Reporter's Notebook: What It's Like In Washington For The Inauguration

WASHINGTON (CBS) -  Just about everything surprised me on Thursday. There wasn't any traffic between my house and Logan. Once at the airport, I experienced the shortest security lines I can remember. Our flight to Washington, DC arrived early. Smooth sailing.

That good fortune continued as we drove into Washington. It was clear that most people who work in the city heeded the advice to work from home. Traffic was light and getting around was easy - until we hit the roadblock.

Once you get within three or four blocks of the National Mall, there is no car traffic. Police cars block the streets and the enormous police presence becomes more visible. There are between 28,000-31,000 police and security personnel in Washington right now. We didn't see any protesters. But they are expected to be out in force Friday.

Our first stop was a shop called the Washington Welcome Center. It is an "everything" store for political souvenirs. Trump. Obama. Washington, DC. You want something with which to remember your experience? They've got it. Store manager Dexter Morse says the top-selling item is the Trump hat. He expects the store will sell 300 of them (in various styles) Thursday alone.

We also met 18-year-old Adrian Hood at the store. Adrian was a Trump delegate. He is excited about what, he believes, will be a new era of job creation in the United States. His mom, Lori bought souvenirs for Adrian's siblings and posed with a life-sized cutout of Donald Trump.

But not everyone shared their enthusiasm. A woman whose daughter attends Boston University sought us out to explain that she was buying an Obama t-shirt because she says Obama, not Trump, reflects her values. She will march in the Women's March on Washington on Saturday.

We met with Bill and Debbie McCarthy. They were Trump delegates. They live in Worcester and are attending the Texas Ball, the swearing in and the Inaugural Ball. They say, as Republicans in Massachusetts, they have backed a number of candidates who didn't win, which makes Trump's victory even sweeter. They brought their 23 year-old daughter to the inauguration which Lauren McCarthy describes as a "dream come true."

Our work space is near the Capitol. CBS affiliates from all over the country are working out of the same room and doing live shots on the roof of the building. I lived in Washington, DC and worked for CBS Newspath before I worked at WBZ-TV. One of the best parts of being here is seeing people I used to work with.

David Wade and I anchored the early shows with the Capitol dome and a beautiful sunset in the background. If only it could be like this for the inaugural events. Sadly, every meteorologist agrees, Friday we will get rain.