The Inauguration experience - has anyone else ever been to one?

Hey all,

I thought it might be interesting to discuss the presidential Inauguration ceremony. If anyone else has ever been, or has any questions about the event itself, this is the thread!

I was able to vote for the first time in 2016, and due to my lifelong interest in history, I was set on going to the Inauguration. I knew that most people gather at the National Mall, which is quite far from the Capitol, so I did some research on how I could get closer.

I learned that each congressperson is issued a set of tickets to provide to their constituents upon request, and so I reached out to my congresswoman’s office and inquired. They said that they’d put me on the list for tickets, and the phone rep mentioned that I was the first person to be added (this was mid-October 2016). A few weeks before the inauguration, I went to my congresswoman’s office and picked up a beautiful packet with two tickets, an invitation, a program, and Presidential and Vice Presidential portraits.

A friend and I flew down to DC on the 19th and walked the city for a full day. It was an amazing time. The next morning at about 3:30am, we hopped on the metro and took it down to the waiting area near the Capitol, where FBI and TSA screened individuals to enter the ticketed area.

The tickets that we were provided still put us a decent distance away, maybe a football field from the President’s podium. Still, we were far far closer than the National Mall. I was able to clearly witness in person six presidents (Carter, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, Trump, Biden).

It was an amazing experience. We stood there from about 6am until 2pm, in the cold and rain. It was a positive and happy experience all around, and obviously it was mostly Trump supporters there.

I planned to make it a tradition to go to the inauguration, but after January 6th, paired with COVID, paired with the decision not to hold an actual inauguration ceremony, I passed on going three years ago. Still, I reached out to my congressperson and requested tickets anyway, and was given a similar packet as in 2017, including tickets that ultimately were never even valid. I like this packet a lot more than the 2017 one, it almost feels like it will be a historical relic someday given everything that occurred in 2020-21.

If anyone wants any pictures or videos, or has any questions, please let me know. If you have any experiences of your own to share, I’d love to hear!