NY, DC, and O-H-I-O

Let me start by saying WOW! We just got back from our trip to NY/DC for the inauguration and it really was the trip of a lifetime. I think I will summarize day by day to give you an idea of how awesome it went:

• Saturday- Left Phoenix at 9.45 am and got into Newark around 4.30 pm after a smooth flight. Ryanne and Kevin picked us up and we headed to their place in Manhattan. After quickly changing (we got there around 6pm thanks to NY traffic), we headed down to meet up with friends from college (Claire and Paul for me and Hutch for Tim). The whole group had a great dinner and then hit up a bar, but decided to head home around 11 to prepare for the long day ahead on Sunday =)
• Sunday- Woke up and headed to breakfast at Ry and Kev's favorite local place. After eating, we walked to the park by their place and it was beautiful! It was snowing and very pretty. There is a great view of the Hudson, the George Washington Bridge, and a bunch of the city. We then packed the car and left to pick up Paul and Andrea and headed to Baltimore. After a 3 hour drive, we were there just in time to see the Cardinals win (yeah!). We stayed with Ry's family friends and they were so amazing! They even had vegetarian food!
• Monday- We woke up early and headed to DC! We got there and found a space by my the loft of my Sorority Sister Holly where we were staying, 1 mile from the Capital) and headed in to get our tickets. We even got to meet the Simi Valley congressman that gave us our tix! After getting the tix we toured around town and saw a ton (Monuments, White House, Archives, American History Museum) It was the first trip for Tim, me, and Andrea, and I feel like we got a good DC in a day overview and I really want to go back to have more time with the amazing sites.
• Tuesday- Wow, we woke up at 5 am and headed out. Bundled up in LAYERS, we went to the Silver Section. After feeling like a center divider (good quote Kev), we finally made it thorough to security. We made it inside after going through very lax security and then proceeded to stand there until festivities started around 10.45am. I cant even describe the emotion and pride that was felt. People crying, hugging, chanting, and everyone feeling the same thing. When Obama came out I couldn't help but to cry as I was overcome with what was going on. There were people lined up from where we were in the ticketed section (the reflecting pool) to the Lincoln monument. Everyone was waving flags and just so amazed and excited. There really was a feeling of hope. It was unbelievable. The down side was that it was SO COLD. It rivaled when I was on the Great Wall in China...I really felt that I was freezing to death. I couldn't feel anything. It turns out that it was 13 degrees. I am so from Arizona (anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a winter person)...So after the Inag. was over, we headed back to Holly's, rested, and packed up the car for the ride back to NY. Believe it or not, we had No traffic and made it back to NY in 4.5 hours! We crashed almost immediately!
• Wed- We woke up and Kev took us to the airport. The flight back was really smooth and here I am in Econ writing my blog!
• Other- So, my favorite part of the trip, besides the obvious of course (the events, sites and seeing my best friends) =) When we were walking the National Mall on Monday, a woman from CNN was handing out buttons. We all took one, and she looked at Tim and said, "none for you". Tim was wearing an Ohio State beanie. She moved her jacket to reveal a Michigan glove. Tim responded with a "I don't want one anyway" and walked away. Scarlet and Grey run deep. My grandpa would be so proud.