The Concert

We took it slow on Sunday morning as the concert didn't start until 2:30 and we had preferred standing tickets.  I had to drop something at the Mayflower Hotel, which is just an alley block away to the back entrance from where we are staying.  There were busses up and down the street and the side street where ABC News is was blocked by police.  We walked down the block anyway with no trouble.  The Mayflower lobby was hopping, and there were signs welcoming different organizations, which explains why it was difficult getting rooms there.

We headed out toward Dupont Circle to find some breakfast and go to RiteAid because of course we forgot some things at home.  At Starbucks (there is one on every corner) there was a police officer talking about how people started arriving to the concert at 5:00 a.m.!  We scooted to Rite Aid, dropped our stuff back at the hotel and walked to the concert.

We headed toward the Lafayette Park, which was fenced off and were directed to 17th St.  The crowds started to pick up and we followed it toward Constitution Ave.  There were people selling all sort of memorabilia.  And lots of hand warmers!  Our entrance was off Constitution Ave.  and we appeared for a while to be heading against the crowd.  I kept checking with the police and we were going the right way.   We got to our entrance, had to keep showing our tickets, went through security, but it went quickly.  

From what we could figure, there were three types of tickets: yellow, white and blue.  We had white ones.  The yellow ticket people went toward the mall. The blue tickets were for the seated section and the white for the standing.  If you have been to the Lincoln Memorial, we were standing about where the street is, so we were in front of the reflecting pool. 

Our section wasn't very crowded.  We thought for sure we would be packed in by the time the concert started, but there was a good amount of room.  People were happy to be there and in a great mood.  There were lots of kids.  It was a little cold, but nothing unbearable.

The theme was "We Are One" and one of the things that struck me was the overcast sky was evenly colored, almost colorless.  It seemed so appropriate.

Since I imagine many of you watched the concert, I'll just record a couple of my impressions.   Everyone was very respectful during all the speakers and quietly listened.  It was almost like being at Church, with everyone being so quiet.  They did sing during Pink Houses, American Pie, Shout, Higher and Higher and Pride.  The program was wonderfully balanced with speakers then songs.  No one got bored or irritable.  When Joe Biden and Barack Obama spoke you could have heard a pin drop -- amazing given the size of the crowd.

When we left, there was just a sea of people for blocks and blocks.  It wasn't until we got to 19th Street that we were able to turn left.  We headed up passed George Washington University and I remembered that there was an Italian restaurant around L or M and I thought it was on 19th, so we decided to see if my memory served me correctly.  It did and we found Luigis between L and M.  

The wait was about 30 minutes.  We were talking to a guy about how the Cardinals were beating the Eagles and said how we were from the Carolinas and we were disappointed.  A lady behind the curtain pulled it aside and made some small talk, then another lady asked if it was me, and I saw Valaida, who volunteered with me on the campaign!  They had left at midnight to come to the concert.  They are going to be working at the balls, too.  

We ate way too much -- I highly recommend Luigi's if you ever are in DC and want a good, inexpensive Italian meal -- and rolled the three blocks back to the hotel.