Opening Prayer

This clips were taken were taken during Rev. Warren's opening prayer and the Anthem ( which might be slightly out of order).

Blue Gate

Hunter and I took the city bus around 7 and arrived at the Union Station, at the wrong side of the Capitol . After walking with other ticket holders for 12 or so blocks and through a long tunnel we reached our designated gate at an hour or so before they opened. There we sang and chanted the time away with thousands? of fellow ticket holders.

We arrive in Willington as we await Obama and Biden' arrival

Hunter and I could not get a flight into DC when we looked into plane tickets in November. So we prevailed upon Hunter's niece to put us up at her home an hour outside of Wilmington DC. We then made plans to take the Amtrack to DC. on Sunday 1/ As it turned out we were able to go into Wilmington the Saturday to catch President-elect Obama and VP -elect Biden on Saturday

The first picture you can see the tower of the train station as the police begin to block the streets off, allowing only pedestrian traffic. In the next photo ,evidence of Homeland Security presence .

Lynn and I pose in from of the huge flag they are getting ready to raise .We are dressed in many layers just a preview for what we will need to do in DC .You can see it in position in a later shot.

We get a good lookout above the crowd and overlooking the stage . Now we just have 3 hours to wait for the arrivial of Obam's train. Wilmington will be the first stop after their departure from Philidelphia. An of coarse, this is Bidens home where he commuted every day by way of Amtrack. In his speech he told some stories about that experience. Lynn teaches at the same college that Mrs Biden did.

I carried the North Pole City flag which we hung over the edge. Hunter and Lynn are waving for the picture. The Wilmington Sunday News Journel pictures of the crowds and you can pick out the the flag (although just bearly).

In the last picture the presidents train or one of the decoys leaves the station as we work our way back to our car.

Wandering around O'Hara

The mural is on a mirror so at the right angle you find can see yourself in the art. the other pictures are from a pub called the Alaska lodge. A little piece of Alaska in the midwest.

In transit: At O'hara and over Chicago

I am back but could not keep you posted

I had intended to keep posting pictures every day but I had technical problems (many) that included losing my cord that connects the camera to my laptop and getting on the inner net. I wont bore you with the details except to say that when I returned to Fairbanks I took my chips from my camera to Sams' and down loaded them on a disk.

Leaving Home: A doggie send off

The neighbor dogs join our Golden Retriever for a send off.

Students arriving at school

Students arrive around 7 AM in the dark . On this day it is about 3 hours before sunrise. The temperature has jumped up 45 0 F from yesterday at 15 above. If you look carefully you may see some students in shorts. You will see a picture of the faculty parking lot. Its different from the students because we have plug ins . The students have to leave school to start their cars during the day to keep them from freezing up.
Most of our students arrive by bus.

Brenda Williamson's Dad with Obama

Brenda Williamson is a teacher at North Pole. She is sharing this picture of her Dad and Senator Obama at a campaign event in Iowa.

About our Trip

Here's a short video clip explaining our trip to D.C.

Views from North Pole

Here are some views of North Pole at about -30F.

Welcome to Inauguration 2009

We are excited to be going to the inauguration in a few days! We are Sharron and Hunter from North Pole, Alaska. We have started this blog to share our experiences with the students and staff of North Pole High where we work.