The Party is on!

Already yesterday, Saturday, we were starting to feel that DC was filling up. With every flight coming into DC's airports, more revelers were arriving to elevate the city's mood. It's hard to describe, but there is such energy and positivism all around. I've never seen so many happy people in one place. And when I say many, this is no joke, a couple million of them!

This morning I headed for the Mall at 8:30am. Most streets leading there were closed, and lined with hundreds of smiling volunteers. Every one, nearly without exception, greeted the passer-bys with a wide-eyed "Good Morning!" Army tanks were blocking the road, police sirens were silently spinning, and people in uniform patrolled ever corner, but there wasn't a frown in sight. Security was tight, but efficient, polite and incredibly unobtrusive. By the time I reached the Mall at about 9am, more than 10 000 people for sure were already there. The party had started even before any artist hit the stage, with chanting, singing, dancing and a lot of clicking cameras.

It was quite a sight to see the throngs pouring in constantly. I kept thinking that space would eventually run out, but still, I was never crowded. ... and... I never had to wait in line to use one of the infamous 5000 port-a-potties. Soon after Lars showed up at 12:30, all we could see on the Mall, all the way from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, were hundreds of thousands of tightly packed people wrapped in colorful winter gear.

From 2:30pm t0 4:30pm, famous artists, such as Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Shakira, and countless others kept the spectators singing and dancing. A few more solemn songs dampened the mood once in a while, but everyone was in top form when Obama took the stage to say a few short words.

CNN estimated today's crowd at 500 000... 2 million are expected on Tuesday! I'll have to get up very early again!