Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
UNFORGETABLE!
I had a difficult time coming up with this posting! I can't find the words to describe yesterday's events. With over One million people, all gathered at our Nation's Mall, there wasn't one arrest! That is unbelievable! The fact that we had seats on the White House lawn! That is unbelievable! The crowd was respectful, optimistic, and emotional. Sandra, President Obama's neighbor from Chicago, was in tears most of the inauguration. Many, many times, people began chanting, "Obama, Obama!" But I think the big finale of our trip was at the ball last night! AMAZING!
The night began with being introduced to Iowa's former First Lady's (Christie Vilsack) chief of staff, Cindy. We had a wonderful conversation about the program she headed with the First Lady called Verizon Literacy! While we were visiting, up walked Governor Chet Culver and the First Lady of Iowa! They were very nice people and I enjoyed meeting them!
Mary Beth and I noticed people congregating over by the second stage. We thought, "Why not?" We were shocked when Sheryl Crow came out on stage! She was the evening's entertainment! We had no idea she was appearing but we took it all in! After she finished playing many of her favorite hits, the crowd did not move. We waited another hour or so and guess who walks out on stage? The Vice President and his wife! They talked and danced. It was exciting. But perhaps the most exciting part of this whole trip was when the President and First Lady walked out on that stage and danced for the crowd! Seeing them up close was definitely worth waiting for. I doubt that I'll be that close to another President of the United States in my life time! What a trip! What an experience! What a ride!
I'll see you tomorrow! I can't wait to share more pictures with you! Will, Michael, and Brennan, mom is on her way home!
The night began with being introduced to Iowa's former First Lady's (Christie Vilsack) chief of staff, Cindy. We had a wonderful conversation about the program she headed with the First Lady called Verizon Literacy! While we were visiting, up walked Governor Chet Culver and the First Lady of Iowa! They were very nice people and I enjoyed meeting them!
Mary Beth and I noticed people congregating over by the second stage. We thought, "Why not?" We were shocked when Sheryl Crow came out on stage! She was the evening's entertainment! We had no idea she was appearing but we took it all in! After she finished playing many of her favorite hits, the crowd did not move. We waited another hour or so and guess who walks out on stage? The Vice President and his wife! They talked and danced. It was exciting. But perhaps the most exciting part of this whole trip was when the President and First Lady walked out on that stage and danced for the crowd! Seeing them up close was definitely worth waiting for. I doubt that I'll be that close to another President of the United States in my life time! What a trip! What an experience! What a ride!
I'll see you tomorrow! I can't wait to share more pictures with you! Will, Michael, and Brennan, mom is on her way home!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A part of history
Today was so exciting. I can't write much now because we are on our way to a ball! Here are some highlights of the day:
Got to the capitol at 6:30 am without incident.
Waited in line until 9, when they let us into our gate.
Discovered we were on the capitol lawn, in chairs, middle section with a great view of the podium! (I still can't believe this one)!
Sat next to Sandra, one of President Obama's neighbors from Chicago (look for her picture to come).
Witnessed the 44th president being sworn in office!
We literally ran in to Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Washington while exiting
the White House lawn (pictures soon)!
Watched the parade from Pennsylvania Ave, 7 stories high!
Take care all! I'll see you soon!
Got to the capitol at 6:30 am without incident.
Waited in line until 9, when they let us into our gate.
Discovered we were on the capitol lawn, in chairs, middle section with a great view of the podium! (I still can't believe this one)!
Sat next to Sandra, one of President Obama's neighbors from Chicago (look for her picture to come).
Witnessed the 44th president being sworn in office!
We literally ran in to Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Washington while exiting
the White House lawn (pictures soon)!
Watched the parade from Pennsylvania Ave, 7 stories high!
Take care all! I'll see you soon!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Big day on the Hill
I should title this posting, "Where in the Capitol City is Mrs. T.'s camera?" I am sad to report that my camera and sound recorder are gone. It vanished after my cab ride with Peter (who was originally from Cameroon). Here is a little geography question: what country is the Republic of Cameroon in? Anyway, I was so excited because I had just interviewed him and thought I put the camera back in my pocket. It must have dropped out while I was getting out of the cab! Either that or someone slipped it out while I was on the street. That happening isn't far fetched. It happened to a gal while we were in a store. Her bag and purse were snatched in a matter of minutes! I am thankful it was just my camera. Mary Beth will still be taking pictures and I may use her sound recorder to get a few more podcasts posted.
I am most disappointed that you won't be able to see my pictures with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Iowa Congressman Boswell, or sitting at (Iowa) Senator Grassley's desk. That brings me to question three for "Where in the Capitol City is Mrs. Tinguely Today?" What building was I in when I met Senator Amy Klobuchar? Write it in your travel log. While I was waiting to get my picture with the Senator, I ran into Blake Hogan from Blaine, MN! He is a Lieutenant in the Marine Corp and was in full uniform! Of course I took a picture of him but you will have to go to the senator's website to see it. His message to all of you is to "Study Hard." I thanked him for his service to our country and wished him well!
Thanks to Congressman Boswell we were able to by-pass the huge lines at the Longfellow building(where many Congress Representatives have their offices). The lines were incredible! Everyone was in line to get their Inauguration tickets! I asked Peter, the cab driver, if he had ever witnessed this many people in D.C. He has not seen the likes of it before! Certainly a historic event. Did you know that there are supposed to be more guards here tomorrow in the District than in Afghanistan? There is supposed to be security at every corner, literally!
While we were in the Longfellow building I visited our Representative, John Kline's office! He wasn't there but his staff members sent you all a little something. I will bring them home on the plane with me! Thank you Congressman Kline!
Tomorrow we think we have seated tickets to the big event! We will know for sure when we get there. Look for us in the yellow section area 11. The last estimate was they are expecting 2 million people to be there! We have tickets to the parade as well but we're thinking we won't be able to cross the street in time... that's how many people will be there.
I miss you all! Take care and until tomorrow.... Mrs. T.
I am most disappointed that you won't be able to see my pictures with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Iowa Congressman Boswell, or sitting at (Iowa) Senator Grassley's desk. That brings me to question three for "Where in the Capitol City is Mrs. Tinguely Today?" What building was I in when I met Senator Amy Klobuchar? Write it in your travel log. While I was waiting to get my picture with the Senator, I ran into Blake Hogan from Blaine, MN! He is a Lieutenant in the Marine Corp and was in full uniform! Of course I took a picture of him but you will have to go to the senator's website to see it. His message to all of you is to "Study Hard." I thanked him for his service to our country and wished him well!
Thanks to Congressman Boswell we were able to by-pass the huge lines at the Longfellow building(where many Congress Representatives have their offices). The lines were incredible! Everyone was in line to get their Inauguration tickets! I asked Peter, the cab driver, if he had ever witnessed this many people in D.C. He has not seen the likes of it before! Certainly a historic event. Did you know that there are supposed to be more guards here tomorrow in the District than in Afghanistan? There is supposed to be security at every corner, literally!
While we were in the Longfellow building I visited our Representative, John Kline's office! He wasn't there but his staff members sent you all a little something. I will bring them home on the plane with me! Thank you Congressman Kline!
Tomorrow we think we have seated tickets to the big event! We will know for sure when we get there. Look for us in the yellow section area 11. The last estimate was they are expecting 2 million people to be there! We have tickets to the parade as well but we're thinking we won't be able to cross the street in time... that's how many people will be there.
I miss you all! Take care and until tomorrow.... Mrs. T.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The calm before the storm is officially gone!
Hello everyone! Yesterday I blogged that it was surprisingly quite the morning of our capitol tour. Look at the pictures from today! Many, many more people descended on the Capitol City overnight. Because of the crowds, Mary Beth and I walked, and walked and walked! We walked over 4 miles just getting from one event to the next.
The day began going to church near Mary Beth's apartment. Then we took the Metro to the National Mall. On our way we were stopped by a newscaster from the Australian Broadcasting Company! She interviewed us and said we'd be on their website! That was pretty neat. There are a lot of press people here.
We continued to the mall, on our way to the Lincoln Memorial Concert! So many people were there it was amazing! We made our way up as close as we could. We were so close we could see the people on the stage. The whole concert was incredible! Garth Brooks, Jack Black, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Bono, Usher, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder....not to mention our next President - all on stage at one time! I wanted to jump up on the stage with them, show them my Cha Cha Slide moves Ms. Sunderman referred too! People were even sitting on top of those port-a-potties I talked about earlier in my blog, just to get a better look. Security was good though, they were told to get down. Even the people climbing the trees were told to get down.
Sam, I did see many, many kids. In fact, in front of us, at the concert ,there was a little boy about three years old. His dad held him the whole time! We were there, waiting and watching the concert for 6 hours! That's a long time. While we were waiting for the concert to begin I met Stefan and Sigrid. I interviewed them so watch for the next podcast to hear what they have to say! They both live in D.C. now and were very nice!
Tomorrow I'm headed to John Kline's office, our district Representative! Then I am going to rest up for Tuesday! We walked so much today that I think my feet are going to fall off! Check out the site on the page that maps our walking route we took today! Until next time... Mrs. T.
The day began going to church near Mary Beth's apartment. Then we took the Metro to the National Mall. On our way we were stopped by a newscaster from the Australian Broadcasting Company! She interviewed us and said we'd be on their website! That was pretty neat. There are a lot of press people here.
We continued to the mall, on our way to the Lincoln Memorial Concert! So many people were there it was amazing! We made our way up as close as we could. We were so close we could see the people on the stage. The whole concert was incredible! Garth Brooks, Jack Black, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Bono, Usher, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder....not to mention our next President - all on stage at one time! I wanted to jump up on the stage with them, show them my Cha Cha Slide moves Ms. Sunderman referred too! People were even sitting on top of those port-a-potties I talked about earlier in my blog, just to get a better look. Security was good though, they were told to get down. Even the people climbing the trees were told to get down.
Sam, I did see many, many kids. In fact, in front of us, at the concert ,there was a little boy about three years old. His dad held him the whole time! We were there, waiting and watching the concert for 6 hours! That's a long time. While we were waiting for the concert to begin I met Stefan and Sigrid. I interviewed them so watch for the next podcast to hear what they have to say! They both live in D.C. now and were very nice!
Tomorrow I'm headed to John Kline's office, our district Representative! Then I am going to rest up for Tuesday! We walked so much today that I think my feet are going to fall off! Check out the site on the page that maps our walking route we took today! Until next time... Mrs. T.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Brrr! It's cold today!
I think I brought the cold arctic air with me to D. C. It was cold walking around today. Those of you who suggested I bring tank tops or shorts need to take a look at what the air temperature was today :). Those tank tops won't cut it! It's a good thing my math class looked up what the temperature is supposed to be on Tuesday. I have my wool socks, two pair of gloves, winter boots, and my warmest winter coat ready to don on the big day. It is obvious the people walking around who are southerners or westerners! Today I saw a gentleman with no coat at all. He looked cold! It was only13 degrees with the windchill factored in. I felt right at home!
Mary Beth and I had a very exciting tour of the District! We saw where all three branches of the government are housed! It began at the capitol. Not very many people were out and about that early, while it was so cold! It was almost weird, like the calm before the storm of people that hit the city. While we were in the Capitol crypt, they had a dress rehearsal for the inauguration procession. The tour guide said they thought about closing the capitol today due to all of the preparation taking place for Tuesday. We also saw bleachers, cameras, and many, many port-a -potties!
Next we met Uncle John and Mr. and Mrs. McCallion for lunch at Old Ebbet's Grill. It was delicious. Thanks, Uncle John!
On our way to the American History Museum we stopped by to peek at the White House. I saw the very hat that Abraham Lincoln was wearing that fateful night in the Ford's Theater.
Next, it was on to the National Archive Museum. What do you think I saw at the museum? I'll give you a hint, there is a picture of one of the documents on the slide show! How fascinating!
Tomorrow we plan to hit the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. I'm not sure if we will stay due to the cold but we will try! Some of the musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Sounds like it'd be a great time to do some dancing. What do you think, 404? I know how you love to dance! Until tomorrow! Mrs. T.
Mary Beth and I had a very exciting tour of the District! We saw where all three branches of the government are housed! It began at the capitol. Not very many people were out and about that early, while it was so cold! It was almost weird, like the calm before the storm of people that hit the city. While we were in the Capitol crypt, they had a dress rehearsal for the inauguration procession. The tour guide said they thought about closing the capitol today due to all of the preparation taking place for Tuesday. We also saw bleachers, cameras, and many, many port-a -potties!
Next we met Uncle John and Mr. and Mrs. McCallion for lunch at Old Ebbet's Grill. It was delicious. Thanks, Uncle John!
On our way to the American History Museum we stopped by to peek at the White House. I saw the very hat that Abraham Lincoln was wearing that fateful night in the Ford's Theater.
Next, it was on to the National Archive Museum. What do you think I saw at the museum? I'll give you a hint, there is a picture of one of the documents on the slide show! How fascinating!
Tomorrow we plan to hit the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. I'm not sure if we will stay due to the cold but we will try! Some of the musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Sounds like it'd be a great time to do some dancing. What do you think, 404? I know how you love to dance! Until tomorrow! Mrs. T.
Friday, January 16, 2009
We're here in Washington, D.C!
I can't believe it! I'm sitting here in D.C. enjoying the view of downtown! I loved my send off from Will, Michael and Brennan this morning. 404, all of you gave me a nice farewell too! Thank you!
I had some pretty fun adventures on the plane and after we landed. I do have to say I'm thankful that we didn't see any "big birds" while flying of the Nation's Capitol! I wouldn't want to have had to make an emergency landing in the Potomac.
On my flight to Detroit, I met Melissa who was from Orange County, California. She was headed to the inauguration too. Listen to her interview on my next podcast. We were talking and discovered we have birthdays the same month and we are the same age! Brett, one seat over, heard us talking and said he was the same age and had a February birthday too. What a coincidence.
My flight in to Reagan International was less exciting, that is until I was at the baggage claim. Remember Mary Beth, who visited the classroom this fall? She met me at the luggage area. It was wonderful to see a familiar face. We snapped a picture of us together then she thought she saw another familiar face in the crowd. It was Al Franken. He was just getting in from St. Paul. I have a feeling he is just one of many people we see and recognize! Until next time! Mrs. T.
I had some pretty fun adventures on the plane and after we landed. I do have to say I'm thankful that we didn't see any "big birds" while flying of the Nation's Capitol! I wouldn't want to have had to make an emergency landing in the Potomac.
On my flight to Detroit, I met Melissa who was from Orange County, California. She was headed to the inauguration too. Listen to her interview on my next podcast. We were talking and discovered we have birthdays the same month and we are the same age! Brett, one seat over, heard us talking and said he was the same age and had a February birthday too. What a coincidence.
My flight in to Reagan International was less exciting, that is until I was at the baggage claim. Remember Mary Beth, who visited the classroom this fall? She met me at the luggage area. It was wonderful to see a familiar face. We snapped a picture of us together then she thought she saw another familiar face in the crowd. It was Al Franken. He was just getting in from St. Paul. I have a feeling he is just one of many people we see and recognize! Until next time! Mrs. T.
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