WASHINGTON - Trains, sidewalks and roads flooded with people, vendors selling presidential wares, confusion and a sense of patriotism and togetherness were the scene Monday at the nation's Capitol during the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.
A group of about 48 Penn State Schuylkill students and faculty took a bus trip Monday to be part of the historical event, leaving the campus at 6 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. ceremony.
When the bus arrived in Rockville, Md., about 9 a.m., students were dropped off, given a Metro pass and told to be back at the bus by 6 p.m. to return to Schuylkill County.
While the event required tickets to be able to see the ceremony in person, anyone could watch on a "jumbotron" from the National Mall next to the Washington Monument, if they could make it through the crowd of thousands of people.
Three sophomores from Penn State Schuylkill - Jillian Hyman, Brooklyn, and Vanessa Allen and Montez Roberson, both of Philadelphia - set out to the ceremony, although they were confused about where to go.
They all said that they weren't given much direction but the group made it to the National Mall eventually, although Roberson got separated from the group and didn't see any of the ceremony.
"I didn't see a thing," Roberson said. "I didn't hear a thing."
Hyman said that when she arrived at the mall, many people were leaving the area since the speakers weren't working correctly.
"I was like, I'd rather go and see something than see nothing," she said. "It was so crowded there. We tried to squeeze in to the front view but it was packed."
Although they didn't get to see or hear the entire ceremony, the group did enjoy themselves.
"I mean, how many times can somebody say that they went to an inauguration?" Hyman said. "It was history and it was a free trip."
"It was definitely different," Allen said. "It wasn't what I was expecting at all."
Other students also struggled to find where to go but said they were glad to have been a part of it.
"I got to see the White House and we got really close to the Washington Monument when we were watching the jumbotron," said Lauryn Gullberg, a freshman from Souderton. "It (the monument) was huge. It was really cool."
Gullberg also said that the signal coming to the mall wasn't working correctly but they were still able to make out what was being said in the speeches.
"All the chaos was crazy but once you took everything in, it was a great experience," she said.
While the bus trip was mostly made up of students, Valerie Clay, assistant director of student affairs at the campus and the trip's organizer, also went along.
"I was so glad to have been able to bring students and to have been able to see it for myself," she said. "I didn't get to come four years ago. Living this close now, I didn't want to miss it."
Clay said that the walk to the mall was long and it was difficult to get around because many of the streets were blocked off and people were being directed to walk all around the Capitol building for the non-ticketed area.
"That was the one thing I didn't like but it was worth it," Clay said. "I got my exercise in today."