DC Day Four - Inauguration cont.

And Finally, the emotions that Followed...


Andrew Grinberg of DC dances in celebration with friend Lizzy Lynch on the lawn of the Washington Monument Tuesday following the 56th inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.


Maggie Weiss of Minnesota celebrates by taking photos with her camera phone seconds after Barack Obama takes the oath of office and becomes the 44th president of the United States.


Sam Gutman,center, from south New Jersey climbs high above in a tree on the lawn of the Washington Monument with his friends to get a better angle and be above the people, he said.



The official helicopter carrying George W. Bush left the steps of the Capitol for the last time Tuesday following the Inauguration of Barack Obama. In conclusion to the Bush administration in Washington, the helicopter flew once around the National Mall before fading off into the distance.


Obama supporters on the lawn of the Washington Monument proceeded to flick off the helicopter carrying George W. Bush as they hummed the song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye".

P.S. I did shoot video too!!! However, that will take me a day or too longer to edit. Stay Tuned ;)

DC Day Four - Inauguration

Remember those plans I was trying to devise on Monday for Tuesday, well they all got thrown out the window when it took us about 2 hours to get into the district on the Metro. After watching a few packed trains pass us at our metro stop, we decided to reverse commute 3 stops and were able to jump right on an almost empty train a few stops out. Now mind you, by the time we got to our original stop we were packed to capacity, but it made for an interesting metro photo and a cluttered, chaotic start to what would prove to be a cattle-herding-like hectic day.



jammed packed metro...
Jan Kaghazwala,bottom left, and Vern Morrison, bottom right, from Cleveland Ohio wait patiently as the Orange line metro headed from Vienna Virginia heads towards the District of Columbia Tuesday morning just a few hours before Barack Obama is to be inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. The D.C. metro system was running on a rush hour schedule Tuesday and according to Metro officials about 1,120,000 metro rides were confirmed setting a record for most rides on a single week day.


Tuesday morning started so early for me that I didn't even get my coffee. Doesn't look like that was the case for most people however.


Once off the Metro it was like cows all being herded in one direction. There was no breaking off from the path or going your own way. It was cold, and the only thing keeping you warm was body heat from the several million people around you, even more reason to huddle in close to each other.


Catherine Whitehead from Baton Rouge Louisiana arrived to the National Mall at 7:30am with hopes of finding a spot to show here countries pride and hear Obama speak, she said.


Once on the mall there was an overwhelming feeling of Euphoria shared by the millions that gathered there. The view of the crowd was breathtaking.


I got a little artzy at the end.. Hope you enjoy ;)

DC Day Three - Wondering

I took some time on Monday to wonder round the city and take in some of the sights while trying to devise a plan for Tuesday. Here's just a little of what the tourist in me saw.


Arlington Cemetery was one of the more humbling sights I've seen in a long time. It was so powerful to be standing on a hill amongst gravestones representing the many fallen service men and woman who loved our country more than they loved their will to live. To look out over a city where some of the most powerful world changers in history dwelt and brought active change to our society. To see from the top of Arlington the Lincoln Memorial which was built to honor a man who led our country through internal crisis ending the American Civil War and bringing an end to Slavery, thus shaping this free world we now live in. To continue looking further past that to see the Washington Monument honoring the first president of the United states and then to look left from there and see the White House, which as of Monday when I was standing there was marking the ending of the Bush era and within 24 hours would mark the beginning of the Obama presidency. Then, to top it all off, sitting dead ahead in the distance was the US Capitol Building. A place which stands in definition for our countries government, and the platform for the swearing in of our presidential powers. Needless to say I was humbled by all that stood before me.

DC Day Two - Inaugural Concert

Sunday started my week of 14-18 hour days in the cold and WAY TO MANY people. I headed out to the Lincoln Memorial to join in the festivities that were the Inaugural Concert.

It was such a joy to witness Usher and Stevie Wonder belting it out on stage TOGETHER.. And lord knows I'm a huge Josh Groban and Bono fan.. I love my job!


Frozen Reflection Pool



Just realized I left my notebook at home. Caption to come later.

DC Day One - Calm before the Storm

About 5 minutes following my arrival in D.C. it was brought to my attention, by my sniffling nose and dry eyes, that I had officially gotten sick. As many of you know I have been traveling now since November. I've been going from freezing cold one week to sunshine the next. Grant it, my complexion is thankful for the tan I have in January, however my body temperature is screaming for stability.

So now, I am safe and sound back in the ATL where I should stay for about 3 weeks before setting off on my next planned adventure. But knowing me, those plans are all subject to change and I could be gone again tomorrow. Wahoo! The joys of freelance;)

So in playing catch-up, enjoy the calm before the storm....





My first night in DC I had the privilege to meet up with one of my good friends from my study abroad trip to Barcelona 3 years ago. It was such a blast to go out with her in her city. Here is just one photo of what was the debacle of Georgetown the weekend of the Inauguration.

DC (Jan 17-21)

I know I've been slacking lately with posting to my blog, but I just wanted to check in.

Starting today, Saturday the 17th, thru Wednesday the 21st, I will be in DC covering the 56th Presidential Inauguration of our 44th president Barack Obama.

I am available for freelance work while I am here, so feel free to contact me at 941-232-8781.

For now I will leave you with a photo from Gainesville Florida last Thursday night when the Florida Gators took home their 2nd NCAA football national championship in three years.

Happy Inauguration...

P.S. It's single digit cold in DC right now.. YIKES!

2009

Happy New Year!!!!!

Here's to making the most out of 2009 and finding a way to make the impossible attainable;)