meetup deal I would be trying to get in that way.

 

[downtown]

Metro opens at like 0400 that day, right? If there is a meetup deal I would be trying to get in that way.

I *think* so. MetroRail traffic will be really heavy on trains entering the district from VA and MD I'm told, so plan on everything taking a lot longer than normal. The one form of public transport that might not be swamped is their regular bus system. My advice to anybody is try to get inside the District monday night, and prepare to hoof it a lot.

If there is a meetup, I sadly won't be able to attend. This is technically a business trip for me, and my time is almost totally booked. I'm gunning to come back in March though

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Hey cheezy, a meet up sounds good and it would be great to travel with someone who knows the area. I have a question, do you think it would be possible to drive to D.C. on the day of the inauguration? How close do you think I'd be able to get before being overwhelmed with traffic?

No.

Also, would it be possible to take a train into D.C. on the day of the inauguration?

Train by either Amtrak, Marc, or VRE, or the DC Metro are all safe bets, but expect them to be crowded.

Or does everything shut down on that day?

More like overwhelmed beyond capacity.

I want to hopefully avoided staying overnight in D.C. because I really don't want to stay out in the cold. Right now I'm just trying to figure out if it is actually possible to get into the city on inauguration day.

Of course it will be, but it will be a pain in your ass.

 

[silver 2039]

I think classes start on the 20th so I guess I'll be missing that. Ah well.