Inauguration opening ceremony at Licoln Memorial

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As I said I headed down about three hours early. When I walked onto the Mall, it didn't seem all that crowded. Of course there was a lot of security/sniper looking camouflaged men and women.



The weather looks dingy in the pictures, but it wasn't that bad. Probably about 30 F, but I had on two hats, two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, a sweater, a hoodie, and two pairs of gloves. So I was ok with the weather, and didn't really get cold for the five hours I was standing around.

Then I started to walk down towards the Lincoln Memorial, and they shuffles us to the sides and into very long lines. The lines moved pretty fast though, so I wasn't there for more than half an hour. After they made us take out all of our electronics and turn them on, I got a quick pat down and I was in.

That was where I found all of the people. Folks had parked themselves all over the areas around the reflecting pool. Many had blankets and food, and cards and other forms of entertainment. The rest of us just stood. I walked up as close as I could get and over the course of the next few hours it packed in. At some point all of the people who were on the ground ended up standing up and there was no room to be had.



When the ceremony started the speaker that was closest to our corner wasn't working, so all we could see was the screens, and people started to shout, and chant "Turn it up", for about five minutes until it was resolved.



There were people climbing trees, and even on the tops of the port-o-potties.

It was hard to see the stage, but we all had views of multiple screens, and had made friends with the people sharing your personal space over the last three hours, although there was a few people who's disposition worsened over the course of the wait. I tried to just focus on standing properly so I wouldn't get tired.


The speakers and performers ran the gamut of different celebrities, the most enthusiastic were Bono, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Stevie Wonder, and Mary J. Blige, although there were many more. Of course Obama was the biggest crowd pleaser.