Photo by gattoraffa

By now we’ve received dozens of tips and reports from readers as they made their way away from the National Mall. Some people told us about how they never made it inside an area where they had tickets—both at the Swearing-In and along the parade route. Others expressed relief at having had an easier time than they expected. There was word of pushing and shoving as crowds trying to leave the National Mall at 14th Street were crushed together. And there was tale of incredible kindness and good spirits as strangers tried to help each other find their way out of the throng.

We’ll be updating this post with travel tales from our staff as they find their way back home. Add your stories in the comments.

• From my spot on the Southwest lawn of the Capitol in the orange seated section, leaving the ceremony was a breeze. We left as soon as Obama’s speech ended, as did much of the crowd. The mood all day was light and happy; despite the cold and the many opportunities for inconvenience, everyone was in high spirits and nobody let the mob mentality take over. As we exited the orange gate, all walkways were open to people leaving and everyone just moved along quickly. There were more officials (marines, special police, national guard) monitoring the exit than there were monitoring the entrance to the ceremony. But it made for a smooth walk up North Capitol and home. Friends have been twittering about very different experiences leaving the mall — dangerous levels of pushing, people running across the tops of the port-a-potties. But I didn’t see any of that leaving the Capitol.

  One thing: while I commend the efforts of the National Guard and DDOT and Special Police representatives around the city to aid with inauguration crowds, the city should have really told them a thing or two about… the city. I saw at least a dozen people ask these folks for help (“where’s the nearest Metro?”, “which buses go to the Capitol?”, “how do we get to the Mall?”), and not once did any of these official representatives know the answer. Would pointing them in the direction of a map prior to sending them to their posts been too hard? All in all though, it was a smooth and well-organized experience on my end, especially considering the sheer number of people. – Amanda Mattos