DC Locals Plan To Skip Town For Inauguration

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Now that we know the whole city is pretty much going to be blocked off, many are thinking twice about actually attending the events.

In fact - "skipping town" is growing to be a popular alternative activity for January 20th. From Republicans to apartment dwellers in Chinatown, a whole lot of residents in the District of Columbia are planning to leave the area.

Charlie Spies is a former CFO to Mitt Romney's campaign. His wife is a Republican fundraiser to a few senators. The couple decided to plan a long distance vacation.

"We just realized that getting out of town made a lot of sense so we're organizing a trip to Las Vegas," he said. "We're calling it 'Inauguration In Exile' and doing a big dinner on Monday."

His vacation to Vegas at the New Wynn Hotel, Encore, is catching some spin on the Republican blog circles. In fact, 15 people are already attending and more are looking into booking flights.

"I don't think it's a sour grapes trip," he said, when asked about the party difference. "It's more letting Obama and his supporters have their moment. I would probably go to his inaugural if it wasn't crazy but nobody could get tickets. Plus, I don't even know that we could make it to our condo downtown if we stayed here."

The traffic woes are frightening many more people.

"I definitely don't want to be in this city," said Caitlyn Seeberger, an Arlington resident who is planning a trip to Virginia Beach. "It feels like this city is under siege."

Even out of towners doubt they'd stick around even if they had the chance.

"I work with a lot of of people who live around here and pretty much everybody said they're going to stay out of town if at all possible," said Atlanta resident Matt Perry. "I don't blame them. We can watch it on TV."