Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Twins Travel from San Jose to See Obama


           

 The minute Obama was elected and these 32 year-old identical twins saw people going crazy in Chicago, they had to come to Washington to see Obama inaugurated. 

            “Seeing all the people in the Chicago park, seeing all the people in Kenya, Japan, and Israel rejoicing… for the first time in a long time you were proud to be an American… it felt like we finally did something right,” said Aimee. 

            Sarah and Aimee Wright, sporting home made hooded sweatshirts with ironed on “Carrot Tops for Obama” made the long trip from San Jose, Calif. in order to be a part of the craziness that they saw on television when Obama was elected. 

            The twins started booking their flights and contacting people they knew in Washington for inauguration weekend the week after the election.  They came a week before the inauguration with plans to go to the concert on the mall and stay on the east coast to do some sight seeing afterwards. 

            A class blog set up by the twins started as a way to record their trip and show Sarah’s third grade students back at home all the action in DC.  The twins shared the blog with their friends and family and it spread from there.

            Once here, the girls rented bikes from their uncle’s shop, Revolution Cycles in Clarendon and stayed with a close family friend from California who is a student at American University. 

            They woke before five a.m. to ride their bikes down Massachusetts Avenue, continued on the Capital Crescent Trail to K Street and then to 16th Street all the way to the WABA bike valets at the National Mall.

            The Wright’s friend delivered them seated tickets to the swearing in at midnight of the 20th.  Sarah said, “It felt like the night before Christmas when you’re a kid, you know something big is going to happen the next day and you can’t sleep.” 

            When asked to sum up the day in a phrase, Sarah said, “a hodgepodge of emotions… running on adrenaline rush to get there, engulfed in mob world, stressed, relaxed when you finally find your seat, go to the bathroom, mob again, I even almost cried.” 

            Aimee found the day to be sort of surreal.  She said, “America is the greatest place on earth yet we are still delayed.  Other countries have women presidents and minority presidents.  On one hand, we are the greatest country.  On the other hand, we are so far behind.”

 

Sarah and Aimee Wright, Age: 32

Hometown: San Jose, CA

Blog Address: marshalllaneroom8.blogspot.com

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