Rouses attend presidential inauguration

Corning resident Charles Rouse, who ran for the 3rd Assembly district, and his wife, Angelica, attended the presidential inauguration in January.

The couple spent two weeks in Washington DC., attending the California Ball, given by the California Democratic Party, and then the inauguration.

Rouse said the experience was definitely a moment of history and the feeling was very tangible.

"It was cold, but by the time the inauguration ceremony started, I didn't notice the cold," Rouse said. "It was all dramatic and interesting: the speech, the choir, the invocation and the reading of the poem."

He said the crowds of people stretched two miles to the Washington Monument.

"The crowd was probably about a million people," Rouse said. "That was more people than I've ever seen before."

Rouse and his wife attended services at the National Cathedral. He said he thinks of the cathedral as "my" church because he is Episcopalian.

The couple enjoyed a tour of the Capitol, the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress.

"We did some of the touristy things, but the last three days were cold with temperatures in the 20s during the day. That put a crimp on sightseeing," Rouse said.

This was the first inauguration the Rouses have attended.

"I'm very glad we went," Rouse said.

They hope to make another trip to the Capitol to see the things they missed, but "when it's not quite so cold."