PONTOTOC, Miss. (WTVA) -- An organized group met in Pontotoc at the library Saturday evening, and over the course of the next hour showed there's more to seeing the President than just taking a bus ride.
"If you are a diabetic, you can bring food," tour organizer Gloria Fitzpatrick told the crowd."But you have to let them know at the checkpoint."
Fitzpatrick said she's quite familiar with attending the Presidential Inauguration.
You see, she was there four years ago when President Obama was sworn in.
Fitzpatrick helped put together Saturday night's briefing to spell out what to expect when these visitors touch the grounds of the nation's capital.
"Everybody is welcomed to go but some of us will have tickets. And if you have tickets, they are color-coded for whatever area. For instance some of them could be purple, orange or whatever," said Fitzpatrick. "You will find that area and that's where you will go and watch the inauguration because you will be a little bit closer."
The trip is costing a little more than $300 round trip, including the cost of a hotel.
Not bad for a round-trip, Fitzpatrick said, but she hopes events are a little better organized in D.C. this time.
"I hope its a lot more coordinated than it was last time, because everybody that they had there, nobody was from D.C. and nobody could tell you anything," Fitzpatrick said.
Alex Armstrong of Calhoun City and Miss Teen Tupelo Olivia Roberts were on the trip four years ago as well.
They both shared their experiences.
"It was something unbelievable," said Roberts. "It's something undescribable how many people were there. We kind of got lost in the streets of Washington because we didn't know where we were going, but I didn't get to go inside. I had a ticket but because there were so many people, they just opened the gates. But I heard [the President] speak and I heard Aretha Franklin sing."
"Yes, we'll be outside for quite some time." replied Armstrong. "The last time we went we were outside from like 5am until the inauguration started which was about 10:30 a.m.," he said.
Organizers of this inauguration briefing said there are a large list of items not allowed on the grounds, including items like lawn chairs, strollers, umbrellas, coolers and Thermoses.
The group will take two busloads to spend the night in a hotel some sixty miles from the capital in Virginia.
They will spend three days touring parts of the Capitol and attending the Presidential Inauguration.
