The President Comes to T-Town!

So the President came to town today. Expectations were high - for record crowds, protests, and possible mischief. On top of that, we're in the middle of a pandemic which may or may not be mitigated by a mask that you should or should not wear.

Being that I don't like heat or crowds, I decided not to go to his rally. However, it's been a while since I did a Saturday morning photo shoot. This seemed like a good excuse to get back in the game. So on the spur of the moment, sans any makeup, I grabbed the Canon and long lens and headed downtown.

I circled the city first, to get the lay of the land. Things were much quieter than I expected, but it was early in the day. It was strange to see National Guard on our streets.

Lots of vendors were set up. Parking lots were charging anywhere from $20 to $40 with the promise of "SECURE PARKING!" However, I found a free spot on the street just across from one of the lines waiting for the venue to open. This was just one of the line locations and it stretched at least 6 blocks, maybe 8.

The atmosphere was peaceful. People were friendly, just relaxing and talking with each other. There was kind of a festival vibe.

 I saw some Q people!

As these troops walked by the line, the crowd clapped and cheered them. It went on for at least 2 blocks.

This lady was met with cheers too. I assumed this message was the same on both sides.  Then she turned it over and I saw the other side. Wasn't expecting that!

(In case you can't read it, the sign says: "I might be gay but I'm not stupid.")

This is one of the entrances to the venue where the President was scheduled to speak. The fence and digital sign displaying the rules for entrance reminded me of something I'd seen in a foreign country. It felt a little uncomfortable.

I barely caught this shot in time. Here's something CNN doesn't want you to see. I overheard some of their conversation. They were total strangers.

 I also took a short drive to another part of the city.  This was a historic theater. It was recently renamed because the original name was for a man who had a racist history.

Not sure what the building below is.

This was painted on the side of an art gallery. One of the streets in this neighborhood was painted with the same message. It looks pretty cool.

Some businesses boarded up ahead of time, concerned there might be riots and looting. Someone offered local artists $200 to purchase paint supplies and turn the bland boards into art.

All in all, it was a fun day and turned out fairly peaceful. Aaaaand.... it ended with a 4.2 earthquake! We haven't had one of those in a long time! Had to be Trump's fault. :)