WASHINGTON -- While the swearing-in ceremony might have been the main draw for many on Inauguration Day, plenty of people turned out early along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route between the Capitol and the White House.
As Willie Geist of NBC News reported on Monday morning, some of the most sought-after spots were near the Navy Memorial at 7th Street NW, opposite the National Archives. It was around that location where President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama got out of their limousine and started walking along the processional route four years ago during the president's first Inauguration.
And sure enough, for their second Inauguration, the president and first lady left their limousine around 9th Street NW and walked for approximately three blocks before getting back in their motorcade. They arrived in the vicinity of the White House around 4:10 p.m. where they later gathered to watch the remainder of the Inauguration parade from the official review stand opposite Lafayette Park.
The parade took a momentary pause as the first family, Vice President Biden and his family and their guests made their way into the review stand just before 4:45 p.m.
The parade was originally scheduled to start around 2:30 p.m. but was delayed by the Inauguration luncheon in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, which was also behind schedule.
The procession, which included 59 groups and 8,800 people, started to leave Capitol Hill around 3:15 p.m., went west along Constitution Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue and ended at 17th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House.
Among the groups featured in the parade were the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Boy Scout Troop 358 from Philadelphia, the Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps, the Georgia State University Marching Band, the Lesbian and Gay Band Association of St. Louis, Military Spouses of Michigan, the Navajo Nation Band of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the University of Maryland Mighty Sound Marching Band, the Virginia Military Institute Marching Unit and the Palmview High School Mariachi and Folkloric Group of La Joya, Texas, among many more.
Some of the most recognized landmarks in the nation's capital sit along the processional route.
The president passed the U.S. Department of Labor, the Canadian Embassy, the Newseum, the National Gallery of Art, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Archives, the Navy Memorial, the FBI headquarters, the Justice Department, the Old Post Office Pavilion, Freedom Plaza, the John A. Wilson Building and the Treasury Department, among other buildings, memorials and statues.
There were some protesters along the route, including members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who received a permit to demonstrate at John Marshall Park near 4th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue.
At the John A. Wilson Building, the seat of the District of Columbia government, local officials had a protest banner on full display decrying the lack of full and equal congressional representation for residents of the nation's capital.
Four years later, at the Obamas' second and final inauguration, Michelle stunned in a long high-neck red Jason Wu gown with velvet details and an armful of sparkly bangles. She wore Jimmy Choo shoes, and a ring by Kimberly McDonald.
Click here to read more and see a photo of FLOTUS's gown.
From a WH official: After today's swearing in ceremony at the Capitol this afternoon, at the request of the King family, the President and Chief Justice Roberts inscribed the traveling King family Bible.
Guests at Monday night's main inaugural ball for President Obama will be well served to eat a hearty dinner beforehand, and bring plenty of cash.
The main ballroom floor of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center was festooned with disco balls and thumping Madonna's "Holiday" as the doors opened to guests at around 6:45 p.m., but the bars and food tables were far from lavish: A cash bar required that customers purchase drink tickets from a separate location, while the food laid out on tables consisted of peanuts and pretzels.
Inauguration officials said in December that this year's festivities would be scaled back -- Obama's first inauguration included 10 balls, a fireworks show and a Bruce Springsteen concert. This time around only two official balls were scheduled, the main ball and the Commander In Chief's Ball, for military personnel and VIPs.
The main ballroom space was the least exclusive of the various events taking place tonight in the convention center -- upper floors contained various receptions for donors, diplomats and administration officials. Still, tickets for the main ball initially sold for $1,000, a lot of money to pay for for pretzels and a cash bar.
The cost of tickets was cut to $500 in recent weeks, leading to speculation that inauguration fundraising was lagging behind expectations.
A .gif of Sasha Obama is becoming quite the viral smash, after the younger First Daughter was caught yawning during her father's inauguration speech.
According to the Atlantic Wire, 11-year-old Sasha's mighty yawn was captured on camera Monday while President Obama was speaking about education policy.
"No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people," the president had said, before pausing for applause.
DC's security and emergency mgt agency says turnout for #inaug2013 was 800,000 and maybe higher.
Most kids get squeamish at the sight of their parents canoodling, but Sasha and Malia Obama love them some good parental PDA.
While watching the Inauguration Day Parade on Monday, the First Daughters got President and Michelle Obama to pose for a quick kiss -- and captured it on their cell phones. First FLOTUS gave her best duck face, then she and POTUS locked lips ever so briefly... then Malia and Sasha examined the results on their small screens and tried out some duck faces of their own.
That's how it goes with kids. You hardly notice how fast they're growing up, then suddenly big sis is nearly as tall as Mom and the little one is a tween, gently sassing Dad.
On the inaugural platform again four years later, a more mature Malia Obama, 14, and Sasha, 11, smiled, sometimes giggled, and chatted with their cousin Avery Robinson as they awaited their father's arrival. Sasha bounced on her feet a bit as if chilly in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees, and later huddled in her seat. Malia, looking poised in calf-high black boots, rivaled her mother's 5 feet 11 inches. Like any girls their age, they whipped out their smartphones in the parade reviewing stand to take photos.