Start your campaign ASAP to be in D.C. for the inauguration
— -- Two months before Barack Obama's historic inauguration, Washington-area hotels are posting no-vacancy signs, airfares to the city are sky-high and would-be attendees are scrambling for tickets they probably won't get.
But that probably won't deter record crowds from descending on the National Mall on Tuesday, Jan. 20, when Obama is sworn in as the 44th president. Officials predict the event, which follows Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, will far exceed the largest previous gathering on the Mall: 1.2 million at Lyndon Johnson's inauguration in 1965.
Festivities include the Inauguration Day parade, swearing-in ceremony and various official and unofficial Inaugural Balls. All except the parade require tickets. The number of parade-route bleacher seats (which also require tickets) have been greatly reduced from the 2004 inauguration to allow more standing room for the ticketless masses. Additional standing room may be opened on the Mall east of the Washington Monument, with giant TV screens positioned along the parade route and Mall to give a better view of the action.
The situation could change — Obama's inaugural committee hasn't even been formed yet. But if you're hoping to witness history, make plans now. And don't forget your woolies: January is the city's coldest month, with an average high of 42 and low of 27. Some specifics:
Tickets
Members of Congress have 240,000 free tickets to dispense for the swearing-in ceremony, but most have been besieged by queries. Some offices have stopped taking requests; others are planning lotteries. Tickets won't be released until days before the event and must be picked up in person. Sites such as eBay and StubHub have agreed to ban ticket reselling, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein sponsored legislation to make such sales a federal crime. (Information: inaugural.senate.gov.)
Lodging
If you have $70,000 to burn for four nights in a swank hotel, you're in luck. The Park Hyatt Washington's "American Talents" package is still available. But its plain old $899-a-night rooms are sold out, as are many Washington-area lodgings.
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