Inauguration Weekend, part 2
Sunday morning, we had to wake up and get to an early Mass so that we could go to a party where we met Don Jr. Actually, right as we were walking up to the house, the Speaker of the House was leaving with his entourage, so we just missed him. Inside, it was jam packed with people, and they had tented the backyard, so when Don Jr. showed up, everyone packed into the small tent to meet him. I was actually quite impressed to hear in his short speech the emphasis he put on human trafficking and the dire need for solutions. He was really passionate about it.
On our way out, we also got to meet Jim Caviezel and his film producer partner, who told us they will be in Rome this summer filming their Resurrection movie with Mel Gibson. We chatted about how we will surely hang out a lot in Rome and be besties, of course.
After that, Brian had a meeting and I headed back to the hotel to get some lunch, starving. Meanwhile, I was monitoring Sam’s arrival in DC. He flew in by himself, and then took an uber from the airport straight to the arena where Trump’s rally was. The uber was only able to get him within a mile or so because of all the road closures for security, so he had to walk the last part to meet up with Bridget and Hopi. The girls had been in line at the arena for a while, in freezing rain, a line that was blocks long, but they told Sam how to take advantage of their VIP tickets and get in quicker. He made it in time and they got to see the spectacle of the rally, including appearances by Trump and his family.
That night, we had two different parties, the Newsmax party at Andrew Mellon again, and the FRI dinner at Morton’s.
After another late night and plentiful delicious food and drinks, we got to bed anticipating the big day.
Finally, Monday January 20, 2025 arrived… Inauguration Day! We started the day by meeting up with Bridget for a celebratory brunch at Le Diplomat. Bridget was wearing her red power suit, and I was dressed super warmly because we thought we’d be outside. Alas, we had to watch the actual Inauguration from Ned’s Club, but we did our best to enjoy the warmth and comfort, champagne, and seafood.
Extra large bottles of champagne, of course.
That night was the official Inauguration ball that we had tickets to - the Liberty Ball at the convention center. Once again, our Uber could only get us within a couple blocks, so we walked the rest of the way, joining the long line of ball-goers in high spirits. The line split into two lines - one for the Liberty Ball and one for the Commander in Chief Ball. All the young soldiers, sailors, and Marines looked so handsome in their dress uniforms. I felt badly for some of their dates, though, who somehow hadn’t worn coats and had skimpy evening gowns on and were hobbling along in stilettos through rough streets and even piles of snow and ice. It seemed to take forever to get inside, probably 45 minutes, but once we did, what a scene!
It was unbelievable, so many people, so many buffets and bars. There were photo booths where you could pretend to be Trump at a Mcdonald’s drive thru, or taking his mug shot. They also had a whole area with huge tvs and couches for watching the Notre Dame game. Brian spent most of his time there, while the girls and I wandered around checking out the scene, listening to the performers, and waiting for Trump and Melania to show up. It seemed to take forever, but finally they arrived and we got to see them dance. It was so worth the wait, just magical to see them and the Vances dancing, along with their family members. Cheers to the next four years!
