Jones, a network engineer, caught a bus with his family at 3:30 a.m., got on the Metro at West Falls Church at 4:02 a.m. and were stationed on the Mall near 14th street by 8:45 a.m. -- a simple five-hour commute.

Emotionally, though, it was much more of a trip.

"I made this trip, of course, for my parents. The march on Washington, with Dr. King, I always felt I wanted to be here. I had to be here, come hell or high water."

Jones' mother died in August 2007, his father 15 years ago. Even at the end, Jones says nothing would have kept his mother from attending the inauguration.

-- Alex Wayne

The San Franciso political consultant had previously worked on the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry.

And after his preferred 2008 candidate, John Edwards, dropped out after trailing Barack Obama in the Iowa caucuses, Kneisley said he decided Obama's campaign was the right one for him.

Standing inside the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum Tuesday, the Democrat said today's mass attendance for the inauguration shows that Obama's message was stronger than those that were dished out by the Democratic nominees who lost to President Bush.

"In my mind, I worked on the last two elections to stop the bleeding," Kneisley said. "In 2004 it was about trying to restore reputation. But now we have moved past; it is what can we do next? Before it was never about Gore or Kerry; it was about defeating Bush."

--Marc Rehmann

Johnson, a 58-year-old bus driver for Sarpy Transportation, says he couldn't imagine a more historic time to leave his Montana home and travel to the nation's capital for the first time.

He was part of a contingent who drove 24 members of the Crow Nation, who are riding horses in today's parade.

"I guess we're brothers," Johnson says as he sits inside a home-modeled trailer with a fireplace and 40-inch flat-screen television.

Johnson wasn't always completely behind his "brother." Almost regretting his previous decision, he says he supported Republican John McCain in last November's presidential election.

"I think I made a mistake," he said. "Now, I am 100 percent behind" Obama. "I really think he is a top-notch guy and we have a great country."

--Marc Rehmann

Jeremy Wertheim from Jersey City, N.J. (Josh Rogin/CQ)

Traveling to Washington, D.C., to take advantage of a last-minute ticket, Wertheim only planned to take a story and some great photos back to his classroom. But in the crowds, he had an experience that showed him the day's political significance was not only found on the Capitol steps.

"I think it's ludicrous that this many people, who live in this place that's so integral to government, have virtually no say," said Wertheim.

Although previously unaware that non-D.C. residents could work on behalf of D.C. Statehood, he now plans to take the postcards, and the call to action, to New Jersey.

"If people from other states can tell the federal government we are willing to give up a percentage of our representation so that the half million people in Washington can be represented, I'm all for it," he added.

Wertheim saw the inauguration as an opportunity for other groups to get their message out and engage a wider audience to advance their ideas.

"This was part of the way that the political process works, which is awesome," he said.

-- Josh Rogin

"I didn't really pay attention too much," Bender said of Obama's speech. His parents, he said, had supported Republican presidential nominee John McCain, leading him to lean towards the Republican, as well.

Bender still thought it would be fun to come with the rest of his high school civics class to Washington for the inaugural festivities. To pay for their trip, the students held car washes and bake sales and operated a dunk tank at their school's fall festival. They also were hosts for a local candidates forum before the election, asking attendees to donate money for their trip.

Bender said the thing that has most stood out to him about the inaugural experience was just being a part of the vast crowd. "There's a lot of people. It's pretty cool," he said. "You don't get to see that every day."

-- Emily Cadei

Although Prince got only fours of sleep during the bus ride and was planning to get back on a bus tonight for another all-nighter back to Chicago, he said the trip was worth it.

"I feel like I am part of history," said Prince. an analyst for an internet company.

Prince's mother. Virginia Prince, 66, made a last-minute decision to accompany her son on the bus trip organized by the Chicago Nurses Association. The two walked from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. "I think I've lost 30 pounds," she joked.

Omari Prince said overall he enjoyed Obama's speech. "I hope he practices what he preaches," he said.

--Bennett Roth

Tah Tange came to Washington for Tuesday's inauguration directly from Philadelphia. Before that he traveled much farther than most attendees. Born in Cameroon, on the west African coast, he moved to the United States with his family when he was 16. "I'm an immigrant," he says. "We were coming to pursue the American dream."

Now 28, Tange is a graduate student at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he studies politics. "I think I'm a fan of the U.S. Constitution, and I believe in the doctrine of progress. I felt like I had to be here," he said of Obama's swearing-in.

For Pasipanodya, it also was a serious moment, especially because she came to the United States in 2003 from Zimbabwe for her studies. "It's a huge event" for her, she said, "given Zimbabwe and its non-democratic system of government." President Robert Mugabe was re-elected last year among widespread accusations of election fraud.

But more mundane issues presented themselves Tuesday as well. Pasipanodya was suffering from the cold so Tange knelt down with her as she took off her boots, then grabbed her feet and hid them under his shirt to help warm her toes. Shivering, the two laughed. Soon, some strangers saw their predicament and offered chemical foot warmers for her socks, and Tange helped her put them on. "It's cold, but it's a warming event," he said. "We're all in a warming spirit."

-- By Drew Armstrong

"We went through all the civil rights struggles of the '50s and '60s," said Woods, a grandmother from Columbia, Md., who is a retired Social Security employee. "I went to all the marches, the march on Washington. Still, I couldn't believe I would see a black president in my lifetime."

"Early on, I was concerned and upset that he was putting himself out there," Woods said. "I didn't believe it could happen. The chances were getting better and better, but still I didn't believe."

Now that history has been made, Reynolds, a retired educator who now lives in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said there was no way she would miss the moment.

"I didn't know how big the march on Washington would be," she said. "We protested all the time - who knew it would be so historic? But I knew this would be historic."

But both women said the theme of Obama's inaugural speech that spoke most to them was his call to the people, asking for help.

"We're expecting change, but it can't come from just him," Reynolds said. "It's got to come from all of us."

Woods said Obama's inauguration is just the first chapter in writing his place in history as the first black U.S. president.

"It's an achievement, but it's not over yet," she said. "There's still a ways to go. Still work for us to do."

Tonight, the college friends will celebrate: Woods is hosting a party for the Howard University class of 1959, whose members have come from far and wide for a truly sweet 50th reunion.

- Coral Davenport

Solomon, 34, is principal of the school, where the student body is largely African-American and largely economically disadvantaged. She says the staff of Southeast Elementary has been struggling to improve school facilities and raise the students' test scores.

In fact, owing to the campaign's theme, the school changed its motto to "Yes We Can ... Dreams Do Come True."

And Solomon said part of the reason she decided to travel to the inauguration was that she felt "my coming here would charge and encourage my students."

"The entire weekend that I've been here I've really been thinking of all of them," Solomon said. "And I can't wait to get back to them, because I'm quite sure they'll tell me they think they saw me in all of this."

-- Emily Cadei

Wadinski's flight from Korea touched down at Dulles International Airport at 9:30 a.m. He jumped on a shuttle and then the Metro to head downtown. By 2:30 p.m., Wadinski was back on the Metro toting three large suitcases and hoping to make it back to Dulles for his 4:20 p.m. connection to Minneapolis.

Wadinski may have been closer in proximity to Obama than most inaugural visitors during the swearing in - except he was stuck underground. He didn't get to hear a word.

"I've heard it was really good," he said of Obama's speech. "I'm a little sad that I spent my day running around rather than seeing it."

--Colby Itkowitz

Ryan Peterson of Laguna Beach, Calif. (Drew Armstrong/CQ)

Shivering, wearing one of the few pairs of winter gloves he could find to buy in California, Peterson looked over the crowds gathering on Tuesday morning.

"I came to my first inauguration when I was 12 years old. My daughter is 12 years old, and I wanted to give her the same experience," Peterson said.

He wanted his daughter to see what Washington meant to him -- "the pure, spectacular D.C., the monuments, the energy, the power," as he describes it. And like so many others, he wanted his daughter to have a part of history. "This, I think, will be a turning point for this country," he said.

In the meantime, though, his daughter was stuck in line for the bathroom with her mother, and a lack of cellphone service was temporarily keeping them from rejoining each other.

-- Drew Armstrong

Julius Freeman of Long Island, N.Y. (Catharine Richert/CQ)

Yet Freeman, who hails from Long Island, N.Y., didn't come to Washington for Barack Obama's inaugration to revel with the stars. He is notable in his own right as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the country's first African-American military airmen who enlisted to fight in World War II. And he's the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. Along with a group of his fellow airmen, Freeman traveled on a chartered bus from New York to Washington to witness an event he thought he would not see in his lifetime.

"We started desegregation in 1948 when Harry Truman signed the order to eliminate racial segregation in the military," he said. "But I never thought I'd see the day that we'd have a man of color in the White House. I'm very glad for it."

Freeman, who has seen the United States through decades of cultural transformation, has this succinct piece of advice for the new president: "Keep on keepin' on," he said.

Freeman was not the only Tuskegee alumnus at the event. Wilbur Mason, 84, of Atlanta, initially was not going to come to the event but then President Obama invited the airmen and he then changed his mind.

"Afro-Americans have had a long hard struggle," he said. "I am just very happy to be here."

-- Catharine Richert

"I was just exhausted by the politics," she said. "The Bush/Gore election really put a bad taste in my mouth."

Wiggins entered graduate school at the University of Chicago's School of Public Policy. And the program's welcoming address was delivered by none other than an Illinois state senator named Barack Obama.

When Obama decided to run for president, Wiggins volunteered for his campaign. "I've never been interested in the campaign side before," she said.

And so, years after she moved away from Washington, Wiggins, 32, traveled to President Obama's inauguration from Chicago, where she now works at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, an affordable housing nonprofit.

"This is the first time I was enthused to come out [for an inauguration]," said Wiggins, who as a volunteer for the Obama campaign received a ticket to the inauguration.

Wiggins has no plans to return permanently to Washington, but she said now would be an interesting time to be back in the capital.

"It would be exciting to be in politics," Wiggins said with a smile.

-- Lydia Gensheimer

Howard, a 23-year-old who works with autistic children and is studying education at Montgomery College in Rockville, had hoped to snare two tickets from a friend who works at the Capitol. But when only one ticket could be had, she figured that joining the crowd would be more fun than going solo.

"I just want to chill with my friends," she said. "It's just as good - and I'll save the ticket as a keepsake."

To attend the inauguration, Berger, a Bethesda, Md., native and graduate of Colorado College, delayed a two-month trip to British Columbia, where he hopes to ski and find a job in a café. During a visit to Africa last year, he said, he was amazed at how closely people in Zambia and Tanzania followed Obama's campaign.

"During the primary, people were ecstatic that there was the potential that Obama could be president," Berger said.

At about 9:30 a.m., fellow spectators began admiring Howard and Berger's vantage point and proceeded to scale a brown utility building a few feet away. About two dozen people, including children hoisted by adults, made it aloft before police officers arrived on the scene.

"It's going to be a disaster lifting people off that thing," Berger said.

With stern warnings and watchful eyes, police officers stood by as those on the rooftop eased their way back to earth. No one was injured or arrested, and Howard and Berger stayed in their tree for the ceremony.

-- Greg Vadala

Samara Dickerson was on her way by Metro Tuesday afternoon to catch a glimpse of the parade, but she wasn't all that interested in Barack Obama.

Clutching a doll in her arms, 5-year-old Samara wants to know about Obama's two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

If she could meet Obama, who she said she has seen on the news, she would have but one request of the leader of the free world.

"I would like to meet his children," she said.

If Samara did get to meet the first daughters, she'd ask them to play duck, duck, goose.

--Colby Itkowitz