So, What'd YOU do today?
I hung out with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends:
(more at www.savitzky.com/gallery)
But let's go back to the beginning. I started my adventure after visiting some friends at Alexmas 2009. :) It was nice finally getting to one of those. Got to watch the new Battlestar episode which was cool and then I procrastinated until about 2:30 when I finally got on the road.
I made it half-way through Connecticut before almost passing out and deciding to take a nap at a rest stop. After sleeping for about 45 minutes I was woken up by a state trooper wanting to make sure I was ok. So, I was up again and thus back on the road.
Overall the drive wasn't bad - especially once the sun started coming up. I literally did not hit ANY traffic. Not at the George Washington Bridge, not near the Dulles airport in DC, nowhere. In fact, after getting gas in Jersey I didn't have to step on my clutch again until I got off the highway at the Air & Space Museum!
Don't you wish you were here?:
I was there from about 12:30 to when they closed at 5:30 and then headed to my dad's place (I did take a ton of photos which I'll post soon). Eventually found it though it was a bit hidden. He has two tiny spots in the parking garage but I couldn't fit in the one we planned to use because their car's battery was dead and it was taking up too much room. Jump start it you say? Easier said than done when you're dealing with a freakin' Prius. But eventually we got it done which was a relief.
After a little recovery we headed out for some really yummy Vietnamese noodles, then back to the apartment for beer and much-needed sleep.
I woke up around 10AM this morning and got dressed: thermal pants, thermal undershirt, cargo pants, long-sleeve shirt, thermal vest, thermal socks, new -40 degree boots, gloves/mittens, scarf, trench coat, turtle fur neck warmer, and my Patriots ugly-hat. I was freakin' set. And I'm happy to say it worked - I've never been warmer in my life while standing outside in the winter.
I took the Metro for the first time and headed into DC. Got off at a station not too close to the Mall so I could avoid the crowds but that meant I had to walk a bit. Not too bad though and the weather was nice to me. Cresting the hill where the Washington Monument stands was pretty incredible. At that point it was still an hour before showtime so the crowds weren't too bad up there. No way could I get down near the reflecting pool though - that place was nuts and officials had it blocked off already. But there were jumbotrons everywhere so it was fine. And I borrowed my dad's 18-200mm lens which was a lifesaver - I got some really cool shots which I've already posted in the gallery mentioned above. I called Dad to let him know the crowds weren't too bad and he should head down.
He did, but we didn't end up finding each other until after the concert. Our cell phones worked, but never at the same time. What a pain that was. Plenty of circuits but the cell towers just didn't have the capacity to keep up with the volume of all those people trying to make calls.
The show was great. If you missed it on HBO look elsewhere for it. Really great performances, nice speeches, and just an amazing event. I got chills a few times and teared up a bit too - very emotional to be there surrounded by such a sea of humanity. Early estimates say there were over 750,000 people there and amazingly enough there were no major incidents or arrests. Everyone was nice to each other and it was just a great vibe overall.
After the show, Dad and I found each other and decided to go eat at Zed's - a famous local place serving Ethiopian food. It was about a mile and a half walk and fortunately we go there *just* before most of the crowds arrived so we didn't even have to wait for a table!
The food was great and then we headed down the 4 block walk to the Metro station (I had originally planned to go down to some monuments to take pictures of them at night but I was just too tired). There were tons of police and passengers going into the station but when we got down to the train it was very empty - we not only got seats but there were even free seats still when the train left the station!
So, now we're home. We watched the first encore showing of the concert on HBO and then I hopped in the shower. It felt *SO* good!
Now I'm getting ready for bed. I think tomorrow I'll be checking out my dad's office and then head into DC for some museum time. Then tomorrow night hopefully I'll finally get to the FDR Memorial. Tuesday of course is the inauguration. What a week!
(more at www.savitzky.com/gallery)
But let's go back to the beginning. I started my adventure after visiting some friends at Alexmas 2009. :) It was nice finally getting to one of those. Got to watch the new Battlestar episode which was cool and then I procrastinated until about 2:30 when I finally got on the road.
I made it half-way through Connecticut before almost passing out and deciding to take a nap at a rest stop. After sleeping for about 45 minutes I was woken up by a state trooper wanting to make sure I was ok. So, I was up again and thus back on the road.
Overall the drive wasn't bad - especially once the sun started coming up. I literally did not hit ANY traffic. Not at the George Washington Bridge, not near the Dulles airport in DC, nowhere. In fact, after getting gas in Jersey I didn't have to step on my clutch again until I got off the highway at the Air & Space Museum!
Don't you wish you were here?:
I was there from about 12:30 to when they closed at 5:30 and then headed to my dad's place (I did take a ton of photos which I'll post soon). Eventually found it though it was a bit hidden. He has two tiny spots in the parking garage but I couldn't fit in the one we planned to use because their car's battery was dead and it was taking up too much room. Jump start it you say? Easier said than done when you're dealing with a freakin' Prius. But eventually we got it done which was a relief.
After a little recovery we headed out for some really yummy Vietnamese noodles, then back to the apartment for beer and much-needed sleep.
I woke up around 10AM this morning and got dressed: thermal pants, thermal undershirt, cargo pants, long-sleeve shirt, thermal vest, thermal socks, new -40 degree boots, gloves/mittens, scarf, trench coat, turtle fur neck warmer, and my Patriots ugly-hat. I was freakin' set. And I'm happy to say it worked - I've never been warmer in my life while standing outside in the winter.
I took the Metro for the first time and headed into DC. Got off at a station not too close to the Mall so I could avoid the crowds but that meant I had to walk a bit. Not too bad though and the weather was nice to me. Cresting the hill where the Washington Monument stands was pretty incredible. At that point it was still an hour before showtime so the crowds weren't too bad up there. No way could I get down near the reflecting pool though - that place was nuts and officials had it blocked off already. But there were jumbotrons everywhere so it was fine. And I borrowed my dad's 18-200mm lens which was a lifesaver - I got some really cool shots which I've already posted in the gallery mentioned above. I called Dad to let him know the crowds weren't too bad and he should head down.
He did, but we didn't end up finding each other until after the concert. Our cell phones worked, but never at the same time. What a pain that was. Plenty of circuits but the cell towers just didn't have the capacity to keep up with the volume of all those people trying to make calls.
The show was great. If you missed it on HBO look elsewhere for it. Really great performances, nice speeches, and just an amazing event. I got chills a few times and teared up a bit too - very emotional to be there surrounded by such a sea of humanity. Early estimates say there were over 750,000 people there and amazingly enough there were no major incidents or arrests. Everyone was nice to each other and it was just a great vibe overall.
After the show, Dad and I found each other and decided to go eat at Zed's - a famous local place serving Ethiopian food. It was about a mile and a half walk and fortunately we go there *just* before most of the crowds arrived so we didn't even have to wait for a table!
The food was great and then we headed down the 4 block walk to the Metro station (I had originally planned to go down to some monuments to take pictures of them at night but I was just too tired). There were tons of police and passengers going into the station but when we got down to the train it was very empty - we not only got seats but there were even free seats still when the train left the station!
So, now we're home. We watched the first encore showing of the concert on HBO and then I hopped in the shower. It felt *SO* good!
Now I'm getting ready for bed. I think tomorrow I'll be checking out my dad's office and then head into DC for some museum time. Then tomorrow night hopefully I'll finally get to the FDR Memorial. Tuesday of course is the inauguration. What a week!