January 17, 2009
The Battle of First Bull Run
We’re staying in Fairfax, Virginia now. Last night on our ride into the state we passed a freeway exit for a place called Manassas. By coincidence, or maybe not, I had just been reading about Manassas in the Civil War chapter of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to American History by Alan Axelrod “…When it began, the battle the South would call First Manassas and the North would call First Bull Run was a picnic. On July 21, 1861, Washington’s fashionable folk rode out to nearby Centreville, Virginia in carriages filled with baskets of food and bottles of wine. Through spy glasses they viewed the action three miles distant. The Union troops seemed similarly carefree as they marched to battle. They frequently broke ranks to pick blackberries.”
But by the end of the day, 2950 Union soldiers (North) and 1750 Confederate soldiers (South) were dead.
Sure doesn’t sound like much of a picnic.
Popular photo spot in Union Station
Washington DC’s Union Station is the main terminal for Amtrak trains and the Metro. Busy place any time of year. But just days before the Inauguration, it’s swarming with tourists. They’re obviously here to be part of this moment in history and I’m guessing that they want to take a piece of it home with them when it’s all over.
The face of Barack Obama is everywhere… and everyone selling seems to be doing major business. People were even lining up to have their picture taken next to a life-size cutout of the President-elect. For the moment, in this place, it seems Obama is way bigger than Elvis, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical combined.
And we’re caught up in it too. (No, I haven’t bought a t-shirt yet… I already did that several months ago.)
Annie and David in front of Inauguration site, Capitol Building
We had our picture taken in front of the West Side of the Capitol where the Official Swearing-In Ceremony and Inaugural Address will take place on Tuesday. We know that we’re not even going to be able to see the building from our place on the National Mall, so we figured we’d get a photo of it before the really big crowds arrived. And we weren’t the only ones delighted to be standing in front of that historic backdrop in 12 degree weather. A couple was getting married!
The another couple who appeared to be married for at least half a century, snapped our picture (after we snapped one of them) They had come from Tennessee. Smile!
Capitol Building, preparations for the Inauguration. Notice the thousands of chairs in the foreground.
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