We got out midday to head to DC from where we were staying in Alexandria. Our goal was to find a good spot to view the parade the next day. What we ended up doing was far more. We stumbled upon the United States Botanic Garden, a rehearsal of Aretha at the Capitol, lot’s and lot’s of people on the Mall, a walk along the parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue and an invitation only gathering of jazz greats at the Kennedy Center.

How cold was it? This gentleman and lad were only out in the elements for less then an hour in Old Town - Alexandria, Virginia.

Our metro stop was a short walk from the hotel.

A view of the George Washington Masonic Memorial from our metro stop platform.

There were vendors galore. Obama mania itself was a stimulus to the local DC economy.

We happened upon the staging area for some of the floats for the inauguration parade. This float was for the Boy Scouts of America.

I’m pretty sure I saw  Blagojevich hiding underneath.

Why some chose to drive around the city is beyond me. We got around a lot quicker on foot.

A view of the Botanic Garden from the street.

The southern exposure garden is shown in the foreground. A beautifully architected building in the background.

A view of the Capitol Building
from the front of the US Botanic Garden.

They had several gardens with different environments.

To see and enjoy flowering plants while the weather outside was in the 20’s was nice.

I think I am going to start growing orchids.

We stumbled upon a grown up version of my Naked Lady Cactus

This is the standing room area closest to the inauguration if you were lucky enough to get a ticket from your congressman. 

Only 5,000 people got seats to sit down in.

We got to hear a preview of Aretha Franklin.

We thought for a cold minute about camping out over night here, but the Secret Service would have vetoed that idea.

A look back down the Mall
from in front of the Capitol.

The crowds were heavy
the day before the inauguration.

Little did all of these beautiful statues realize - that they would become coveted perches on inauguration day.

The Canadian embassy was fully decked out in celebration of the inauguration.

We’ll have to make a return trip to check out the Newseum. They were sold out today.

An army of street sweepers came out to get Pennsylvania Avenue ready for tomorrow.

A look back down Pennsylvania Avenue
towards the Capitol Building. 

A view of the White House.

Along the parade route, the city of DC booth uses the opportunity to make a political statement.

Let Freedom Swing!
A Celebration of America by Jazz at Lincoln Center
The Kennedy Center - Eisenhower Theater

We ended up spending two evenings at the Kennedy Center. The night before after the N’dambi concert we were seeing how we could get tickets for Monday nights Aretha Franklin’s performance or the taping of the Oprah Winfrey show. We were made aware of an invitation only gathering of jazz greats sponsored by Lincoln Center. We got the phone number of the organizer in New York. Who in turn had a voice message indicating she was out of town of course at the inauguration. As any good event organizer would do, she left her cell number. A quick call to my jazz musician brother (Ed Lanier) gave me several names to drop. One call later we had two tickets waiting for us at Will Call for the event. The main theater was completely full, so the organizers opened up the Terrace Theater upstairs in the Kennedy Center for a live feed. The following photos were taken of the live feed screen from our seats in the Terrace Theater.

Freddy Cole.

The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor and Wynton Marsalis were the inspiration behind the event. She spoke and Wynton played every set.

The evening was hosted by Angela Bassett and her husband Courtney Vance.

The highlight of the evening for me was seeing Dave Brubeck live for the first time.

Dave Brubeck sat in with the Foxborough High School Jazz Ensemble.

Cassandra Wilson gave a great performance.

Marcus Gilmore has his own style.

Roy Haynes dueled it out
head-to-head with his grandson.

The finale was the
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the
Choral Le Chateau of New York City.