After nearly 23 hours on the road, Joe Eggleston and Jennifer Perez of Fort Worth finally pulled up to the Cherry Hill Park campground in Maryland on Saturday night, ready to pitch a tent and camp out through President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday.

They hit the road Friday night in their Kia Rio, determined to participate in the inaugural celebration despite not having tickets to the ceremony or to the balls.

They alternated driving and sleeping during the 1,350-mile trip.

"When we came into town, I felt a huge sigh of relief," said Eggleston, 29. "We can finally start our trip. We’re tired but absolutely excited."

Although they didn’t face heavy traffic for most of the trip, backups began within 60 miles of Washington.

"There’s a million people on the road," Eggleston said. "There’s no room. We obviously were not the only ones who came out here."

Eggleston and Perez are among the countless local residents making their way to Washington by car, truck, bus and plane.

Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks and her mother, Maryellen Hicks, were on the road Saturday evening.

They left Fort Worth early Friday on a journey that began as a promise on election night.

Kathleen Hicks said she had told her mother that if Obama won, they would drive to the inauguration. With the help of her friend Camille Rodriguez, she was true to her word.

"It’s a long journey, but in the end, it’s worth it," Kathleen Hicks said. "It’s a good experience, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else."

They stayed with relatives in Atlanta on Friday night and were back on the road Saturday. They spent their 20-plus hours in the car catching up with old friends wishing them well via e-mail, text messages and phone calls. Kathleen ate Skittles and drank Diet Coke.

Within a few hours’ drive of Washington, they started seeing signs warning people that traffic would be heavy for the inauguration.

They also started seeing Obama bumper stickers nearly everywhere.

"We saw a woman with Georgia plates with a sticker that said, 'Obama, here we come,’ " Kathleen Hicks said. "I’m excited to be part of it."