Inauguration 2009 - if you went, I have questions!

[nutsnberries]

Some family members and I are thinking of renting someone's townhouse for inauguration weekend. It is located about a mile from the end of the yellow (north) line, which is also on the green line.

We have not finalized this arrangement and do not have flights booked yet. We are still trying to see if the plan is feasible.

Is it crazy to think that at some point after the inauguration and possibly after seeing some of the parade, we would be able to take the metro back to the townhouse and then on to the National Airport for an evening departure?

In other words - how crazy will the Metro be? Will it move? If we give ourselves lots of extra time, is it reasonable to think we could make it to the townhouse and then to airport by a 6:00 pm flight? 9:00 pm flight? Some people will need to be back north for school/work on Tuesday morning.

Also, in general, how ridiculously crowded will the museums/zoo be over the weekend?
And, I have someone who is concerned about how long the waits will be for Porta Pottys.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I will check back in from time to time for responses and to kick this if needed.

thank you DU!




edited to change 2008 to 2009 oops

[stuntcat]

1. There are usually enough Portapotties!

Last edited Wed Nov 28, 2012, 05:13 PM - Edit history (1)

many many rows of them on each side. If you want to fly out at 9:pm you can make it, I bet.. I mean it is totally reasonable to plan that, UNLESS things go wrong. Our Metro escalator was broken that morning and we spent two hours waiting to get out and it put us WAY far from the stage. If that kind of thing happened on your way out, what could you do? Just wait and wait and miss the flight

The museums will be crowded but that's just my guess.

I don't drive so I don't know what traffic's like where you'd be staying, hopefully someone can tell about that. Would you take the bus to the train? Or walk? If it's like 2009 (edit for the year ) there will be huge masses of people walking miles together.

[nutsnberries]

3. gives me another question...

how early do you think you need to be on the mall to be anywhere near the staging? i would imagine many people spend the night? or is that not allowed?
ugh, now i remember hearing about that escalator - i'm sorry that happened to you.

We will not have a car with us. We were thinking we'd walk the mile to/from the metro each time we went to/from the townhouse.

If someone could predict the weather for me too - that would be awesome!

[stuntcat]

10. The weather has GOT to be better than it was last time.

But that's all I know for sure about that! I would plan for it to be VERY chilly.

I don't know how early you could go to the mall,, maybe there's a rule, something posted online.

That walk will be quick so it sounds like you should have plenty of time to get back at night!

I hope you go. I hope I go too this time!

[nutsnberries]

11. last time

we had to give up the idea of going because we waited too long to make our plans.

I remember how cold it was and trying to get over the disappointment of not being there by telling myself how much better it was to be warm and watching it from the comfort of home.

Our plans are taking form - it looks like it will happen this time - I'm happy about that.
I hope you are able to make plans too, stuntcat!

[evlbstrd]

2. It was a zoo.

After the inaugural, all metro stations around the Mall except for the Metro Center station were closed. We spent the entire rest of the day just getting to the station. We didn't get back to the house we were staying in (near the Green line ) until well after sunset.

[nutsnberries]

4. well, that would save us a trip to the zoo...

if we could get that experience around the Mall!

I guess this would make the case for the latest flight we could get.

thanks!

[Proud Public Servant]

5. I was there, and live here

Your plan is very ambitious. I don't think the crowds will come close to 2008, but it will still be plenty crowded. The metros will be running, but they'll be packed, and the streets will be jammed with pedestrians (in 2009, we were at the Washington Monument, and afterwords walked back to our apartment less than 2 miles away; it took us almost 2 hours).

So you need to imagine that, after the inauguration ends at 12-12.30, it could take you at least an hour just to get to your metro station (Archive or L'Enfant Plaza) then another hour to board a train, then another hour to get to Ft. Totten. I'd say a 6 pm flight would be dicey; 9 pm doable if you kept moving.

Tourist attractions will be crazy that weekend. But full of happy people just like you!

And I was surprised how reasonable the port-a-potty situation was. Of course, it was brutally cold, so maybe people just didn't want to expose themselves...

[nutsnberries]

6. i'm wondering if

it will be as crowded as 2009 considering that it's a long weekend and the ceremony will be on the day of the Martin Luther King Holiday.

I figure that will bring more people in if they have an extra day to visit DC. I know that's making a difference for us.

Now 2 replies have said the port-a-potty situation was ok. That's what I thought I remembered hearing.

You seem to be saying that we shouldn't try to catch any of the parade (unless we'll be tied up along the route anyway?)... just try to get away from the Mall and on the Metro, to the townhouse, then back towards the airport. Each step will take much longer than we expect.

Yeah, it's the Happy People I want to be with... I NEED to be with. This election brought out the nasty in too many people. I need to be with those that are happy with the results and we can all recharge each other's happiness going FORWARD!

[Proud Public Servant]

8. I think you have to choose

In 2009 the parade started at 2:30. They began admitting people to the parade route at 7 am. Now, I didn't go to the parade, but my understanding was that, by the time the swearing-in ceremony concluded, it was simply impossible to get anywhere near the parade route. So either you get to the Mall early or you get to Pennsylvania Avenue early, but you seem unlikely to be able to take in both events.

Also, in writing my previous post I'd forgotten that the Archives metro station will be closed for the inauguration, since it's right on the parade route. Thus, if you go to the parade, you'll probably want to stake out a spot on the north side of Pennsylvania near the intersection of 7th Ave; that leave you only a few blocks from the Chinatown metro station when the parade ends. If you go to the swearing in, you'll want to get there and back via L'Enfant Plaza -- but, since L'Enfant Plaza is the interchange for the Yellow/Green and Orange/Blue lines, expect it to be sheer chaos. (Chinatown will be chaotic too, since ints the interchange of the Yellow/Green and Red lines).

You sure your crew can't catch a 6 am flight on Tuesday?

[nutsnberries]

12. that's helpful -

thank you!

We have booked our arrival flights and have to wait until tomorrow to do the departure but we're looking at a 9-ish departure in the evening from National Airport.

In the coming weeks we'll learn more and decide and make our exit plan.

thanks again.

[s-cubed]

7. I wouldn't try for a 5 o'clock flight.

What airport are you thinking of? DCA has a metro stop, BWI is a combination of metro plus bus, and IAD is the hardest without a car, or the supershuttle.
Agree with other posters that everything will take much longer than you expect. Have you considered not going back to the townhouse at all, but going directly to the airport, though security will prevent carrying much. A little known secret is that you can go into almost any smthsonian museum, check a bag, walk in and walk out and return later for your bag.
DC is usually very good about portapotties, though they tend to put lots of them together.
You won't be able to get very close, aim to be near enough a jumbotrons that you can see and hear. Also I've found that you Need to plan on the inauguration or the parade, but not both. You can get lucky and see part of the parade if you do the former, but it's hard.
Some of the metro stops and a number of streets will be closed so you may have to walk much further than you think. Check with metro and the Washington post, though usually they don't post info much in advance. The inaugural committee site may also help.
It's fun to be there, just to feel the energy, and DC is a wonderful city. Some attractions need reservations (spy and holocaust museums) most do not.
If you arrive on Sat, check about day or weekly passes for the metro.
Hope this helps!

[nutsnberries]

13. thanks, it does help

I've been to DC many times and I love it!

In recent years, I have been for a rally and for memorial day festivities which both had their share of crowds, but none like the size of the ones that go into the city for inaugurations, so the street and Metro stations closings is the kind of stuff I want to get familiar with prior to this trip.

We thought about bringing our bags with us, but figure security won't allow that. We thought about checking our bags someplace like Union Station but figure that'll be a common plan and that we can't count on lockers being available. I think that leaving our bags in a museum on a normal day would be an option but on inauguration day we would wonder if we'd ever see them again.

We'll definitely look into multi-use metro passes and the inaugural committee site for more info.

thank you!

[Solomon]

9. i went the first time but i live here.

Get the latest flight that you can and just do it. You won't regret it. Just do it.

I went out to the convention in Denver back in 2008 and went to the inauguration in 2009.

Stop worrying so much and do it!

[nutsnberries]

14. I like your *Just Do It* attitude!

We are booking late flights tomorrow. I need some info from one of the travelers or I'd be doing it right now. We will make it work!

Since we waited too long to make arrangements last time and regretted dragging our feet about it, I am making this happen.

Thanks!