While the thought of seeing an historic inauguration live is tempting, the sane folks in this house will be watching on TV.
Driving in and around DC is daunting on a normal day. Traffic is always very heavy. And the grid, which was purportedly designed intentionally to confuse folks (the invading British), confuses even me. I’m one of those folks with a very good, built-in sense of direction. When I am going places, even if I end up on the wrong road, I generally get where I’m going ’cause I have a very good feel for places/directions.
Not in DC, though.
As one Web site explains: “The well-planned street system is an easy to comprehend grid that is often difficult to maneuver. The north-south streets are numbered and the east-west streets are lettered beginning at the Capitol and extending in both direction. You can have two 3rd streets (one to the east of the Capitol and one to the west), and you can have two “D” streets (one to the north of the capitol and one to the south). That is why the city is divided into quadrants. The intersections of 7th street and “C street” can occur in the NE, SE, NW and SW sectors. You must specify the quadrant to find an address. There is a series of broad avenues that radiate out from the Capitol like the spokes of a wheel. They produce some complex angular intersections that can baffle even the most experienced drivers.”
Although I do want to spend more time in DC before we leave the East Coast for good (no idea when that will be), I’ll wait ’til Obama is safely ensconced in office first. And then I’ll ride down on the train.
Anyone in their right mind, will stay home and watch the festivities of January 20th on televison, the traffic alone would say to me, stay home. Just on a regular workday forget it.
I have a friend who has the same illness I do and I told her she was out of her mind, just stay home and be warm.