Think Twice Before Coming to DC for Inauguration

It's an exciting time, and it's going to be an exciting inauguration. And if I didn't live in DC, I'd probably want to come to see it. But please be forewarned. Unless you've got a place to stay lined up by now, coming to DC for that weekend may end up being one of the worst times of your life. The park police won't let you camp on the mall, and the hotels, B&Bs and everybody with a spare bedroom have been booked up for weeks. Lots of folks are checking out Craig's list, and I just took a look myself. There are places being advertised as close to the activities that are not only miles and miles away, but not close to any public transportation to get you into the city.

The city is currently expecting 10,000 buses coming to the city with folks from around the country (and those are ones that register ahead of time, not local church & group buses). So even if you get here and find a place to stay somewhere in Virginia or Maryland someplace, it's going to be hard as hell to get into the city to see anything unless you're using the metro, and that's going to be a mess (it's already a mess on good days during rush hour, and that weekend is going to be testing it way and beyond how it's been tested so far).

Come to be part of all of this if you have someone to stay with, some place already lined up, and know how to get to the metro from where you'll be staying. DO NOT COME if you think you can just "find a spot" to stay when you show up (you'll be having your fun in southern Virginia or Pennsylvania), or if you're looking at some Craigslist offering that is "close" to downtown for hundreds of bucks, but isn't anywhere near public transportation. Trust me, there will be noplace for you to park that car anywhere near the city.