Nancy Hellickson, a friend of Lynn Nadler's, went to the Inauguration on Tuesday.  The following were her impressions of the day:

Tuesday, January 20, 2009.  Inauguration Day

Ticket check, weather check, more layers, quick breakfast, handwarmers, scarves, traffic check, TV updates for last minute changes, pictures...EXCITEMENT!  We left by 7 a.m.  A brisk 10-minute walk (18 degrees) to the bus stop to take the shuttle bus to the mall.  I took a seat on the left so I'd have the full DC view going into the city.  Beautiful, as always.  As we neared the Memorial Bridge, we started to see people walking into DC, along the highways and across the bridges.  All of the bridges were closed to non-essential traffic.  Cold day, long walk.

Our bus dropped us off on 12th and Main, just over the bridge.  Huge crowds everywhere.  The wide streets were being used as sidewalks and roads.  The pedestrians were ahead. The official cars, trucks and emergency vehicles were no match for the people set on where they were trying to go.  School groups, young, old, wheelchairs, flags, more vendors, laughter, determination, maps, newspapers, policemen, barricades, volunteers, portable toilets and security checkpoints.  Masses of people.  Confusion as people tried to find their way to their security gate.  There were many types of tickets with security entries at silver, blue, orange, green and the Mall which required no tickets.  As we got closer to the Capitol, the blue and orange lines wound around entire buildings.  People were polite until someone tried to cut into the line, then just gentle reminders as to where the END of the line was.

After 40 minutes of feeling like salmon swimming upstream, we did find the end of the orange line!  8:30.  Cold.  Insert footwarmers.  Our line didn't move for 20 minutes.  Cell phones being used, pictures being taken.  Conversations with strangers.  Getting closer.  Last turn.  20 security stations.  Inside the gates!  Security.  Fences.  More lines.  Section 12.  Sun shining.  Finally, the unobstructed view of the Capitol, decorated with flags and flanked by viewing bleachers, press and photo stands, and a huge audio/visual boom.  Find your seat.  We were dead center front about 150 yards from the President's stand.  Incredible.  Stunning sight!

Called school.  Joyce answered in the office.  She said "he's on his way to you."  We didn't know what was happening and couldn't see the Jumbo-tron screens.  People were standing up on their chairs.  I joined them in time to see the motorcade coming down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol.  Couldn't see much, but did catch a glimpse of the press truck with reporters and photographers on board.  Figured the presidential limo had to be closet at hand.  Sirens.  Flashing lights.  Excitement building.  Cell phones stopped working due to busy networks.  Everyone is trying to call, text or send pictures.

Starting about 11:00, the announcer would introduce groups of people as they took their seats...governors, members of the House, Senators.  Used my binoculars, but, we were low on the slope of the Capitol grounds and they were high with a railing around their seating.  Empty seats.  The Jumbo-Tron showed people arriving and lining up inside the Capitol.  Former Presidents and First Ladies as well as former VP's, new cabinet members, Supreme Court justices.  Finally, the Bush family and the Obamas could be seen inside.  What was going through their minds?  Incredible crowd noise as Obama was announced.  The view back to the Washington Monument was nearly unbelievable.  What must it have been like to see it from the podium?  The TV shots we saw later made it look like a sea of people and flags. 

The ceremony was brief compared to the amount of time it had taken us to get in place.  Hearing the oaths and speeches while sitting on the Capitol grounds was indescribable.  The pomp and ceremony, the band, the fanfares and beautiful Capitol building, sparkling under the draped American flags.  The sense of hope was there in the words of President Obama and in the eyes of the masses.  A touch of our nation's past and a look forward to the future.  Enthusiasm.  For many, an event they had never expected to see -- an African-American President.  Tears.  History was being made with every minute that passed.  Impossible NOT to be moved by the experience.  Today was a day for hopes and dreams.

As I watched the stage area with my binoculars, I found a space between the railing that allowed me to watch Barack Obama prior to his oath.  He seemed attentive, relaxed, but how I wished I could have known what he was thinking!  Couldn't see the rest of the family except for Mrs. Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother.  She had on a bright red hat and scarf and was easier to pick out of the crowd.  Felt like I was spying on them, but I expect they knew their every move was being scrutinized.

Took a few more pictures.  Tried to send photos by phone.  Lines busy.  Walked up to the Jumbo-Tron and stayed there to watch as the Bushes left the Capitol.  Emotional moment.  Peaceful transfer of power.  Were they bittersweet about leaving the spotlight?  Looking forward to some personal time?  And there were the Obamas and Bidens...the ones who would guide our nation.  HOPE...