by Yzmira Andujo
I had the honor and privilege of attending the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States of America.
Typically, I think the city is very conservative and “business mode,” but this time it was elevated. There were vendors on every street corner. There were red hats and beanies everywhere. There were people going to and from various celebratory balls. It was electric.
The original plan was attend the inauguration and spend the rest of the time sightseeing, primarily the changing of the guards at Arlington National Cemetery.
Due to weather, everything changed. The inauguration ceremony was moved inside, including designated hallway areas. The remaining thousands of other ticket holders had to vie for an opportunity to attend a watch party in an arena holding only 21,000.
Because we figured the lines would be hectic, and weather freezing, we decided not to do the watch party. We did get our commemorative tickets, however, and decided to attend the Liberty ball.
Since our plans changed, we decided to visit Arlington Cemetery, we had military access. However, when we arrived, we couldn’t go in. The president-elect was visiting the cemetery. It was a neat coincidence; it seemed we kept missing our opportunity to see him.
Finally, the evening of the ball. Due to safety measures in the city rideshare workers were not able to drive directly to our hotel to pick us up. So here we are in formal wear, in the snow, walking to the outer perimeter where an Uber could get us. Then before we got to the convention center where the ball was, we had to get dropped off at another perimeter. Thankfully we grabbed a pedicab, who was charging $12 a minute.
We arrived at the ball, get in line — the line wound around buildings for what appeared to be forever. We were in line three hours, in heels, in the freezing cold. By the time we made it inside this massive ballroom, it was worth it.
To see the magnitude of the event and the energy of the room was a once in a lifetime experience. Country singer Jason Aldene performed, and just before midnight the 47th president of the United States made his way on stage with the first lady.
Yzmira Andujo is a Realtor® with ROX Real Estate. She can be reached at 520.431.1190 or yzmira@roxsells.com.
