Inauguration Trail, Day 1
By Matt Hooper
On Jan. 18, one man left the relative comfort of his home for a rendezvous with destiny in D.C., the inauguration of our 44th president. With him: two cameras, a laptop, a thirst for adventure and little-to-no access or money. This is his story.\
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Update, No. 1 – Greetings from Blacksburg.\
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Seven and one-half hours on the road from Birmingham has me bunkered down at the Courtyard Marriott here in snowy Blacksburg, Va. The white stuff started falling just before 11 p.m. here and within the past 20 minutes, the black asphalt in the parking lot is now a blank white canvas. Very cool.\
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Not much to report on today. Cecil Guyton, another Weekly staffer, reported to me eariler that the buzz in D.C. was unprecedented. And so was the traffic. Not so on the trip from Birmingham to Blacksburg. No back-ups whatsoever. I’m sure that will change tomorrow. The plan is to leave base camp here by 9:30 a.m., reaching the Va./WVa./Maryland border by lunch time. On the way to Baltimore (where I’m staying for the duration of the festivities), there might be a stop in Antietam for a little Civil War historical indulgence!\
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Hopefully, Baltimore will be achieved by 2 p.m. If so, crab will be served at 2:15.
