<p>Probably more difficult than the weather is all of the street and bridge closings they have announced. Every bridge from VA will be closed to cars as will be I66 and I395 inside the beltway. That means every other street will be overloaded. A huge area in DC will be closed to traffic and car parking starting days before. Check where you are staying to make sure you are OK. Plan your transportation and get the tickets early. Amtrak and VRE are selling out. Cabs will be OK.</p>
<p>Gore-tex is the way to go, though it tends to be pricey. Rubber will make your feet sweat. If you are comfortable wearing your H’s boots, that’s great. Remember, though, that you will be wearing those boots a long long time. I’ve had bad luck thinking some shoes were comfortable in the shop, but having aching feet after I bought them and wore them for longer than 10 minutes.</p>
<p>When I went to an Obama rally this year, where there were also security checkpoints, one woman had an ingenious way to carry her stuff. She took a large Ziplock bag, punched two holes in the top, threaded a string through the holes, and used it as a purse. It was see-through, so security people could easily see what was in there. </p>
<p>As for keeping warm, I like wearing fleece pants.</p>
<p>Well, just listened to some of the first longer term forecasts, for what they are worth. Forecasting cold, like Chicago cold and no storms. So focus on staying warm.</p>
<p>Chicago cold…brrrrr! I feel as well prepared as we can be. </p>
<p>I spent most of our budget on a sublet that is only a mile from the Mall. From the start I wanted to be able to walk to/from the swearing-in/parade. We’ve got plans to go a few other places on Sunday and Monday but if we miss those due to transportation issues, it’s not a big deal. </p>
<p>Any ideas on where to watch the swearing in or parade? Or shoud we just join the mass of humanity and hope for the best?</p>
<p>PS I ran into someone who was not planning on going to the innaguration but her parents got tickets from our representative so she decided, “What the heck.” Argh! Oh well, we still get to go to DC and that’s very lucky in and of itself!</p>
<p>I’m very excited and a bit apprehensive about traveling to DC for the inauguration. This will be a first for my boyfriend and I and there is still a lot of planning to finish. I still haven’t decided what to wear to the actual swearing in ceremony. I’m not fond of cold weather so I’m anticipating this to be a semi-miserable experience lol</p>
<p>The balls however are easy for us- just a tuxedo. :)</p>
<p>Scott, Do you have tickets for the swearing in? And how many balls are you going to? I’m jeoulous!</p>
<p>We were lucky to score some tickets to the swearing in through a friend. The parade we’ll just watch among the crowd. We didn’t request a ticket to the parade because we were not certain we would even be up for it because of the weather. We do have tickets to six balls and one charity basketball game-</p>
<p>Friday Jan. 16
The People’s Inaugural Premier</p>
<p>Saturday Jan. 17
Inaugural Celebrity Basketball Game</p>
<p>Sunday Jan. 18
National Bar Association Inaugural Ball
The People’s Inaugural LGBT Gala</p>
<p>Monday Jan. 19
Black Tie & Boots Gala</p>
<p>Tuesday Jan. 20
Inaugural Ceremony
Inaugural Parade
Youth Inaugural Ball
American Music Inaugural Urban Ball</p>
<p>I wanted to go to the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball but alas I am not in the military lol but my parents are attending (Father served 27 years in the Army and my mother did some work training docs in Iraq)</p>
<p>The secret service has an incredible list of rules and regs for the events that I still have to read through.</p>
<p>Hey, Pugmadkate, here’s something that you might use…it’s information on the Inaugural Day events (good or bad) sent to your cellphone as it happens. </p>
<p>[Get</a> Inauguration Survival Alerts on Your Mobile Device - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010902223.html]Get”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010902223.html)</p>
<p>double post</p>
<p>I was watching our extended forecast this evening and even though the event is still a week away, prepare for very cold weather. They were even discussing at what temp would they have to move the outdoor events to inside. If you would like to get more information on our local Inaugural news, please let me know and I will send you a couple of local links. Good luck and stay warm…</p>
<p>Thank you, Novelisto! </p>
<p>justthismom, I’d love the links.</p>
<p>Scott, I gotta tell you, I’m pretty jealous. I worked every angle I could think of of and we came up with nothing. However, we are still going and I am so thankful to be able to witness this. I hope you have a wonderful time. Let us know some of the inside scoop, okay?</p>
<p>For local news station go to
[Washington</a> DC - Local News, Weather, Traffic, Entertainment, Events, Breaking News | NBC Washington](<a href=“http://www.nbc4.com%5DWashington”>http://www.nbc4.com)
For the local news, traffic and weather radio station go to
[url=<a href=“http://www.wtop.com%5DWTOP.com%5B/url”>http://www.wtop.com]WTOP.com[/url</a>]</p>