Amber and I spent the weekend down in Williamsburg, enjoying the inauguration. We kicked things off by watching the swearing in at the Democratic Party of Virginia‘s Inaugural Brunch, which the DPVA was sweet to let us attend, given that I totally failed to RSVP properly. Rather than brave the cold and the rain, we enjoyed a hearty meal a mile away at the Hospitality House and watched it all on a big-screen TV. That was followed by the Sorensen Institute’s wildly successful reception, at which we were given a pair of tickets to the Sunday morning First Lady’s Brunch (thanks, Sean) and a pair of tickets to that evening’s ball in Williamsburg (thanks, L.F.) We hadn’t come prepared to attend either but, luckily, friends loaned us the duds.
The ball was nice. Tim Kaine showed that he can sing — not particularly well, but not badly, either — and the entertainment was pretty decent. (The Kings of Swing didn’t play much swing at all, disappointingly, but but the unfortunately-titled Party on the Moon were fun.) The food was great, the decor excellent for a basketball arena, and everybody clearly had a good time.
This morning we headed west to Richmond, where we joined a few hundred other people for The First Lady’s Brunch. Sheila Johnson made a few remarks, followed by Mrs. Holton (who was funny, though I don’t know that she meant to be), and then First Lady Anne Holton. I’d never heard her speak before, and I have to admit that I had low expectations, though I’m not sure why. But she was comfortable, engaging, and sweet. The portions were rather small, so I ate two, to Amber’s horror.
All in all, it was a classy affair and a great deal of fun. I’ve never been to an inauguration before, whether Virginia gubernatorial or otherwise. We set out intending only to attend the DPVA brunch and the Sorensen event, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a pair of official inaugural events. (Not that we were ever asked to display our tickets for admission to either event. But that’s neither here nor there.)
I have a handful of photos of the weekend available as a Flickr set, some of which are rather, nice, I don’t mind saying.
Wait, there was food? I think I must have missed it, between standing in line for tiny cups of Sprite and celeb watching (OMG, it’s Brian Moran! OMG, it’s Chuck and Lynda Robb!).
It was nice to see you and Amber. I’m glad the Cville Young Liberals made it down too, because they worked pretty hard for the campaign.
It seems a good time was had by all.
Lordy, Waldo, I don’t know why you had low expectations for Anne Holton. Many in the Richmond legal community LOVED her. (I write past tense, but I’m not sure they are all alive anymore. These are folks who knew Anne when she was a young lawyer. She worked for years at a legal aid outfit.) She is smart and kind, with a passion for the poor. I am so proud a woman like her came out of Virginia!!!
This is not to accuse you of anything … but if Anne were a perky size 6 blonde with the same legal creditials, do you suppose expectations would have been higher?
Do you know Anne’s brothers, Woody and Dwight? Good guys, they. Are they involved in the administration at all?
Amovar wrote:
*Laugh* Yes, lots of food. :) On the right side of the room, as you’re facing the stage, oodles of food. It was pretty tasty, too.
It was good to see y’all for all of five seconds. :) Sorry for the greet-and-run!
“saywhat??” wrote:
Me neither — that’s why I wrote that I didn’t know why. :) But I never knew her legal credentials or, in fact, anything about her, other than that she’s the daughter of Gov. Holton, that she’s married to Tim Kaine, and that she is — or, rather, was — a judge. None of that necessitates that she be a good speaker, of course, but neither does it prevent her from being one.
Actually, I know my biases — I would have had lower expectations under those circumstances.
I don’t know them at all — I know nobody from the Holton family and, clearly, nothing about them. :)
Documenting Democracy (http://www.documenting-democracy.org/) has a good set of pics from the whole Inaugural event (pre-inauguration through the ball).