On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 our 44^th President will be sworn into office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. The week of festivities will begin today and the events not only include the actual Swearing-in-Ceremony, Inaugural Address, and Inaugural Parade but numerous inaugural balls, galas, concerts, parties, Whistle Stop Tour, luncheons, prayer meetings, and the list goes on and on and on and on.

It will be an emotional week, certainly filled with celebration; but also filled with anticipation, hope and concern as this new administration takes over in some very challenging times in our nation. Having lived within 20 minutes of this great city I have had the opportunity to experience many memorable events over the course of time.

Everyday, as I travel to the shop, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Virginia into Maryland, I can look down the Potomac River and see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building in the distance. I ride my bike along the George Washington Parkway from Mt. Vernon to the steps of all of our famous monuments. I enjoy the fireworks on the Washington Mall whenever I am in town on July 4^th. I enjoy the cherry blossoms in the spring, visiting the Smithsonian and other museums whenever I want, wandering around the National Zoo, enjoy performances at the Kennedy Center and dinner in Georgetown.

But I have also witnessed some horrible things that this city has endured. I will never forget the smoke and flames rising from the Pentagon as it lay broken from the devastating attacks on 9/11. It seemed as if the sun would never shine through the gray, dark smoke that hung like a shroud over the entire city. I remember when President Kennedy was sworn into office and the excitement that my Mom felt when she actually attended the inauguration. I also remember the despair that we all felt when he was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. This is a wonderful city but it is constantly filling the history books with new chapters.

So, am I going to attend this year's inauguration? Not a chance! It isn't that I wouldn't want to witness history being made, but if you had any idea of what the conditions are surrounding this event you would stay home too. I think the only person who will get through this inauguration without any hassle will be the President elect and his family!

They have estimated that between 1.5 and 10 million people (hey, I don’t do the polls) will try to attend the inauguration and they are planning on having 5,000 port-o-potties. I think that works out to about 1 potty for every 300 – 2,000 people depending on which count you believe. Either way you look at it, I only have to share my bathroom with one other person at home!

But it gets even better! For security reasons they are closing all of the bridges going in and out of Washington DC to personal vehicles. It will be virtually impossible for anybody in Northern Virginia to get into Washington D.C. According to the Washington Post today the federal and local authorities will be putting a "virtual wall" around the city on Inauguration Day and basically they are advising those of us that live here to stay at home and not venture onto Interstate 95 or 495 unless absolutely necessary.

I know you are getting excited about this every minute, but there is more! Because you can't drive into the city, authorities are encouraging everyone to take our subway system (Metro). They have advised that if you plan to take Metro, you better get to the trains early (even the night before) for obvious reasons. To make matters even more exciting, they are anticipating "crush level" subway conditions, "massive crowds" and the possibility of standing in bitter cold temperatures for up to 6 hours to get on and off the Metro followed by long delays in getting people home. Now, all of this fun just to get into the city and you haven't even attended the first event.

Oh, if you thought about getting there by boat…think again. The coast guard has closed the Potomac River going from Alexandria, VA to DC to all watercraft except commercial shuttles and Coast Guard boats. All personal watercraft have to be docked by sundown tomorrow and are not allowed to move, if you are in the restricted zone, until late next week.

Doesn't this sound like a good time? So for all of you out there that wished that you could be here to experience this historic occasion instead of watching it on TV, now you know exactly what you will be missing.

I don't know about you, but the way I figure it, I think I'll just kick back, build a fire, hold my remote and drink a cup of coffee while I watch history being made. Then I will finish my plans to head to Vegas to Test and then on to Pomona for the Winternationals…but that is my story for next week! Stay tuned!