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Woman travels to capital to capture Inaugural Day moments

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Thanks to Sylvia Weeks of Hilton Head Island for sharing her snapshots from Inaugural Day on Wednesday in Columbia.

• Photo: Gov. Mark Sanford is sworn in for his second term as governor with a Bible held by his youngest son, Blake, 8. From left are Sanford's sons Marshall, 14, Landon, 13, Bolton, 10, Blake, Gov. Sanford, first lady Jenny Sanford and Chief Justice Jean Toal.
  Sylvia Weeks/Special to the Packet
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Sylvia, a campaign volunteer for Gov. Mark Sanford, used her photo badge from four years ago to (almost) get by with little interference from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

She was driven to the capital by her son-in-law, Christiaan Pollitzer of Bluffton, outdoor pursuits director at Ford Plantation near Savannah.

They attended the Inaugural Prayer Service at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral across the street from the State House, where the inauguration followed.

They were invited by First Lady Jenny Sanford to a special luncheon for about 100 guests in a large tent on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion.

• Photo: A new portrait of Gov. Mark Sanford at his family's northern Beaufort County farm, Coosa Plantation, hangs in the library at the Governor's Mansion. It is by West Fraser of Charleston, son of Joe Fraser of Hilton Head Island, of the founding family of Sea Pines.
  Sylvia Weeks/Special to the Packet
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Then they attended the South Carolina Inaugural Barbecue in the Watermelon Shed at the State Fairgrounds, getting back to the island after midnight.

On the way home, Sylvia jotted down these notes:

"A day filled with an organized agenda and people filled with joy and celebration. People from Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Spartanburg, Bowman, Pawleys Island, Shiloh, Barnwell, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Bluffton, Beaufort, Florence, Prosperity, Aiken. A time to meet people from all across the state.

"Security was tight, and no problems arose. Parking was no problem.

"People left feeling proud to be a South Carolinian."

• Photo: Peg Sanford Peyton, the governor's mother, and her husband, Charles O. Peyton of Beaufort, pose during the special luncheon on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion.
  Sylvia Weeks/Special to the Packet
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