A budget survival guide to Washington, DC, for Barack Obama's inauguration

January 5, 7:29 PMLouisville Travel ExaminerZach Everson

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It'll be easier to see a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama
than the real person in Washington, DC, inauguration
weekend. (Photo: Flickr/Z_Everson)

Washington, DC, Mayor Adrian Fenty is expecting 3 million people to attend Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009. The National Park Service, however, is only planning for 1.2 million people. 

If Fenty's right, there will be 250 percent more visitors than the Park Service is planning on accommodating.

And many of those people will be from Louisville: Rep. John Yarmuth's office received more than 6,000 requests for the 198 tickets it had to dispense.

As the government won't be taking care of you should you be amongst the huddled masses descending on the Capitol City, here are some tips for taking care of yourself without breaking your budget (something that rarely happens in DC).

Don't go

I watched George W. Bush's first inauguration from The Mall in 2000. It was wet. It was cold. I saw little.

So watch the inauguration on TV (unless you're Michelle Obama, CNN will have better access than you will). Have some friends over for a party (you'll be able to drink there). Chat about it on Twitter. Travel to a city that won't be attracting 1.8 million more people than it can handle. Stay away from DC. 

If you do go to DC, don't go to The Mall

(Disclosure: I'm ignoring my first piece of advice and expect many of you to as well.) If you feel a need to be in DC, don't go to The Mall for the inauguration, as you won't be able to see much. And the highlight of the inauguration isn't the swearing in of a new president; it's the fabulous people watching.  Consider hanging around Dupont Circle and watching a protest or six.

A highlight from inauguration 2000: a guy in his mid-20s heading up a Metro escalator turned to his girlfriend and said, "No sweetheart, we're here to protest, not go to the Gap." I lived in the DC area for eight years--you can't get better local flavor than that. 

Stay off the Metro

(Disclosure: I'm ignoring that last piece of advice too. The hypocritical part of this post, however, stops now.)

Even if it's a two-mile schelp in the rain, walk it. With escalators often out of commission and irregular train service, DC's Metro has problems accompanying crowds on a regular Tuesday. The Metro on Inauguration Day will make the Metro on a normal day look like the Orient Express. 

If you do plan on ignoring this piece of advice, get Metro fare ahead of time. If you don't live in the DC area, send a friend $20 and have him or her get it for you now. Also, print a map at the Metro's website.

Pack food

DC has great restaurants--and you won't get into them inauguration weekend (and with the possibility of them having special menus, you probably wouldn't want to anyway). You'll be lucky to buy astronaut ice cream at a Smithsonian gift store. There's a Whole Foods on 14th and P Streets NW; you might be able to hit up the salad bar. Bring lots of food with you.

Put these other items in your day pack

In addition to food, a Metro map, and a Metro fare card, here are some other items you'll want to bring with you:

• A good street map of DC 
• Cash, as ATMs might run out of it
• Binoculars, otherwise you're not going to see the proceedings
• A radio, otherwise you're not going to hear the proceedings
• Toilet paper
• A camera, preferably with a telephoto lens (have I mentioned that seeing the inauguration is going to be difficult?)
• DC.gov's guide to an evacuation