A wonderful time at the inauguration

From Shirleyann Costigan:

Yes, my friends,
I was there. Have you seen the newspaper shots of the massive crowds at the Inauguration? Look again. Focus on the area between the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial. If you look really, really, REALLY closely, you still can't see me. Nor can you see my dear friend and hostess Jackie M. looking like a hip Eskimo in the shades and fur hood, nor the darling pixie with pink hair and her green-haired mom, nor the kind woman who gave me two hand-warmers to stuff in my shoes so my frozen toes wouldn't break off, nor the sleeping toddler in his daddy's arms, nor the protesters disclaiming Obama for Jesus Christ, nor the lady blocking my view of the Jumbotron.

You can't see any of it, but I was really there, got the T-shirt and a head cold, and had a most wonderful time - even though I didn't see very much either. But I'm sure if I had, Obama would have sent you all his very best - but now he's too busy.

A message from the inauguration

From Dylan Svihus, 17, Carmel High School:

January 21, 2009

Our departure time was an hour later than normal, which was nice considering how I hadn’t really gotten used to the East Coast Time zone. Most nights I was lucky if I fell asleep by eleven. On our way to DC we got caught in rush hour traffic for the first time on our trip. We were going to visit the Lincoln Memorial, go the Newseum, and depart from Dulles Airport.

The Lincoln memorial was crowded, however, this only added to the epic scope of the memorial. The oversized Lincoln gazed intently across the mall at the Washington Memorial in the nation’s longest running staring match. At the front of the memorial, hoards of people were taking the pictures of the national mall. That’s really original; you definitely couldn’t find a postcard with that view. I had to resist the urge to exploit the phallic nature of the Washington Monument in a sexually explicit picture that would offend most patriots, and have revolutionary war veterans rolling in their graves.

It was at this point that we said goodbye to our tour guide. Her oratory skills were on par with George Bush, and like Bush, her departure was much more celebrated than her arrival.

Our next stop was at the youngest museum in DC: The Newseum. Unfortunately we only had two hours to see the six story tribute to the media. Highlights included a section about the FBI and the press, which had exhibits about Patty Hearst, The Unabomber with his actual cabin in the exhibit, and the DC Sniper. The drawbacks included expensive food, and a 4D movie that burned over twenty minutes of our precious time. There was so much information; I could have easily spent an entire day viewing the compelling exhibits. It was by far the best museum we visited on the trip.

After our painfully short stint in the Newseum, We went back on the bus to head to Dulles airport. Unfortunately I still had not bought the Obama paraphernalia that I had promised my family. I looked in every gift shop in the museums and monuments, but I was too cheap to buy a T-shirt for thirty bucks that was only five on inauguration day. Fortunately, our driver, Bob, allowed us to stop at a group of street vendors to buy some decently priced merch. I bought three Obama T-shirts, one Obama poster, two Obama pins, and one McCain pin that was 75% off—just for giggles; the grand total was thirty five dollars.

Our flight took us from Dulles to Midway airport in Chicago where we had a two hour layover. The next leg took us to Las Vegas, and then we proceeded to San Jose airport. In retrospect, seeing the inauguration was a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness history in the making, but I would have liked to see more of DC: the Smithsonian museums, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court were all places that we did not get to visit. I will definitely make it a personal goal as a citizen of the United States to revisit DC for a longer period of time.

From the onset of this trip, I was a little skeptical about the execution of Obama’s skillfully worded master plan, but now I feel that if nothing else, he has inspired a new generation of future politicians who will strive to carry on his message. Many believe that Obama’s message is about hope, but beneath the overtly spoken words that have echoed throughout America for months now, there is a much more applicable message: that of a subjective reality. On July 27, 2004 Obama gave a speech where he demanded that we replace the politics of cynicism with the politics of hope. Despite the fact that it is easy to be cynical, Obama demanded that we reject the reality of cynicism and apathy and replace it with a reality of hope and empathy. Obama’s election has proved that if enough people can join arms, they can change what is real in Washington DC, in America, and in the world. Obviously, there will still be fights in the subways, and reality can spoil just as quickly as it has flowered, but if we maintain the confidence that reality can be changed, then nothing will stop us.

Witnessing the inauguration on a 'glorified television'

From Dylan Svihus, 17, Carmel High School:

January 20, 2009

We set our alarms for four am in order to catch our bus at five. The alarm rang at four, and I rolled over to wake up my bunk mate, Jake. I shook him a few times, and I assumed he was awake, then I went back to sleep. Our teacher knocked on the door ten minutes before five, and we scrambled to get our clothes together. We walked to the elevator, and being the observant type, I realized that I was not wearing any shoes. I threw my clothes on the floor of the elevator, and dashed back into the room. I got my shoes on and crammed into the elevator. It was only after we drove out of Gaithersburg that I realized I forgot my scarf and gloves. I slept for most of the bus ride to D.C.

The bus parked at the lot in front of the Nationals’ stadium. We walked about two miles to the silver ticket gate. We stayed in line at the gate for about five hours pushing and shoving our way to the ticketed area. There was a complete lack of communication between the policemen and the attendees. Throughout the wait, cheers of “What’s going on?” and “Let us in” reverberated throughout the line, but I had a feeling that some of the policemen knew about as much information as we did.

We mostly entertained ourselves, but at the end of the wait things seemed bleak. The wind really began to rip through the crowd, and I thought that we would never be able to make it into the ticketed area. Barack Obama’s dream was dying in the salty streets of the national mall. There was a very disillusioned vibe throughout the crowd, but in this darkest hour change was made. The barricades were forced open, and we rushed forward into the ticketing area. Unfortunately, our original group of fourteen was separated into three subgroups; I was with my bunkmate and lifelong friend: Jake Odello; as well as Vanessa Chapman and Kelly Starnes. We went through a surprisingly brief security checkpoint which consisted of a ten second frisk.

As soon as we got into the viewing area we positioned ourselves as close as possible to the Jumbo-Tron. We traveled thousands of miles to view the inauguration through a glorified television. Every time there was a shot of George Bush or anybody associated with his administration, the crowd erupted with booing and hissing. Just as we arrived at our spot in the ticket area, Joe Biden took his oath of office. His voice reverberated throughout the mall, so you actually heard the oath about five times. After that, we heard a Yo-Yo Ma composition, which was less than satisfactory; the tone of the piece was on a completely different planet than the rest of the attendees.

Finally, the moment we had all waited for: Obama. The crowd started to chant “Obama, Obama, Obama.” He took his oath and the crowd chanted, “Yes we can, Yes we can.” Obama proceeded to deliver his inaugural address in front of four million people. After eight years of bumbling George Bush, it was so refreshing to be able to use the words president and eloquence in the same sentence. The words of wisdom cascaded down the sniper lined canyon of US history, engulfing all of us in his mesmerizing Methodist meter of hope and change. For about thirty seconds after the address, all four million of us were riding this crest of hope, but the wave crashed and the sirens began to wail.

We began to exit the ticketed inauguration area, and we walked out to Jefferson Avenue. During the inaugural address our friends from the secret service re-barricaded the road, so nobody could get out. Tensions flared and the once altruistic, hopeful, law abiding citizens were transformed into masters of mayhem. They tore down the temporary chain link fence surrounding the Native American History Museum. People soon began pouring into the courtyard in front of the Native American History Museum. We followed, using the path of least resistance that eventually led us to another chain link fence in front of the parade route. People began to climb the fence, and were immediately swarmed by Special Forces Agents.

One guy almost made it over the fence, but then he got tackled by Special Forces. The agent did not stop there, however; he took out his night stick, and what was once an ardent Obama supporter became an unconscious object lying in its own blood. After seeing that raw display of power, our group got the hell out of there. We eventually made our way to the public health center, and met up with the rest of our group.

As we left DC the lines around the Metro station wrapped around the block, it was clear that some people might not be able to go home that night. The trash of millions of people clogged the streets: newspapers, plastic bags, and the typical city sludge coagulated together in urban tumbleweeds of human waste.

Snipers and snow

From Dylan Svihus, 17, Carmel High School:

January 19, 2009

We ate the same breakfast as yesterday. We got on our bus at seven thirty. Our agenda for the day: Whitehouse, War Memorials, and tickets. As we stepped off the bus, it began to snow, just like the balding weatherman had promised us last night. As we walked to the Whitehouse, the snowflakes slowly congregated on our shoulders like dandruff. We got as close to the Whitehouse as possible, all the while trying to ignore the infantile fun facts being forced upon us by our wonderful tour guide. The coolest thing about the Whitehouse was seeing the sniper at the top of the building watching our every move.

We got back on the coach, and headed towards the various memorials around the mall. Unfortunately, we could not go inside the Lincoln memorial, because the set from yesterday’s concert was being torn down. Next we went to the Vietnam War memorial. The memorial looked like a scar, a painful reminder of the mistake we made. It seemed inhuman to condense the lives of the thousands of people into an impersonal name. People walk by the names, but each one has a story. We continued to the Korean War memorial and the WWII memorial.

Two people from our group went to Sam Farr’s office to pick up the tickets to the inauguration. The rest of us went to Union Station to get lunch. Not surprisingly, Union Station was packed. We wandered through the congested food court for two hours, and after two hours of wandering all I had to show for it was a doughnut the size of my head. We met the Sam Farr contingency at the back of the capitol building. Thanks to Sam Farr, we got silver passes at the very end of the ticketed area.

When we got back to Gaithersburg there was about an inch of snow on the ground. We immediately bought some sleds at Target, and started to slide down the little hills. About a half an hour into our session, a Gaithersburg police officer told us that we had violated the Gaithersburg curfew laws. It was eight o’clock. Even in Carmel, where ice cream was only recently legalized, the curfew is ten o’clock.

In Washington D.C.: A day of challenges and joy

The Herald's Julia Reynolds at the inauguration
Editor's note — Cell phone reception in Washington D.C. has been spotty all day. Text messages from Reynolds capturing the buzz of the day were lost somewhere in the ozone. This is from a phone conversation Reynolds and I had after she had successfully escaped the Capitol.
Reynolds: The day started at 5:30 a.m., I was on the train by 6:30 a.m., at our gate by 7:30 a.m. But then everything ground to a half and I almost didn't get in. Only reason we seemed to get in was because people ahead of us in line gave up in disgust. By 11 a.m. the crowd trampled over the fences and we got in. Everyone sort of ran in to the ticketed area. I got to hear Aretha which was my big thing. We couldn't follow the Obama speech because the sound seemed to cut in and out. It is just real nice to sit down, here at 3 p.m.
The crowd was packed together like sardines, but everyone seemed polite. You were smushed in with a big crowd , but it was a nice crowd to be with. I felt the cold in my fingers and feet.
Unfortunately, the physical things to deal with were distracting. In between it all was for a feeling of elation and that seemed to carry everyone through peacefully.
I've never seen anything like this before. Next time I'll watch it at home with my feet up. But this time I couldn't miss it, it was history. I've never seen so many people so excited about the same thing at one time. These were happy people.

Joy and reverence in Sand City

From Herald columnist Erin Gray at Ol' Factory, Sand City:
It was packed, by 8:30 it was standing room only. The overall feeling was of joy and reverence. There were lot of tears. There was even a lot of respect when George Bush walked out of the White House. There was some hissing at first, but it soon stopped. This wasn't the moment for it.
People were very interested in what Michelle Obama was wearing. They were so happy to see her wear something sparkly. There was a little debate on her green gloves. Everyone was completely charmed by the girls.
I felt a wall of resistance go up when Rick Warren started speaking. I had my head bowed when he recited the Lord's Prayer but I don't think many joined in. It was a stressful moment but respectful at the same time.
Of course, Aretha was just beautiful. We all loved her hat.
People applauded Joe Biden, but it was the warmup act, not the main event. Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlmen, Gabriela Montereo, Anthony McGill performing, it was beautiful, it was a very sacred moment for me and for the room. It was the moment in the room we seemed to realize the seriousness event. It reached us in the way only music can reach people.
The speech was amazing. I was so impressed with the gravity and that he didn't cheerlead. People listened very quietly. Applause broke out from time to time, but not wild applause because the speech was very grave.
When he finished people stood up and applauded wildly. People were hugging strangers. There were tears in people's eyes. We were saying "peace be with you."

A crowd turned out in monterey

The Herald's Larry Parsons at the Democratic headquarters in Monterey: They expected 30 or 40 for bagels and coffee and history at the Democratic headquarters in downtown Monterey to view the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
About 100 people crammed into the Bonifacio Plaza party storefront office, lining the walls, sitting cross-legged on the floor beneath the C-Span screen from Washington, D.C., and cheering with a restrained excxuberance as the 44th president took office.
Some wore Obama buttons, shirts and hats. Some held squirming children in their laps or on their shoulders. Some strode in slowly on walkers. Many sat erect, as if at attention, in the metal folding chairs.
To a person, they all wore slight smiles, and a few dabbed at their eyes when Obama stumbled through the oath of office. The crowded room was pin-drop quiet as he began his first speech as president at 9:07 a.m.

CSUMB students give Obama high marks

The Herald's Kevin Howe at CSUMB watching the inauguration:
"That man is an amazing orator."

That was CSU-Monterey Bay senior Megan Williams' assessment following President Barack Obama's inaugural speech Tuesday, an event watched live on big-screen television by several hundred students and faculty who gathered at the university's World Theater.

"It was a great speech." Her major is "emergent media narrativology," Williams said, and she'd give Obama an A-plus grade.

So would Adriane Tabag, a junior majoring in integrated studies at CSUMB. "It was very inspirational. I personally found it a good way to start the presidency."

She came away, she said, with the hope that the inauguration speech will unite the nation and "bring us out of our troubles."

Global studies and Japanese language major Chris Wolf was a bit more critical. "I'd give it an 8.5 or 9 on a scale of 10."

Wolf said he came out to the World Theater in response to an e-mail sent to students "to be part of history. And the free continental breakfast had something to do with it."

On scene at the inauguration

From The Herald's Julia Reynolds, 8:05 a.m. PST:

There's a rumor they aren't letting silver ticket holders in. ... People are getting frustrated. .... It's not too cold here lots of people keeping each other warm. Silver ticket holders are getting upset because we're not moving (there are unconfirmed reports that some silver ticket holders broke through security barriers, causing a problem). Right now I'm just within earshot.

Watch this girl

The Herald's Julie Reynolds at the inauguration: Best Obamabilia sighting of the day: Displayed in a store window at the Farragut North subway station — rows of pint-sized plastic bottles of Obama Water. Yep. Plain old water. With HIS face on it. This is getting eeeeerie.

Most adorable sighting: Twelve-year-old Lydia Anglin, of Houston, Texas, filming her own video documentary for classmates and friends back home. "Because they can't all be here," she said. Remember her name — this girl is smart, insightful and in ten years or so should be reporting on the national evening news or Internet radio or whatever kind of info-media we have by then. After interviewing a slew of adults, including yours truly, Lydia answered a few of her own questions about the historic meaning of the week's events. "This is so incredible. I still can't believe I'm here, in Washington," she said. "To me, seeing an African American become president means a lot."

Obama's face is EVERYWHERE!

More from The Herald's Julia Reynolds at the inauguration: Greeting from Obamalandia. Geez, the man’s face is everywhere here! I do mean everywhere. On neckties, beanies, socks, caps, jackets, watches, rings, earrings and probably boxer shorts for all I know. Even the subway tickets have a “special collectors’ edition” inaugural design. It all makes me think I better start collecting Obamabilia fast, before it all runs out. Or wait till Wednesday and see if it’s half price. You know, for the grandkids or something.

Since I arrived Sunday, DC’s been crammed with people and it’s getting more crammed by the minute. Trains are packed full with families wearing Obama pins on every imaginable body surface — or sporting tuxedos and gowns. The energy has begun to rise, with strangers picking up conversations like old friends, random smiles on the street, all assuming the others support their guy with equal fervor. It makes me wonder where all the Republicans are hiding.

The lines outside the congressional office buildings this afternoon were winding in spirals around the block. These are the two hundred thousand or so lucky but hardy souls who are picking up tickets to the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow. It’s another unplanned-for-but-should-have-been-expected crowd-jam — and so people waited three hours just to get inside the building. Up inside those hallowed halls, a stream of Central Coasters here for the occasion dropped by to greet Our Man in Washington, Rep. Sam Farr, who held court while his staffers passed out tickets to the anointed.

Poignant sight in the hallway: a pile of furniture outside the office of the Republican (former) head of some committee. “Lot of people gonna be moving this week,” one local cracks with a smile.

Down below, the Metro station agents have been prodding us through the gates like cattle. Unfortunately, the subways here are like BART – you have to insert your ticket to get out. Which means massive, massive, MASSIVE logjams at the exits. We are all wondering just how insane tomorrow will be. I’ve been planning to get there by 8 am but now I’m thinking six. Or five. Or maybe I’ll just stay up all freaking night. With my press credentials, I could always crash a ball or 20.

Sunday night, more than 1,000 California Democrats held their West Coast-casual version of a ball at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Nancy Pelosi dropped by with her entourage, while Sen. Barbara Boxer stood off in a corner looking like just one of the crowd until a few reporters swarmed her.

The big unanswered question of the night was: where in the world is Leon Panetta? Is he here, waiting humbly in the wings for a confirmation hearing? Everyone who should know claims they don’t, but I don’t believe ‘em.

Obama on the cruise

Herald Staff Writer Julia Reynolds is in Washington D.C. for the inauguration. She is texting her experiences:

"It's a total zoo here. I'm hanging out at Massachusetts and 15th street. O just drove past. 3 blks of limos cops & ambus. Fast. Folod by more cops. People running from all directions trying to catch a glimpse him. People asking cops "Is it him? Is it him?" .... I don't think anyone expected to see him. Just a lot of people hanging around in groups dressed in their winter best going from party to party. ... Oh no, here they come again (the motorcade). I wonder if it's him. Maybe he's just cruzin downtown, but he's not going to see anything, they're going so frickin fast."

Sightseeing and the free concert on the Mall

January 18, 2009

We woke up at six and took showers. We went down to the second floor of our hotel to eat our breakfast. Our food was questionable, but it was a buffet, and I had to get my money’s worth out of this trip, so I loaded my plate with runny eggs, mediocre bacon, and dull potatoes.

We left the hotel at seven to go to Arlington National Cemetery. On the way, our tour guide informed us that President-elect Barack Obama was going to be visiting the cemetery at the same time we were, so we had to make some minor itinerary adjustments. Thanks Obama. The new plan: we will go the Pentagon memorial, and then we will go to Arlington at around eleven, when Obama should be gone.

The Pentagon memorial was an uncluttered, somber affair dedicated to those who died in the plane crash at the Pentagon on 9/11. The memorial consisted of these really post-modern benches that were facing all sorts of directions with a victim’s name on the side. Behind the memorial was the Pentagon, and compared to other government buildings in the area this one was extremely dull. I was surprised and a little befuddled when I saw my peers taking pictures of it, this building clearly lacked any sort of personality and was definitely NOT picture-worthy.

We made our way back to the bus, and a bunch of Capitol policemen stopped us. Apparently our tour guide forgot to tell us that it is illegal to take pictures of the outside of the Pentagon. The policemen went through a few of the student’s cameras and deleted the guilty pictures.

We disembarked from the Pentagon memorial and went to Arlington. We saw the marine memorial and took pictures etc. We continued to Arlington, but traffic was stopped on the freeway exit at Arlington. On the overpass we could see about twenty suburbans with tinted windows and sirens, along with a helicopter. We decided to continue to Arlington on foot, for it was only around the corner.

We trudged up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and at the entrance there was a mounty blocking our way. He said that we could not see the tomb today, although he never told us why. We eventually found out that Joe Biden had wanted to stay a little longer at Arlington, so they just blocked off wherever he was. Thanks Joe.

We rerouted to the Kennedys’ graves. We saw the eternal flame in the middle of Patrick, John, Jackie, and Daughter—the daughter died at stillbirth, and they had not named her. After a short stint at the gift shop we got back on to bus to catch our appointment at the Holocaust Museum.

I was the only student in my group to have seen the Holocaust museum, so I knew what I was in for. It’s like seeing the most depressing movie on the day your dog has died. Unfortunately, we only had an hour to go through the museum, and it could have taken six hours. After we sped through, our group decided to go see the free concert at the national mall. We soon realized that good seats would be impossible, because there were thousands of people crammed into that small stretch of grass.

As the national anthem rang across the loudspeakers, every single person in the mall was singing, I felt so proud, so pleased I got goose bumps. Then I thought of how weak we can be if such a large group of people could be so easily manipulated to feel an emotion. It was scary. The concert was pretty good, there was a bunch of famous speakers who, instead of writing their own speeches, just quoted other people’s speeches. It was like hearing the patriotic quote book, the most cliché, vanilla, and hopeful quotes laid siege to our ears. It was so uplifting, it was sickening.

We decided to leave early, so we went to the Smithsonian metro station. The place was swarming with people. I think I saw at least five fights break out; no matter how great your revolution of change is, people will still fight over a subway ticket. It took about forty minutes to navigate the subway system, and we got off at the last stop in shady grove. We ate dinner at California Pizza kitchen, which was a little ironic. We got to bed around eleven after a vigorous game of three flies up in the pool. Tomorrow’s forecast: snow.

Dylan Svihus, 17, Carmel High School

Our first night in Washington, D.C.

January 17, 2009

We departed from San Jose at around seven o’clock in the morning. Our flight had a twenty minute layover in Phoenix, and besides a very spirited flight attendant named Ralph the flight was uneventful. We arrived in Baltimore airport at around seven. Somehow our group of fourteen bobbed our way through the massive sea of people congregated at the airport to a bus. We ate dinner at a mall overflowing with people, then proceeded to see the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR memorial. Our tour guide seemed to think that FDR’s middle name was Deleanor. Go figure. As we drove back to quasi town of Gaithersburg, and every other street was blocked off with police cars. Their sirens blared into the chilly dark night.

We got to the hotel after about forty minutes of driving in our motor coach. Our motor coach consisted of two other schools: Sobrato and Alisal. Our group was by far the smallest, with nine kids and five adults. We started to unload all of the luggage in the undercarriage of the coach, and about halfway through unloading the hotel coordinator informed us that we were at the wrong Marriott. We were almost done unloading, so we reloaded the bags, and drove about three hundred yard around a corner to a completely different Marriott. Apparently there are five Marriotts in the town of Gaithersburg.

We got into our rooms at around eleven o’clock eastern time, and eight o’clock our time. Sleep was difficult, for not only was I trying to sleep at seven, but I also had to become familiar with the sleeping habits of my roommates: snorer, sleep talker, and a cover hog.

Dylan Svihus, 17, Carmel High School

First day in Washington, D.C.!

Today was the long awaited day. We finally made our way to Washington DC after more than two months of planning and preparing for it. The feelings and emotions are overwhelming and vary from person to person but over all we can all say that so far this trip has definitely been worth all the hard work.

The entire group of about 35 students left from the front steps of Alisal high school at three thirty in the morning. Most of us still half asleep but still full of excitement. We left from the airport of San Francisco to make a stop in Phoenix and from there continue to Baltimore. Needless to say that the airplane ride was not the most pleasant thing about our trip. it was tiring and tedious especially since we were all anxious to get here.

After about five or six hours we arrived to the airport in Baltimore where we waited some minutes for the bus to pick us up and take us to dinner. We were starving! We went to eat to a place named Old Country Buffet in Maryland. It was great because we all ate until we could no more. Furthermore, our bus driver and tour guide is a great guy; he's very funny and easy to get along with. Not to mention he is very educated about many things around this great city.

After dinner we went to have a walk. We were hoping to see the Lincoln Memorial but unfortunately we were unable to do so. We did however get a chance to see the Capitol Building though not from very close. It was then that it really hit us that we were really in Washington DC! After that we also saw several memorial sites such as the Korean memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and we also got a chance to be at the location where President-elect Barack Obama will attend a concert in his honor.

The cold was the biggest change that we immediately noticed. It was overwhelming because we could hardly feel our hands and legs! After a while however we didn't mind the cold as much because it was so incredible to be in this city.

Tomorrow holds a very busy day for us and we hope the weather will be less harsh than it was today. I look forward to blogging tomorrow to share all of our adventures.

Araceli Aguirre, 17, Alisal High School

Monterey County residents, students headed to Washington, D.C.

Several area schools are sending classes to the Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C., and other Monterey County residents will also be in attendance. Beginning Saturday, they'll share their experiences of the sights and sounds from the festivities. Check back to view their photos and read their stories!