Happy MLK Jr. Day! Last year on this day I spent my afternoon sitting and reflecting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. King gave one of his famous speeches. Today was a little different. My roommates and I slept in this morning which felt great. After having breakfast in the room we left and headed to the offices of the Capitol building to pick up my inauguration tickets. I was expecting pandemonium, but what greeted us was even worse. The lines for each office building stretched around the building, often merging into other lines. After finding a decent line, I began to wait. The other students who were with me left to run some errands so we would have more time to meet back up later.
After waiting for about an hour and a half, I received a phone call from one of the two offices I had received tickets from. One of the staffers was on his way to meet me in my line (for the other member of Congress) to hand deliver two tickets. It was such a relief, since they were saying tickets could only be picked up until 5 P.M. and it was nearly 3 P.M. It didn’t take too much longer for me to get into the warm Cannon office building and pick up my remaining two tickets.
I decided to walk to the National Mall instead of taking the metro, due to the masses of people. I feel like I could spend hours walking around this city and never get tired of it. There’s always something to marvel at. I made my way to the area of the Capitol where the swearing-in will take place in just a few hours. It was amazing to see the stage nearly set and all of the flags unfurled. Many photos later, I headed toward the Air and Space Museum. However, I had spent so much time gawking at the Capitol building that by the time I got there, I didn’t have time to roam one of my favorite Smithsonian museums (I’ll just have to save it for my next trip to D.C.). Here I met up with several other Bona students and we headed out to Dupont Circle for dinner.
Dinner was great but the yesterday’s outdoor concert and my hike from not taking the metro was definitely starting to catch up with me. I’ve started to pack for home because I won’t have much time tomorrow…one of my roommates was able to get two tickets for the Neighborhood Ball tomorrow night. We’re really excited about it, but dreading the idea of packing late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning before heading home.
Be sure to watch tomorrow as history is made. I can’t believe that it’s literally just hours away. God Bless America.
