Witnessing History

Whether you cheered or cried, Donald Trump became the 45th president of our country on January 20. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to DC to witness the inauguration. My little history-loving heart was over the moon about that. 

We attended the Texas State Society celebrations, heard Mike Pence speak (as well as DJT as a separate event), and saw the swearing in on the capitol grounds. Then we watched the parade from the balcony of a building along Pennsylvania Avenue where we were invited for a luncheon reception. Unfortunately, rioters kept us from attending the Freedom Ball, which was very disappointing. Lighting fires in the middle of intersections as our bus crept through clogged streets. Copters overhead. Police in riot gear. Protesters beating on the side of our bus and yelling obscenities. The folks next to us were spit on. It was ugly and unnecessary and I was honestly scared. 

To the victor goes the... elephant cupcakes at hotel check in!

We spied port-a-potties everywhere.

A lady channeling Jackie O at the TSS shindig

Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots...

Don't worry, baby... the Beach Boys performed!

We were all gussied up, but didn't get far.

All in all it was an amazing bit of history to witness. We even got to step back in time when we visited the First Ladies exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Here are the Texas first ladies, Laura Bush in red below

And Ladybird Johnson in gold, a veritable icon here in the Lone Star State. Every time I see a wildflower blooming along the side of a Texas highway in the spring, I'm reminded of her work to beautify roadsides.

As you can imagine at these sorts of events, security was tight and everywhere. Credentials were required and airport-style security was the norm. I couldn't help but notice law enforcement or maybe secret service spotters on the tops of buildings keeping a close watch on everything.