I’m starting to get ready for my trip down to the inauguration events on Tuesday. Until today, I’ve been a “really high maybe” vis-a-vis my desire to be there. But, now I’m a “yes.” A big yes.
So the preparing starts, as this is much more than a day trip to DC. I have to be nimble, prepared, ready. I have to be warm, comfortable, self-caring. I have to be connected, geared, set up. And so I’m my thinking here now, and as it develops.
Getting there & back
- Driving into DC Monday night.
- Aiming to find parking lot and park overnight and most of Tuesday.
- Metro to friend’s home in DC to spend the night in DC.
- Tue – Metro/walk/bus? to parking lot; then driving out of DC.
Tech – Gear – Communicating
- Signed up for Metro / wmata.com alerts sent to text.
- Got the hashtag for all things Inauguration: #inaug09
- Make sure to pack electric/USB iPhone charger for magical moments when I can recharge iPhone.
- Connect brightkite to Twitter.
- Program Utterli phone number in cel phone.
- Read @acarvin / npr’s post about location tags and hashtags.
- Download IR09 iPhone app for inauguration reports.
- Follow @inauguration_dc
- Register for DC gov emergency alerts
Bring
- Cash – mixed bills
- Metro fare card – loaded! (Though I might get one of those commemorative all-day passes.)
- iPhone and charger
- Mini purse
Clothing
- Smart Wool hiking socks (great reason to get a new pair)
- Gray MBT hiking boots
- Gray wool Prada leggings
- Silk thermal underwear bottoms
- Long black wool overskirt
- Silk long-sleeved top, ivory
- Cashmere sweater, ivory
- Black leather gloves
- Cashmere pashima, ivory
- Burberry cashmere scarf
- Baggallini bag (black or taupe, tbd)
- Wool hat (?)
Misc prep
- Buy hand-warmers, chemical packs (if any are even still available within a 200-mile radius of DC)
- Get cash
- Remember to request the day off, now that I have a j-o-b
- Buy good-and-plenty (licorice is an anti-diuretic)
Update:
Yay! Kindness and generosity abound. Staying at a friend’s house in DC on Monday night, yay. Did find hand warmers; got the last pack at LL Bean. Adding another layer of cashmere wrap. Will totally look like a big fuzzy polar bear. 
6 Comments
January 18, 2009 at 10:41 am
Hi. You are going to be so elegant in your SKIRT! In contrast, I’m going to look like an eskimo hiker in my ski sox, long johns, and flannel lined chinos and my LLBean parka and hood. I’m taking trail mix and water (don’t like licorice). We are going in Monday afternoon to stay at a friend’s house in Dupont Circle and will walk down Tues. morning. We are aiming for a jumbotron near the Smithsonian as a good place to be in the middle of things with a view of the Capitol at least. Since we aren’t trying to see the parade, I’m going to take a backpack with spare gloves, hand warmers, a face mask for each of us (in case the unthinkable happens), and a small first aid kit containing bandaids, painkillers, a whistle and a space blanket. I’ll have my cell but am afraid the airwaves will be full. I want to snap some photos for friends who can’t come, and I hope to be able to send them on the spot. Thanks for giving me the space to spill all of this out. I’m very excited.
January 18, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Hi again. Just got back from the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. It was fantastic to be in the crowd with hundreds of thousands of people, everyone happy. The chemical hand/foot warmers are essential. They were selling them for $4.00 for a pair.
January 18, 2009 at 9:01 pm
You went to the concert? How fun! How absolutely thrilling that must have been. Had to laugh about your comment of being elegant in a skirt. I’ll look like a polar bear, all right. My coat: a 1960s white Borgana faux fur gargantuan thing, with layers of ivory-colored cashmere.
Wool. Cashmere. Leather. Those are my key tools. Oh, and lip balm.
January 19, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I have to work, so I can;t go, but I did post some pictures I took at the concert yesterday here:
http://www.hedgehogreport.com/?p=9028
January 20, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Cashmere is simply the best! Hope you had a wonderful time and most of all – stayed warm! We’re venturing to Chicago next week for a couple days, and I think I will use your list to get me ready for the cold!!!
January 20, 2009 at 11:37 pm
@Melanie, Yes, yes, yes. Cashmere is the best. I ended up wearing silk thermal underwear, thick wool leggings, a Merino wool long skirt (that’s three layers on my legs), plus SmartWool socks. On top a silk long-sleeved top, a cashmere sweater, two cashmere wraps, ear muffs, a wool hat, leather/fur-lined gloves with chemical “toe warmers” in them, and I still was feeling the chill. Stay warm in Chicago. And have fun!
@Dave, Thanks for sharing some photos.
@Joyce, Hope you had a blast and were relatively warm!