A Star(dom) is born: Mrs. Stardom Goes to Washington

I'm breaking the blog rules here by posting something that has nothing to do with Max but I think even John, the content taskmaster, would agree that it is OK. In a way, it has a little bit to do with Max as it was the first trip I have ever taken without him. But I digress.

It all started with a phone call from my Auntie Melody on November 3, 2008, the day before the U.S. Presidential election. The United States seemed poised to elect Barack Obama as its 44th President and Auntie put forward this crazy idea of going to Washington for the inauguration in January 2009. Over the next two days, this crazy trip took shape and we were all booked (thanks to Auntie's awesome travel agent, John C.).

We left for Washington in the wee hours on Sunday, January 18th. Max decided to give us a proper send-off by waking up at 4 AM to see us off (he eventually went back to bed with Grandma H for a few hours - there is a joke in there somewhere . . .). Our flight was strangely empty although we did have a little bit of homegrown celebrity in our midst in the form of Global News anchor, Kevin Newman. There was a delay with our luggage so we had a chance to chat with him a bit and I can report that he is perfectly lovely and much cuter in person. One of the funniest moments of that day came when Kevin asked us if we were going to the concert that afternoon. We said that we were and he said that he was too and then said that he was excited to see Mary J. Blige! Yes, the one artist he specifically mentioned was Mary J. I was gobsmacked but pleasantly so. I guess Mary J.'s appeal is a lot wider than I gave her credit for. Here is me and Kevin in the airport:

After a long cab ride to the hotel (interesting fact about Washington highways - they salt and sand the roads if any snow is in the forecast), we grabbed a quick breakfast, changed and headed downtown for the "We are One" concert. In the theme of the People's Inauguration, many free events were planned to share the event with everyone. The official kick-off to inauguration week in Washington was this star-studded event at the Lincoln Memorial. We grabbed the hotel shuttle to Union Station then walked to the Lincoln Memorial. There was a long line up to get through security but everyone was in a good mood so it went fast. We managed to snag a little piece of fence right by the reflecting pool so we had a great view of the stage.

This is the set list for the concert:

"Star Spangled Banner" by Master Sgt. Caleb Green,
"The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen,
"Lean on Me" by Mary J. Blige,
"A Change is Gonna Come" by Jon Bon Jovi with Bettye Lavette,
"Shower the People" by James Taylor with John Legend and Jennifer Nettle,
"Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp,
"America (My Country Tis of Thee)" by Josh Groban and Heather Headley,
"One Love" by Will.i.am with Herbie Hancock and Sheryl Crow,
"You'll Never Walk Alone" by Renee Fleming,
"American Pie"//"Shout"/"We Shall be Free" by Garth Brooks,
"Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder with Usher and Shakira,
"Pride in the Name of Love" and "City of Blinding Lights" by U2,
"This Land is Your Land" By Pete Seeger and Springsteen,
"America the Beautiful" by Beyonce and the ensemble

I have to give credit where credit is due and the best performance of the day was Garth Brooks. Bruce and U2 were amazing but Garth got the crowd going like nobody else. In those few minutes, I began to understand what all the fuss was about with him and why he had sold millions and millions of albums. It was cold and people had been standing for hours and he got everyone dancing, singing, jumping and enjoying themselves.

In between these amazing performances, there were all sorts of celebrities giving mini speeches about past inaugurations, past presidents (with heavy emphasis on Lincoln and FDR), and Martin Luther King Jr. as the following day was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Tiger Woods, Laura Linney, Queen Latifah, Steve Carell, Jamie Foxx to name a few. There were also a few videos shown. There were some odd moments too - Vice-President Elect Joe Biden did a bit of an odd speech about workers and there were some eagles released but they had their legs banded together so they didn't fly very far. The President elect did an amazing speech. Auntie and I reflected on this again on Tuesday but you could literally hear a pin drop when he was speaking. This was a big crowd - estimates ranged from 300,000 to 750,000 - and you really could hear his every word.

After the concert, we began the long, long trek back to the central core to find something to eat. All the restaurants were mobbed but we were lucky enough to find a spot at a bar table at an awesome Mexican place. Auntie's backache mysteriously disappeared with a few pomegranate margaritas and we had some phenomenal guacamole. It was a nice party place and everyone, from the servers, managers, patrons and busboys, was in a celebratory mood. It sounds cheesy but the excitement about what was going on was palpable. The other big thing that Auntie and I remarked on throughout the trip was how unbelievably friendly everyone was - everyone in the service industry, people on the street, law enforcement, etc.

We grabbed a cab back to the hotel and climbed wearily into bed.

Here are a few photos of our day: