Inauguration Weekend, Part 1
the coldest weekend of my life!
Right after the election, while still riding the victory wave, we started thinking about going to the Inauguration. To be honest, this is not the first time we’ve thought about going to an Inauguration. When Brian worked on the Romney campaign in 2012, we planned to go if we won, which we believed was possible. My darling mother-in-law even offered to buy me a dress for it when she came to visit in October. I had to tell her ok, thank you I would love it, but it’ll have to be a maternity dress… and that was how we announced that Gracie was on the way. Anyway, obviously Romney didn’t win and we didn’t go to any Inauguration then or since.
Until 2025! After all the work Brian had done during 2024, we just starting planning to go… but we didn’t really know how to get tickets or do anything. So we started researching, and what we found was pretty laughable - minimum $25,000 to secure tickets. Oh, I get it… this is only for the wealthiest donors. Unless someone gives you tickets or you get invited! And surely we would, right? Except we didn’t until about a week before! I also found out that my mom’s parents had gone to JFK’s inauguration in 1961, and that made it all the more urgent for me to find a way. I could just picture my elegant grandparents, Grandma in her fur coat, going to glamorous parties and balls in Washington D.C. I thought it would be incredibly exciting to follow in their footsteps. So although it took a long time for any official tickets or plan to materialize, we did start planning a trip. Regardless of whether we would get to go to the actual ceremony or a ball, Brian started planning an Inauguration party for Catholics in DC that weekend.
Once he got nominated to be ambassador, we had even more hopes that tickets would materialize, but it still took a while. Plus we were busy with Christmas, and so was the rest of the world. With only about a week to go before Inauguration weekend, Brian was given 10 tickets to the actual Inauguration at the Capitol and the rally the day before, and 4 tickets to the Liberty Ball. Yes! We were in! We asked our kids if anyone wanted to or was able to take the days off and fly all the way to DC to go. Bridget, Hopi, and Sam said they would love to, but sadly Martin and Therese weren’t able to swing it. Then we had to quickly get ready for the trip and all the events… which had become a full four days of multiple cocktail parties, dinners, and balls. Acquiring the proper wardrobe was a little stressful, but I can’t complain. Poor me, I need to go shopping! Actually it was very strategic figuring out what to wear each day and night with different dress codes, and planning for a frigid outdoor Inauguration. Fleece-lined tights were a must, my sister-in-law told me. I ordered a burgundy hat and gloves to go with my cream colored coat, and a good supply of hand-warmers. What would Kate Middleton wear? WWKMW?
Friday, January 17 arrived and Brian and I flew to DC, getting the news on the plane ride that the Inauguration had been moved inside to the Capitol rotunda. Sad! We wouldn’t be able to witness the historic spectacle with the kids after all. We weren’t VIP enough to score tickets to the inside ceremony, but we did get invited to a viewing party at a fancy club that ended up being lovely and nice and warm. All things considered, it was better that we didn’t end up having to stand or sit in the freezing cold for 4 or 5 hours. I think I would’ve cried. It was bad enough just walking around that day - the security was so tight everywhere that they had shut down multiple streets around our hotel. Cars and Ubers couldn’t get any closer than 3 or 4 blocks away, so we had to walk out to meet them. And they kept switching all the security checkpoints so sometimes we’d have to walk another block out of our way just to go through security.
Back to Friday - the airport and the hotel were full of MAGA Trump supporters in a festive mood, and the hotel was offering champagne and cake-pops at check-in.
After changing, we were off to our first event, a cocktail party at the rooftop bar of our hotel, with amazing views of the Washington Monument and the White House.
It was packed, and we saw lots of friends and met some new ones. Kimberly Guilfoyle came in with her son. George and Mary Glass were there - he had been Ambassador to Portugal and is now to Japan, and they’ve been invaluable mentors and friends to both Brian and me as we acclimate to this world. Conveniently, we could go right back to our room afterwards and change for that night’s ball - the Crypto Ball featuring Snoop Dog, at the stunning Andrew Mellon Auditorium. It was cold and we walked! Too much of a pain to get a car. It wasn’t too far, but I was glad when we finally got there and through the drafty vestibule that was almost as cold as outside.
Yes, I took a lot of mirror selfies. It’s not everyday that this stay at home mom gets glammed up so it must be documented. I did secure a fur of my very own, which was very warm, so I felt like I was channelling Grandma Dougherty.
The food was incredible and gorgeous - they had several waiters walking around shucking oysters for you on the spot and then you just tossed the shell in their little bucket.
Saturday morning we had some free time, so I went for a walk. After skirting around a protest march, I headed over to the Catholic Information Center and right as I walked in the chapel, there was Our Lady of Guadalupe greeting me!
Once again, I felt like it was such a comforting sign of her care for us… “Am I not your Mother?” I knew it wasn’t the right time for Mass, and I didn’t even know if a priest would be there, but a few minutes later Father Charles walked in and went in the confessional, and then a lady followed him. I sat there wondering if maybe I could go too, or if it was a privately scheduled appointment. But after a few minutes she walked out of the confessional and quietly beckoned to me, asking if I wanted to go. Yes! Again, it felt like a real gift from Our Lord that I got to go to confession and talk to Father Charles about all the craziness of life lately. Of course he had the best advice, reminding me that this year, the Jubilee year, was going to be a year of abundant graces. He then showed me around the CIC a bit and told me stories, like when a guy threw a brick through his office window, and when he first moved to DC and met Justice Samuel Alito and asked him what he did for a living. Hahaha.
For lunch, we headed over to the Airbnb that Brian’s mom was staying at with Bridget and Hopi, and met up with some old friends. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Catholic Inaugural Reception that night!
I was so proud to have my gorgeous girls there with us. We missed you, Therese!
Brian gave a wonderful toast and used my joke about the sequence of the next few days being the Catholic reception, the patriotic drama of the Inauguration, and then the National football championship game or… God, Country, Notre Dame!
Believe it or not, we had another event to go to after that - the America First Ball hosted by AFPI at the Waldorf Astoria. We ran into our friend Ted there.
The ball was packed and super glamorous and fun, but we were starving by that point and all they had was desserts, so we stopped at Old Ebbits Grill on the way home for a late-night bite. That place was still hopping late at night, but I guess it always is. We managed to get a cozy booth and the food hit the spot. What a night!