Where are we?

Downtown Washington was packed with people today on this Inauguration weekend. The beautiful weather brought everyone out: natives as well as a large number of visitors, wandering about, taking snapshots of one another (forget iPhones, iPads are it for pictures apparently). Many seemed a bit lost in the throng of people, navigating sidewalks closed with viewing stands and cordoned off areas. My hat's off to this dad, alone with five small kids (who probably wished they were watching cartoons somewhere...)

Limos zipped around, spilling out all manner of celebs (none that I recognized, unfortunately) and people looking self-important. A full runway at one of our international airports has been closed to serve as a parking lot to an expected 300+ private jets... And speaking of numbers, there will be some 2,400 portable toilets lining the parade route. It's a strange sight indeed to see our monuments surrounded by these metal boxes (it almost became my blip for the day).

Security has already been stepped up: mobile 'command centers' with menacing looking men clad in black; police on foot, bikes, and horses; a constant stream of sirens as police cars zip around. Still a rather bon enfant atmosphere overall.

As I was on my way back to my car, I overheard a little boy looking at the White House tell his father: "this can't be it; it's way smaller than on TV." My exact words when I first spotted that site! :)