This was the coolest night! We didn't have much invested in the election as far as who won- mostly because we got disconnected from American politics while we lived in London. But, we decided last-minute (as in 10:30 PM) to head down to Times Square on November 9 to soak in all of the energy from that lively place. When we got to Times Square, the mood was lively and upbeat as it appeared that Clinton had a lead and would maintain it. We watched the ABC news anchors reporting through the glass walls and the running poll results being posted all over the surrounding buildings. The energy really was electric. We wandered through all of the major broadcasting stations that night and NBC at Rockefeller Center was next. While there were a lot of people around, you couldn't see much there, but the building itself was very patriotically lit for the occasion. I love how close everything is to Times Square- we didn't spend much time walking, but were able to see a TON of the action that night.
From NBC, we walked over to Fox News, where the mood and people were entirely different. I loved watching the famous broadcasters through the glass here on this historic night and trying to see what stations were calling what and seeing the different people all over the city. It was crazy cool!
We walked to the Hilton, where Trump had set up camp and by now it was clear that he had won the race. We wanted to be there when he declared the results, so we hung out for a long time right in front of the hotel. We were told to leave around 12:30 AM, so we went back to Times Square and ABC news, where the mood was decidedly different than it had been earlier that night. There was a somber acceptance of what was pretty clear by now. It was eerily quiet. By 1 AM, when we were told that Clinton had gone to bed (or whatever- I can't remember why there was such a huge delay in conceding), we decided to head home ourselves. We were so tired, but also so grateful that we decided to go out and witness this night.
Lots of interesting signs and people all over the city that night.