"It was probably one of the coldest parades we've done. I couldn't feel my toes or my hands," said squad leader Robert Conley.
"Even though it was cold, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wouldn't have given it up for anything. So, I was so glad I was there," said Sarah Kenyon-Dioso of the bandfront.
Band director Paul Parets worried about the cold weather. With the parade behind schedule, the students stood out in the cold for three and a half hours instead of the planned 90 minutes.
CLICK HERE to see video of the Delaware segment of the inaugural parade. Still, the students were thrilled, and so were their parents. Isiah Brooks cot a call from his mom moments after the band passed the presidential review stand.
"It was like 'Isiah, I saw you on TV! She was doing that little A.I. chant we do," Brooks said.
Wednesday, the students packed up their gear after parents praised them for a job well done.
They join a proud tradition. This is the third time A.I. has marched in an inauguration.
"There was an electricity in the air in Washington yesterday that I have not seen in the two previous inaugurations that I attended. It was literally electric," Parets said.
Some of the kids were still talking about that electricity Wednesday. Others were still trying to recover.
"I'm very tired. I woke up and my mom had to get me up three times," recalled baritone player Pat Pedicone.
The kids may be all played out now, but they won't be able to rest for long. In April, they're off to Tornoto to play in the International Music Festival.
It will be their fourth major appearance this year.
"No rest for the weary! But, by tomorrow, they will have bounced back. By next week, maybe I'll have bounced back!" said Parets.