I'm Home!

Hey everybody! I'm back home safe and sound! Thank you for following my blog over the time I was in DC. I still want to be there, but I know that this is my home in Grand Rapids, MI. I got back to my two cats and I was happy to see them again! I will go back to school in the afternoon today. I have many stories to share and tell, I will be so happy to see my friends again!

~ Meaghan

My Cats: Gabe white one Kisa brown one.

The food court

We are currently eating at Panera Bread in the Ohio rest stop. We have been driving forever, I was was watching the Jon and Kate Plus 8 DVD in the car. I was eating chips and drinking apple juice most of the time before we got here. The rest stop was crowded! We think a band playing at the inaguration came in to eat at Panera. It looks like a highschool group. We are almost back to our home state, MI! At Panera, I had French Onion Soup. It was awesome! We were also in the newspaper at home, here is a picture of us that was printed in the newspaper.

~ Meaghan

Leaving

We were all sad about leaving. Mom woke us up at 7:12 this morning. I was really tired, Mom told me that Meera and Tina already left for school. Linda, Ki, Mom, Ces and I were the only ones awake. Late last night Juan (pronounced Won) left back to Detroit, MI. Mom started packing up the car. I ate a little breakfast and Cas headed to her first day at her new job in The White House!!!!! Last night was a historical night, when we got home we watched the parade on

CNN. I can't wait until we get home, and I can tell you all about my adventures in DC!

~ Meaghan

INAGURATION!!!!!

The inaguration was awesome! I could'nt see anything though. We woke up at 6:00 and we were out of the house by 7:00. We walked to the Metro station, it was already packed! We rode to Fort Totten, after that we trandsfered to the green line. 4 of us stayed behind on the red line because they had yellow and purple tickets to the inaguration. We had silver section tickets. We got into DC at about 8:00. We alked around for a long time. Three-fouths of our 22 people group left for Ces's old office to watch the inaguration on the televisoin. They had given up their hope to get

Our group and the Capitol Building

into the gates because of the crowd. A small group of us went on. Our group was Herb, Linda, Kristine, Me, Mom and Ki. The sidewalks were packed, the streets were packed and the metro was packed! We got through the checkpoint, but they closed the gates and as we were waiting in line people were coming back the other way saying that they were turned away at the gate. We waited in line still, I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to see the inaguration. We saw that the police opened the gates for a wave of people, so we saw that they were at the front. We waited and saw the gates open all the way. Thousands of people with the same silver tickets flooded through the silver ticket gates. People were so excited, they crashed through gates and jumped over the barricades. We got a nice spot on the grass. We could see the top of the Capitol Building. I couldn't see anything but people. I could hear fine because there was a speeker in front of us. The swearing in was amazing. President Obama's speech was amazing too! We had to walk at least 3 miles to get to Cec's old office. It took us so long because all of the roads were closed off because of the parade. When we got home we had dinner and we rested a lot. Our feet were feelin like they were going to fall off! Tomorrow we have to go back to MI, I can't wait until I get to tell you guys all about my trip in person!

~ Meaghan

China Town on MLK Day

Today we were at China Town in DC. First, we went on the Metro from Silver Spring to Union Station. When we got out of the station there were a bunch of people trying to sell us Obama t-shirts, buttons, hats and anything else you can think of. Kristine had to get Inauguration tickets from her congressman. We then went to China Town. We walked and walked and walked! We then got to the big gate in China Town. It lo0ked like a portal stepping right into the heart of China. We ate lunch at the China Town Gardens. I bought a magnet from a street vendor. We then headed for the Metro back to Cec's house.

~ Meaghan

The next morning

This morning I woke up at around 9:00. I had another good sleep. I was tired last night. Kristine came here at 8:30 last night. She's a friend of Cec's. Yesterday it was cold and crowded, so we got home and were pooped! Myra, Ces and Tina were getting ready for the big ball and they had all of these fancy dresses. They left at 6:00 pm maybe and came back around 11:00 pm. We figured out how to make the TV work.

~ Meaghan

The Kick-Off

Our Group

The group that went to the Inaugural Kick-Off + Cec who had to work today...no rest for a White House staffer.

The concert

We have just got back from Obama's Inagural Concert in D.C. I am so tired. We rode the Metro from Silver Spring to the center of D.C. We listened to all of the music and speeches. It was freezing cold, at the concession stand I got a hot coco. It was tiring out there. The port-a-potties were nasty though, I saw Queen Latifa, George Lopez and Tom Hanks speek. I also saw Josh Groban sing. It was an amazing day!

~ Meaghan

In the Morning

Hello everyone and good morning! I had a great sleep, we slept in the extra room in the basement. I slept on an areo bed. I had all of my blankets laid ontop of me and all of my stuffed animals laid by me. Kierra (my sister) and my mom slept on the fold out ottaman. I woke up around 8:00 and Kierra is still not awake. Later today around 2:30 we have tickets to this concert and I think that Josh Groban is singing in that.
~ Meaghan

Going to the Inauguration Kickoff

Cecelia's house

We got back from our long car trip and I am sitting here in Cec's house. In the last 3 hours I got a little car sick. My stomach hurt like mad! It was aggrivating! We got to Panera Bread in Silver Spring, MD. When we got to Cec's house it was almost pitch black. Here is a picture of me, Cec and her daughter.

~ Meaghan

Eatting Breakfast

We just left McDonalds in Canton. There for breakfast I had hash browns and a fruity parfait. In the car I took a nice long nap. I’ve been awake since 5:30 am. Herb and mom have been driving since we first hit the road at 7:30. We have been driving for 2 ½ hours already. We have about 400 miles to go. Mom said that we will be there around 9:00 pm.

~ Meaghan

We were on TV tonight!

Check it out!

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/GR_mom_kids_to_attend_inauguration

The day before

Tonight was the night before we left. We had Yesterdogs for dinner. Mom said to pack lightly because we will have a bunch of luggage. Herb (our friend) is going to ride with us to DC. We took showers and we will get up around the crack of dawn 6:00am and we will be in the car and gone by around 7:00am.I will miss Susie, Gabe and Kisa. I've never been away from Susie this long. We will meet Linda (our other friend) in DC because she's in flordia. It will be cold at first but, the car will warm up over time. Well, I'll type more when we're on the road!

- Meaghan

Test of Photo Upload

I am doing some testing before I leave to make sure I can post photos. This is me and my sister. We are both going to D.C.

By the way, look for us on WOOD-TV 8 Live at 5 tonight and in the Grand Rapids Press in the next few days.

Countdown to D.C.

I am setting up a blog for my friends and family so that they know what we have been doing.

My first documented journey is to Washington D.C. to witness a time in history, the inauguration of Barack Obama.

We will be leaving tomorrow morning at 7 am to drive to Washington, DC.

We staying with my mom's college friend. She just got a job in the White House so we get to go to the Inauguration.

Here is some information on her job http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/26/obama_appoints_white_house_spe.html.