Atlantans eager for front seat at inauguration

Even before Democrats held their convention to officially nominate Barack Obama, B. Maynard Scarborough was making plans to see him sworn in as president.

“Sometimes you just have to step out on faith alone,” said Scarborough, whose plane and hotel reservations for Washington have long been booked for the week of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

The Atlanta resident is executive director of the Alliance for Digital Equality, which advocates for affordable broadband service in underserved communities.

Members of the nonpartisan organization attended both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. In Washington, the group’s agenda will include a mix of official and corporate events, Scarborough said.

“We scored early lodging at the St. Regis, just steps from 1600 Pennsylvania,” he said.

Scarborough is among a surge of metro Atlantans heading to the inauguration of our nation’s first African-American president. The prospect of a crowded flight, long drive or lack of hotel rooms isn’t deterring those who want to witness Obama place his hand on the Bible and take the oath of office.

When he is sworn in — the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated — a sizable Atlanta contingent will be there to cheer.

“I want my kids to be able to say that they were there when it happened,” said Greg Dotson of Loganville. “We are from Little Rock, Ark., and grew up in the same neighborhood as Daisy Bates, adviser to the Little Rock Nine during the crisis at Central High School in 1957.

“To understand the struggle that we went through as people growing up in the South and to be able to witness the selection of an African-American president is quite an amazing dream come true.”

Dotson, an operations engineer for CNN, and wife Chasity, a special-education teacher, will head north with their sons Justin, 5, and Jahi, 11. They haven’t been able to find hotel rooms, so they plan to stay with family members.

“This is a great opportunity to have a front-row seat as history unfolds,” he said.

Airline bookings appear to be strong, judging from some Web searches Thursday. The cheapest round-trip flight from the Saturday before the inauguration through the Wednesday after was a circuitous $300 AirTran flight into the Baltimore airport that connected in Rochester, N.Y., going up, and in Fort Myers, Fla., on the way back.

Melinda Ladd, operations manager for Daniel’s charter bus service, said the Atlanta company started getting calls about reserving buses for the trip “first thing Wednesday morning.” Diana Brown, office manager for His Majesty Coaches charter company in Kennesaw, is getting similar calls.

A search of travel Web sites Thursday found rooms available in the greater Washington area around the time of the inauguration, but the best or cheapest lodging has been snapped up.

The stately Fairmont has lodging available for $1,200 to $1,350 per night right before the inauguration (the day after, the price drops as low as $299). The elegant Hay-Adams, right across the street from the White House, is among the many downtown Washington hotels that are completely booked around the inauguration.

A relatively close and affordable pick, the Holiday Inn at Dulles International Airport, still had rooms available for $219 per night as of midday Thursday. (If by chance they’re still available as you’re reading this, they surely won’t last.)

Artist Brandon Crawford of East Atlanta has been to Washington for an inauguration before — to protest the start of President Bush’s second term. This time, she and boyfriend Luis Sandoval are going up to celebrate.

Sandoval turns 27 the day before Obama is sworn in and decided the inauguration would make for a memorable birthday trip. With gas back down around $2 per gallon, they’re going to drive. Where to stay is another matter.

“We’re like, who do we know who still lives there?” said Sandoval, a local concert promoter. “I’ve stayed at a youth hostel there before. That could be the place.”

Some folks, like consultant Louise Mulherin of Atlanta, have a pretty safe game plan. Her boyfriend Jeff Culley works for Delta, and his parents live in northern Virginia, so getting and staying there won’t be a problem. Rebekah Pak and a group of friends, on the other hand, plan to camp.

“After hearing Obama’s acceptance speech, I started crying,” said Pak, a training coordinator from Marietta. “Not just out of happiness because the candidate that I voted for won, but also out of shock, relief and amazement.”

Bobbie Darsey of Roswell, who owns a preschool, already has a place to stay. She and her daughters will bunk with friends who live in Alexandria, Va., just outside the District.

“I cast my first vote in Savannah, where I’m from, for John F. Kennedy,” Darsey said. “Since then, I have never seen the same passion in an election until this one.”

She usually watches election results at home, but this year wanted to be part of a larger group. She celebrated Obama’s win at the downtown Hyatt, the official Democratic Party headquarters, and looks forward to being part of the huge crowd in D.C. on Jan. 20.

“I have never wanted to attend an inauguration until now,” she said. “I’ll probably be 10 football fields away, but I will be there.”

Kristen Evans of Decatur isn’t too worried about the logistics.

“I am planning on driving up and sleeping in the car, or not sleeping at all,” said Evans, a housing processor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 program. “I want to be a part of history. I want to be able to tell my children that I was there.”