On Being Prepared

As we draw closer to actually traveling to the capital city and experiencing this event, I wonder just how prepared one can be. This is an unprecedented inauguration in size and scope, with an expected 5,000,000 visitors, and I suspect that the octopus of government agencies pressed into the planning and logistics are in panic mode right now.
In fact, I have it on good authority (really, a dude who works at Ft. Meyers, not a cousin’s best friend’s roommate’s barber) that the folks in the DC area have no idea what to do with what they expect to be 10,000 buses. By now, perhaps things are better on the eve of this whole gigantic “Adios, Bush” party, but my way of thinking is that expecting the unexpected is a very good way of staying sane.

Our little information gathering adventure with the Metro from this evening is perhaps a foreshadowing of the chaos that we may experience. The website for the Metro states on two separate pages that the parking structure closes at 11:00 PM and 2:30 AM. Plan A (we are now on Plan C) was to park in the Vienna / Fairfax station, travel into Washington DC on the Metro, and then, when the last bottle of champagne has been popped and the last dance danced at the ball, back we go on the Metro, get in the car, and drive back to our cabin-with-a-hot tub to get ready for the inauguration.

Alas, a call to a very nice employee of the Metro yielded the new intelligence that the parking structure has to be cleared of cars by Midnight. And a second call just a few minutes ago confirmed that 11:00 PM may be correct. Maybe is maybe the operative word.

Not a big deal, really, and all will be well in the end, but this illustrates that remaining flexible, open minded, and keeping your sense of humor intact is an important part of this journey. I’m actually pretty good at that; early last year, our Delta flight from Hartford to Los Angeles was grounded for 4+ hours because of a broken gizmo in the front landing strut. When the wild-eyed Delta harridan finally announced it to the assembled and somewhat angry crowd of chattel / passengers, I recall laughing out loud in delight. Dozens of angry eyeballs (including most expecially my wife Lil) tracked me and wished me, no doubt, a terrible fate, but part of traveling is an adventure that sometimes doesn’t unfold the way you had hoped. Sometimes, though, it is even better than you expected it to be.

Life is often like that, don't you think?

Dane