Like millions of Americans, Rochelle Wilks had simple plans for the inauguration.

She had expected to be home in Jackson, Miss., glued to her television as President-elect Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

But on Saturday, after friends raised nearly $2,500 for Ms. Wilks and her friend, Rosemary Bolton, to fly to Washington, the two were checking into a suite at the J.W. Marriott Hotel at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, in the heart of Inauguration 2009.

“We can’t do nothing but look at the prices here,” Ms. Bolton said, with her eyes fixed on the $1,000 a night sign posted for her eighth-floor studio.

Already, Ms. Wilks has a dress picked out, and hair and nail appointments scheduled. And doesn’t have to pay a single penny for any of it.

Ms. Wilks, 46, who has cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair for for 15 years, is one of nearly a thousand women and girls invited to witness the inauguration firsthand by the Stafford Foundation