The wind is restless and the temperature is 19 degrees but feels like 7 degrees because of the wind. Being one of two from our group not having a ticket to get into the inauguration area I decided not to leave at 3:30 am. Soon I will begin my journey to the Capital to mingle with people and watch the parade, blending my excitement with others on this exceptional day in our nations history.

It is 3:30 am and I am bundled up like the kid in Christmas Story. I am filled with excitement! Off I go to the inauguration. Let me just say one thing....I have just a bit of fear for this President Elect too. I know that he symbolizes hope for many but he also stirs up hatred for others for the simple reason that the color of his skin is black. I am a part of history.

Everywhere we go there are street vendors selling a bunch of things from t-shirts to buttons and hats, most of it just crap. I look around and see flags with Obama's face on it. I see posters with pictures of the first family. I see bumper stickers, necklaces, scarves, cds, magnets, and more. I think to myself, who honestly would buy any of this crap? We are in the middle of an economic crisis, and people want to dull out money for an American flag with Obama written in glitter glue on it that you can attach to a car window. I don't understand the need for any of it. Yet somehow, no matter how ugly and unnecessary something is, I see someone who purchased it.

Reports have stated that there would be between 2 and 4 million people in Washington D.C. for the inauguration, but I guess I never realized how many people that would actually be. After the concert on the national mall, swarms of people crowded sidewalks in every direction and traffic was completely stopped because of the masses' disregard for traffic signals. All metro lines were overflowing out onto the street, and when we finally managed to get onto the metro the cars were completely full to capacity with humans. Today, while visiting a shopping mall there were so many people trying to push onto the escalator that some people had fallen backwards causing a domino effect. After witnessing a potentially horrible situation, I had a sick feeling thinking of how dangerous it will be to fight for a spot in line on one of the metro cars tomorrow for the inauguration. You literally just don't know what it is like to want to wash you hands constantly because of how many people and germs there must be floating around. It is definitely an experience unlike any other.

We went to the mall today and I have to say I'm becoming an escalator elitist. When we first got to D.C. we were told to stand to the right and walk on the left of the escalators. Now that there are 2 million plus people packed like sardines in Washington D.C. I am starting to realize how extremely annoying it is for people to stand on the left when you are in a hurry. It is well known that Washington D.C. changes people and now I understand why. Legislators must abide by what their lobbyists want, lobbyists must abide by what their clients want, and tourists should abide by the unwritten rule that they should stand on the right and walk on the left. We saw a big pile up at one of the escalators at the mall today because someone was standing on the left. I'm not saying it's a good thing that I am becoming an escalator elitist but I now understand the importance of standing on the right but voting on the left.

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Yesterday a couple of us met Anderson Cooper. He walked right by us and I did a double take and then said in a really creepy voice: "Hello Anderson Cooper." Then as he walked away we decided to follow him and we caught up to him and got a few pictures with him. He seemed a little annoyed because I'm sure he had to get to the CNN newsroom to do his broadcast. I really felt like asking him about Kathy Griffin just because she is hilarious, but I realized he would probably be upset if I asked him about someone else instead of himself. Ladies, you should all be jealous because I got closer to Anderson Cooper than any of you ever will!