This is SO EXCITING!! We are going to DC for Barack Obama's inauguration! On election night, my sister, Kathleen, called & asked us to come for the inauguration. She works in DC & lives near DuPont Circle so we'd have a place to stay. It will be crowded in her tiny apartment, but we've been crowded together before & survived in fine style. Then we had to figure the days off...plane tickets.....luggage...train for walking many miles each day....etc......

We are:

Suzanne Miner, Berryville High School US History teacher (who thanks Ron Harvell & Dr. Byrd for letting me have the days off for professional development!), total history geek, Quirky SuZ the jewelry designer & your tour guide for this trip;

My husband, Raymond Vader, ICU Nurse St. John's Hospital - Berryville, (It's good to have your own traveling nurse! His schedule meant he only had to take 2 vacation days for the trip), big history geek & Cool Ray, chef & beadmaker;

& my oldest sister, Kathleen Miner, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, our hostess, DC insider & international jet-setter who always finds the coolest places to shop & eat.

Friday, January 16

Leave Northwest Arkansas Airport around noon, fly to Charlotte, NC & change planes for the flight to Dulles International. Arrive 5:30ish & get transportation to Kathleen's apartment near DuPont Circle. No luggage to claim because we are travelling light & can do laundry while we are there.

Saturday, January 17

This should be a tourist day! Ray wants to visit the Smithsonian Museums to see things he did not get to visit during our last trip in 1995 (I think). I've been back twice since then, but there's always something new. The Museum of the American Indian should be exciting.

Sunday, January 18

Probably more museums and monuments. The WWII Memorial is one I haven't seen & Ray hasn't been to the FDR Memorial.

Monday, January 19

Kathleen won't have to work today because her office is close to the White House. Security in the area near the White House & Capitol will be stepped up & crowds will be getting larger. Nothing planned for this day at this point. I'm sure we can find plenty to do! Kathleen's apartment is about 2 miles from the mall area, so hopefully we have gotten ourselves in good shape & are ready for tomorrow! The metro will be impossible, so walking shoes are a necessity. (Still on the list of things to get....)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009!! Inauguration Day!!

We are going to join several million of our closest friends for what may be the largest crowd ever for a presidential inauguration. We don't have tickets for anything, but it's going to be exciting just to be there! I'm optimistic & excited about the changes I believe our country will be experiencing in the next few years.

This is MY generation - Obama is just a year older than me - 364 days to be precise :-)

Wednesday, January 21

Kathleen will have to work today & we'll need to get our stuff ready to head home tomorrow. I figure we'll have time for more sight-seeing & activities with smaller crowds. The thought of trying to fly home today with all the crowds at the airport was not a pretty one. I got the extra day off so we didn't have to leave until tomorrow. Maybe this will be the day to go to one of my favorite restaurants, Bistro Francais, in Georgetown. mmmm....

Thursday, January 22

Time to go home! An EARLY flight out to hopefully get us home by mid-afternoon. I hope the weather gods will be good to us! I scheduled the flights to go through Charlotte instead of going north so that our good weather chances are improved. Back to work on Friday!