My experiences from Washington DC, January 6, 2021

Another member expressed interest in my posting my experiences from the trip I took to Washington DC on that fateful day so here goes.
I will tell my tale as truthfully and as accurately as I can and if a question is asked for which I have no truthful reply, I will tell you so. I will not enter into debate with any member of ATS here. What I will tell is truth only, as seen by my own eyes.

I left my home state around 1PM driving my little standard shift 2007 Pontiac Vibe loaded with enough luggage to last 4 days. Along with me was my sister's husband and his gear. Because of various reasons, it was agreed that he drive as much as he can during the daylight hours and I drive the late night hours and into the morning.
17 hours later, we arrived at our hotel destination In Arlington Virginia around 7AM when our check-in time was 3PM so I decided to drive into the district just to see what was happening. Venders setting up, barricades being set up, porta-potties by the dozens, that were not enough of and other preparations galore everywhere.

After making 1 pass down Madison Drive My brother-in-law suggested we go to the Marine Corp Memorial. My father was one of those Marines on Iwo Jima.

From there we toured Arlington National Cemetery. A solemn place.

We arose around 6:30 that next morning and started getting ready for the trip into the rally. The hotel shuttle took us to the DC rail system where we caught the blue line into the complex. Around a 2 or so block walk from the rail station, we arrived at the rally point that was already packed with people like cattle in a cattle car. We finally backed out of the area and worked our way around and around 200 feet in front of the 2nd giant screen monitor.

Often standing on the tips of my toes to see if I could see any flags from my state, of which I didn't, I did see flags that , after research, found that there were flags there from England, Japan, many from South Vietnam and I am sure there were other nations represented there.

I'm going to stop this here for now and start again after I smoke a little nicotine.

A smoke break!?

Halfway through an OP, OP steps out for a smoke break.

Take my star and flag. LMAO.

Also, looking forward to reading the rest.

a reply to: WakeUpBeer

I am in no rush to get this out to the good people here. It might get finished up some time tomorrow.

a reply to: CharlesT

Take your time friend. In the meantime, I'm gonna go have a smoke.

a reply to: CharlesT

Sounds like more than just a nicotine break, eh?

Get you a vape so you can keep posting man!!!

S&F just for sharing!

a reply to: CharlesT
Thank you!

Where was I?

After we had finally gotten out of the mob close in, we were far off angle to hear the loud speakers positioned under the 2nd giant monitor. While at this position for around 20 minutes, there was a tall slender man standing directly in front and slightly to the right that turned in our direction and said aloud, "if anyone has a joint I will smoke it with you". He didn't get a reply from anyone in the crowd. A finer cross section of the moral right of this nation I have never been more proud to have been a part of.

I have pictures of the event but I can't get them uploaded. One picture is of a fairly young couple with 3 children. One in Daddy's arms and 2 beautiful twin girls sitting in their little lounge chairs smiling, wearing Trump red, and waving the American Flag.

Trump told the crowd to come with him down to the capitol and carry on the peaceful protest there. He did not sanction riot or enflame the crowd to riot. Shortly after he left the stage I turned to the south west where I heard a loud, I have to say noise from that direction because I do not remember if it was an explosion or not. Within seconds, I heard sirens running south in that direction. I have to believe it was a diversionary tactic to draw capitol police away from the capitol building on the opposite side of the crowd.

Being an old man both of us, we decided to hold back from the crowd leaving the plaza so we sat down on the sidewalk leading from the W. Monument and partook of a little sustenance while the crowd continued to thin out. There were good ladies going around with trash bags picking up pieces of trash that had been negligently discarded there. After around 20 minutes on the ground we started the long trek down to the capitol. At one point the avenue was blocked by pre positioned radicals that prevented the police from reaching the capitol building from that direction.

originally posted by: WakeUpBeer
a reply to: CharlesT

Take your time friend. In the meantime, I'm gonna go have a smoke.

I'm ready for another myself.

a reply to: Sookiechacha

Nope! That was all.

Hmm missing my smokes now thanks lol. I traded em in for a vape 10 years ago when my wife taught the boy to tell me I stank every time I smoked. While I did not attend a rally last year my wife attended several and exclaimed that the whole raid the capitol wasn't the trump supporters she knew. She is an immigrant foreigner btw. Extremism originates from the demoralized left in my opinion, but I presume until our panty-waisted representatives in Washington grow a backbone we will fall victim to whatever narrative the left wants to sling.

originally posted by: CharlesT
a reply to: Sookiechacha

Nope! That was all.

Oh man....you should've not sais any of this dude.
Just sayin man.
But ya post those pica bro!
I would love to see them man!

I forgot this. While waiting in line to take my turn in a porta-pottie, A gentleman from Taiwan approached me for an interview. He was with a group of Taiwanese circulating a petition to present to the worthless United Nations demanding that body outlaw the Chinese Communist Party. I didn't know this at first and when one young man approached me with the petition I didn't give him a chance to explain himself and I immediately said NO just because it involved the CCP. While walking further I told myself I should have given the young man the courtesy to at least read the petition before rejecting it outright so the next person I saw circulating this same petition further down the street, I asked him to see the petition which I ended up signing.

Far from the capitol building, I saw a puff of smoke rising from the building steps. By this time the outer barricades had been breached and I saw a flood of people from bottom to top of the capitol steps all the way up and around the entire house wing of the building.
As we had walked around half way down the street there were people already flooding back in the opposite direction. I spoke to one gentleman headed out of the area and he said he could not stand for violence and he was out of there. He wasn't alone by any means.

1776

The closest my partner and I got was to the near end of the reflecting pool and the Greek statue. There we stayed for the next hour or so.

While there, I turned to look back up the street to see a group of people dressed in black wearing all sorts of para- conflict protective gear and hard helmets with the leader of around 6 cursing into a loud speaker doing his best to stir up the crowd. He and his five buddies clum, climbed, scaled, the Greek statue and continued on to try to stir the crowd. They finally gave up and just sat there on that statue until we finally left. ANTIFA sabotaged that rally with military precision.

So there you go. The trip back to the hotel and home are irrelevant at this point.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe
I think I will. Other than answering questions I guess my tail is complete.


1776

One more thought here. Can you imagine two old retired farts, one 65 years old weighing 300+ with diabetes and bad knees and the other, me, half deaf, half blind, 70 years old and wearing 13 year old glasses driving straight through 1100 miles one way, in a little Pontiac Vibe? I thought we would both be killed in a wreck at any time.

We stopped at Joes Crab Shack in downtown Nashville.

a reply to: Allaroundyou
I have tried a dozen times to upload the picture of the twin girls but it doesn't show up in uploaded pics.
Can't figure out the problem. The were taken with a Samsung phone.

I don't have a problem telling truth.

a reply to: CharlesT

You sure came back all grumpy!

a reply to: CharlesT

Thank You for CharlesT for sharing.
Cheers to you and your partner for
having the gumption to be there.

God Bless!
S&F

a reply to: CharlesT

Thank you! I have heard and read similar stories. The people that took the time, energy, and money to be there participated in an historical moment!

So many wanted to go, but weren't able. Your two drops helped make up that entire ocean of American patriots that were there to stand in solidarity and to participate in their First Amendment right to air their grievances in peaceful protest. I think you all deserve an extra measure of respect and appreciation.

Those troublemakers that breached the wall and incited violence are not representative of the rest, although I think some that went in and were just milling about weren't the violent type.