Brian Charles, inauguration-bound staff writer with The Signal newspaper and The-Signal.com, visited the KHTS AM 1220 studios in Canyon Country Wednesday.

Sitting in for a six-and-a-half-minute segment in prime afternoon drive time with KHTS air personality Jason Endicott, Charles talked about his imminent trip to Washington, D.C., to attend and cover Tuesday's swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama.

Charles, filing daily first-person reports published in the paper and online as he prepares to fly to the nation's capital Sunday, tells KHTS how a purely personal mission developed into something even larger.

What started out as a family affair has also become a community affair. Along with documenting his own family's adventure, he's tracking and reporting on the experiences of other SCV residents en route to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.

As of today, Charles told Endicott, there are seven entries in the "Washington Journal: the Inauguration" series posted on The-Signal.com, and all but one (a Web exclusive) have also run in The Signal's daily print edition.

Charles adds to his journal daily in the paper and online through Friday, Jan. 23.

He takes off for Washington Sunday.

Charles is scheduled to phone KHTS from the capital three more times Monday and Tuesday to give Santa Clarita Valley listeners an update on final preparatons for the inaugural, and provide a wrap-up report.

Charles calls in at 7:40 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. Monday, then 5:10 p.m. Tuesday with the wrap-up.