Next week I’ll be blogging from Washington, D.C. during the inauguration festivities.  We’ll be taking lots of pictures and video, so be sure to check out our Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube channels if you want to check out all the craziness that finds us.  We’ll do the best we can to find some down time for uploading and such.

If you’re going to be in D.C., hit our Facebook page with stories and photos of your wild and crazy time.

In any case, in preparing for this trip I figured I’d make a list of the things one might need when traveling to a City of 600,000 that’s about to be filled by 4 million people.  Packing light and being scrappy are a must for this trip given the crowds, so I figured I’d make a list of things I can obtain at work or in transit to make life easier.

1) Obama t-shirts (+ beanie!)

Since my experience on the East Coats tells me that venues in wintertime tend to overheat their interiors to the point of sweltering, layering is going to be a must.  Of course, no self-respecting CafePress employee would leave for a societally significant event without a trusty t-shirt or two anyway.  I’ll be packing a few of the limited-edition Obama inauguration t-shirts (above), which is particularly appropriate given that we’ll be attending the Rock the Vote/Rolling Stone inauguration concert.  The free-with-purchase beanie will also be coming with me, which is good news for my ears but bad news for my hair.

Added bonus: packing extras means that we can trade them in the event of a true emergency.  Like needing the use of a bathroom.

2) Obama sweatshirts

It’s cold in D.C., with today’s “high” being a balmy 19 degrees.  It’s especially cold in D.C. for California people who generally see anything below 40 degress on a ski slope, which means that we’re usually draped in puffy jackets and high-performance pants in such conditions.

With that in mind, I realized that I’d better get some sweatshirts for layering purposes.  I really dug the design I found (at left) – it reminds me of a time when I wore Wonder Woman Underoos.

Speaking of which, given the weather I wouldn’t mind an adult pair of those.  Too bad they don’t make them; I’ll just have to settle for a boring old thermal and long johns.

3) Flip Mino HD

Taking video is a must during our time in D.C., but carrying around a bulky video camera isn’t practical given the crowds, the likelihood of walking everywhere, and of course the size limitation (8×6x4)  on bags.

Thankfully we have the Flip Mino, which can fit in my pocket and not worry me unnecessarily about the various bad things that I’ve been known to do to electronics, such as: dropping them, getting them stolen, accidentally wading into the water with them (unlikely anyway, given the temperatures)…

Let’s just say that the inexpensive and blissfully portable Flip is the absolute best solution for in this scenario for people like me.

4) Peanuts!

Planes may not give us food anymore, but most of them still give us peanuts.  Given the high protein content of peanuts, the portability of those nice little bags and the idea of 2-4 million people trying to find food in a city meant to feed 600,000, I’m thinking that stocking up on plane peanuts isn’t a bad idea.  Added bonus: salty snacks help us retain water, which might help with the bathroom math issue.

Those 4 things plus a pair of jeans or two and my toothbrush, and I think I’m pretty much set.  If y’all have a travel “must” that I’m forgetting, do feel free to share.

And if you are in D.C. next week and you spot us, come say hello!  You never know – you might just bump into us somewhere unexpected.