This afternoon, I met a friend for lunch at a downtown eatery. After a lovely lunch (spent, in large part, talking about tropes of romance novels, female fantasies in fiction, and male fantasies in fiction — lots of food for thought!), I walked her to her subway station. Then, I decided to walk across town to my own afternoon destination.
I ended up cutting through Lafayette Park, which lies directly in front of the White House. That is, the heart of the Inauguration Parade route. The park was partially blocked with fences and tents, but the main paths (and all of Pennsylvania Avenue) remain open to pedestrians. I smiled at the hustle and bustle of dozens (hundreds?) of workers — Park Service personnel, police, construction workers — all scurrying to put final touches on reviewing stands and other Inauguration necessities (including, yes, rows and rows of Port-a-Potties — *quite* necessary).
I was surprised by the apparent permanence of the Presidential viewing platform (covered with glass, which I suspect is bullet-proof and is definitely wind- and rain-proof) and the *giant* platform opposite the Presidential station (three stories, looking like the grandstand at a racecourse.) All the nearby buildings are festooned with bunting. I *love* D.C. when it looks/acts/seems like D.C. 
All of downtown feels like it’s humming. The big Macy’s store has a solid block of store windows, filled with formalwear — some beautiful floor-length gowns and some very smart tuxedos. There are lots of visitors, including large groups of schoolkids, who I’m guessing might be here to participate in the parade. We *were* expecting 5 inches of snow today, but that got downgraded to 1-2, and judging from the current lack of precipitation, I suspect we’ll get little or none.
Four years ago, Mark and I headed out of town to avoided the Inauguration crowds. (We went to North Carolina — Chapel Hill and Asheville — on one of the coldest weekends in my memory; Asheville will forever be linked with scurrying from gallery to gallery, fighting the wind and the biting chill, in my mind!)
This time around, we’re staying in town. We hope to catch up on a lot of the Oscar-nominated movies. And eating at home. And keeping the car safely parked in front of our house. And generally avoiding the crowds.
How about you? Any weekend plans?
Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.