Cory went home on Sunday afternoon because he had to work on Monday.  Mom showed up in Pittsburgh that evening with bags full of hand warmers, trail mix, luna bars, matching hats, etc.– everything we would need for surviving the cold weather and long wait.  Emily had arranged for us to stay at a friend’s place in downtown Arlington, but we didn’t know how far away we’d have to park our car, so we each packed 1 small bag with everything we’d need for the next couple of days to make our journey a little easier.  This involved wearing some of the same clothes for 3 days straight.  I felt so stinky when it was all over.

After driving through heavy snow to get to Arlington, we got lost at the tail end of our trip.  On a side note, we had to turn the car around in the parking lot of the Freddie Mac building and it’s still standing!  We eventually made it to the apartment and it was about 4 in the morning before we could lay our pretty heads down on a pillow and go to sleep.

On Monday, we headed down to the mall check out the scene.  Because crowds at been projected at around 2 million for the inauguration, we didn’t even bother with public transportation, but the 3 1/2 mile walk only took about an hour.  On our way we walked past the Marines memorial and through the Arlington cemetary, where we took a side trek to see JFK’s tomb.  There were people crowded around it, but for the number of people there, it was eerily quiet and respectful.
After we had our fill of dead people, we crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge and head toward the Lincoln Memorial.  Security was tight and even though it was the day before the Inauguration, the place was packed.  The scaffolding from Sunday night’s concert was still up around the Lincoln Memorial, so the only access to it was from the side and there was a line to go see it.  We spent the rest of our time just checking out the area and buying some swag and hot dogs on Constitution Ave. before getting back to the apartment for a good night’s rest.

We woke up at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning and layered on the warm clothes.  We had bought a reusable bag with a picture of Obama on it the day before, so we shoved all our stuff down into it and were out the door by 6.  Walking to the mall was interesting because the city was dead except for other people bundled up in warm clothes walking in the same direction as us.  Mom kept comparing us to the zombies in “Night of the Living Dead”.  On our way there, we walked across the the Arlington Memorial Bridge again, but this time the three of us were interviewed by the NPR reporter Allison Aubry.  A co-worker of mine said she heard us on Morning Edition, but it was live so the clip wasn’t archived.

After crossing the bridge, we walked over to the reflecting pool and noticed people sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, so we went up and joined them.  In retrospect, we probably would have seen how far into the mall we could have gotten so we could have at least seen the Capitol building during Obama’s inauguration, but we thought being on the Lincoln Memorial was a symbolic place to spend the day, despite the Washington Memorial blocking our view.  Plus, we got to sit.  The mood on the steps was so jubilant and the loudspeakers were playing Sunday night’s concert, so everybody was singing and dancing.  One guy in particular got in front of everybody and tried to lead us all and did goofy dances to entertain us.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t see a jumbotron from where we were sitting, so once the official festivities began, we moved to where we could see what was going on.

Watching Obama take the Oath of Office and Aretha sing was so emotional and joyous for everybody around us.  Tears welled in my eyes several times.  As soon as President Barack Obama’s speech was over, we got the heck out of dodge.  We speedwalked back to our car, which we had already packed up that morning, and we drove away.

We then put an ad in the Elkhart Truth for Gus and waited.  Monday came and went, and Eva ended up taking Tuesday off to go look for the pup.  Eva began the day handing out fliers around the area, and headed into Michigan.  While Cory was at work he got a phone call from a women who works for the Zion Lutheran Church, which is just down the road.  She said she spotted Gus in the area, so I promptly called Eva who then scoped out the area. Gus was there and was so afraid that she had to coerce him with lots of ham to get him to come to her.  GUS WAS SAVED! We are all so happy that Gus is back with us! But the story doesn’t end there.  Gus spent Tuesday night at our house and got along with Mozart pretty well.  They both were battling for the attention, while we were home. Well, today Emily and Ian were on their way to our house after work to pick him up and take him home.  Cory was in the garage getting stuff ready to pack up, and had just come in and sat down to eat some pizza. There was a knock on the door and under the porch light, Cory could see a women with a concerned look on her face. He answered the door and she said “I think I just might have hit your dog.” Cory asked, “Is he black and white?” She replied “yes” and Katy bolted out the door before I had a chance to put my shoes on.  Through the vehicle lights I could see Katy running towards a body lying in the road that looked like Mozart. I ran as fast as I could to the motionless body, kneeling beside him see if he had a response.  I could hear the lady in the background saying how sorry she was, but I didn’t care. She had killed our dog.  Tonight has been a difficult night for us both. We have shed more tears tonight, than ever. I can’t remember the last time I really cried like this. It hurts so much, and we will miss him.

More Mozart Pics
Mozart’s website

Photo from Ben

Another Photo From Ben