Democratic National Convention: Day 2

On Wednesday, after about 5 hours of sleep, we got up and headed to the Maryland Delegation hotel for the Delegation breakfast. We had to be there because immediately following breakfast each day, they opened up the sign-up sheet for the lottery for the extra credentials. Credentials, you see, are like gold. They are what get you into the actual Convention. We were desperate to get some.

Although we were exhausted, we were energized by that morning's speakers--Governor Duval Patrick of Massachusetts and Speaker Nancy Pelosi!

From breakfast we headed downtown to try to crash the Creative Coalition event for the movie 14 Women, a film about the 14 women U.S. Senator's in the 109th Congress. We got in! And, so Abel and I found ourselves in the same room as Tim Daly, Anne Hathaway, Annette Benning (who was being honored), Susan Sarandon (who walked right by me!), Matthew Modine and Angela Bassett. I also got to chat with Senator Debbie Stabenow which was extra-exciting for me because I worked for her campaign when she first ran for Congress.

After that star-studded event we walked over to the Denver Convention Center (not to be confused with the Pepsi Center where the actual Convention was taking place). We had heard that Hillary was going to have an event for her Delegates that afternoon. And, we heard that they weren't going to be checking names to get in. So, of course we wanted to be there!

On the way to get in line for the Hillary event, we literally ran into Speaker Nancy Pelosi signing her new book. Of course I jumped in line! Her daughter, Christine, was there signing her book as well. I bought both and got them both signed. In the brief seconds it took them each to sign my book, I took the opportunity to mention that Speaker Pelosi and I share an alma mater!

Books in hand, we continued down the hall to discover that, despite it being more than two hours before the Hillary event was slated to begin, there were literally hundreds of people in line already. I guess we weren't the only people to find out they were planning to let everyone in!

We got in line.

And stood in line.

For two hours.

I was very tired and very hungry. I started to feel it wasn't worth it--even if they let us into the room on time, I knew the program would start late. It was going to be a standing-only event. So, we got out of line. And, as we were about to leave, we saw two friends working the door for the press. They waved us over and put us in line at the back of the press. The best part? The press were the first ones let into the room! We ended up getting standing immediately behind the up-front section reserved for wheelchairs. I was still tired and hungry and we still had to wait another 45 minutes before Hillary came into the room. It ended up being the speech where she officially released her delegates and we were right up front! It was truly an historical moment. I'm glad I was there.

We grabbed a quick slice of pizza and made our way back to the house where we were staying. Desperate for a nap, I laid down for about 45 minutes when Abel came in to tell me that someone else in the house had given us their credentials for the convention that evening. Woo hoo!

We left immediately.

It ended up being a huge disappointment. First, due to several delays including protesters on bicycles blocking traffic, it took forever to get there. In security, my Sigg water bottle got confiscated. It ended up that our "Special Guest" Hall credentials were the lowest of the low. By the time we got there the Fire Marshall had declared the conventional hall to be over-capacity so all we could do was peek in over the 5-10 other people peering into each opening. Our only real option was to watch the speeches on TV from the hallway of the Convention!

Willing to try anything, I stood by the down escalator and asked everyone with "Floor" credentials (the best ones) if they were leaving for the evening. If they answered yes, I asked if they would give us their credentials. After about dozen no's (yes they were leaving, no they wouldn't give up their credentials--I knew it was unlikely as they're major souvenir items but a girl's gotta' try, right?) the security guard told me that even if I did get Floor credentials it was too late and they weren't letting any more people in, now matter what credentials they had.

Eventually, completely deflated, we left and headed over to that night's Maryland Delegation party hosted by Governor O'Malley at Fado. O'Malley is a musician and at one point two other Governor's were on stage playing with him.

Even though the actual convention was a huge disapointment for us, it was an incredible day.


Day 2 Fun Fact: Wednesday morning we received our 3rd canvas "swag" bag since arriving. That's 3 bags in about 22 hours!

Democratic National Convention: Day 1

We arrived in Denver last Tuesday--the convention technically started on Monday and the parties started a few days before that, but Tuesday was Day 1 for us. About mid-way into the flight, I spilled my drink on myself. I'm such a klutz that I am surprised this was the first time I've spilled something during a flight. However, even though I wasn't surprised, I was pretty upset. I mean, it looked like I had peed my pants! Abel had the idea to point those little air things down at myself and--miraculously!--it dried completely by the time we landed.

So you have to keep in mind that for a political junkie, sighting high-profile politicians (especially outside of Washington) is like a regular person sighting celebrities. At baggage claim we saw Mitt Romney walking briskly by. Abel and I get a kick out of Mitt Romney because in a Washington Post article he was described as "the spit-shined guy in the middle of the debate photo: Even from far away, you can tell that he has, inside those wingtips, a pedicure." So true! Anyway, we were both certain it was him, but it seemed odd for two reasons. One: why in the world was he coming into Denver during the Democratic convention? Two: he was pulling his own bag but seemed to have several empty-handed staffers with him. Later, when we saw him on TV at the convention giving the "R" spin we realized it was definitely him. I suspect those "staffers" were actually security.

Our Denver host picked us up and we were off to our first official event--a luncheon at the Botanic Gardens for the Maryland Delegation. It was so fun to see people we know and meet many others. Basically every Maryland Democratic politician was there. And, the Botanic Gardens themselves are gorgeous! If we ever make it back to the Mile High City I'd love to spend more time there.

After dinner with Abel's bosses (and our only real meal of the entire trip!) we headed over to the Performing Arts Center for the African American Legacy Gala. We had VIP tickets and so after the cocktail reception scored second row seats to the Boyz II Men concert. I wasn't really ever a huge Boyz II Men fan but they sang lots of their old and great songs. Amazing how the words just come back to you. The most fun was that they handed out roses during I'll Make Love to You and I totally scored one.


Day 1 Fun Fact: We got to bed around 1:30am Mountain time which is 3:30am Eastern. So, considering the alarm went off at 5:45am to get to the airport that morning, our first day was about 23 hours long.

We were there

We were there with 80,000 other people at Invesco field on Thursday night to hear Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America. The entire time I kept thinking that this is something I will tell my grandchildren about. It was truly amazing.

We flew in last night and drove straight to my parents' home. Lucas was already in bed when we got there, but his crib is in the same room where we slept so he woke up to seeing us next to him. Waking up to an incredibly joyful "Mama! Dada!" was another amazing feeling.

In my next few posts, I'll take you through each of our days in Denver -- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We did and saw so much, it is hard to believe it all took place in just three days!

In the thick of it

This is seriously the first time I've had a few minutes to sit down since we arrived in Denver at 10:30am on Tuesday. I don't think I've drunk so much water, eaten so little food (simply no time!), walked so much, gotten so many blisters but also been so excited and energized in my life. There have been some amazing moments--like when we got to be right up front and hear the speech where Hillary officially released her delegates, or when I saw Speaker Nancy Pelosi twice in one day and, the second time, when she signed a copy of her book and I got to tell her we share the same alma mater. But, there have been big disappointments, too. Like when we finally got passes to get into the convention but had a million delays on the way there (mostly out of our control) and by the time we got there the hall was so full we could only stand in the hallway, watching on TV.

There are so many wonderful experiences I've had that I want to share, but I think it is all too real right now to make any sense of it. So, more to come!

In the meantime send some good thoughts our way. We have one credential in-hand for what might be one of the biggest events of my lifetime--Barack Obama's acceptance speech. We're pulling every possible string and contact to find another one so Abel and I can both be there.

Change We Can Believe In

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately. So much to do to get ready to head to Denver for the Democratic Convention. This morning I met my mom half-way to hand-off Lucas and his car seat. Tomorrow bright and early Abel and I hop on our flight to Denver.

I have a great new bag and tickets to the various Maryland Delegation events. We're hopeful that we'll have tickets to the big Thursday bash at INVESCO Field -- when Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination. It gives me chills to just think about being there. There are a million fun events we're hoping to get into but quite frankly if Thursday night is the only one we attend then I will consider it all worth it.

I'll try to blog from Denver but can't promise anything!

Denver-bound

As excited as I am about Denver. (That's very excited, in case you didn't know.) I'm also a little nervous. You see, I'm a planner. And this whole event doesn't seem to lend itself to much planning.

According to Abel (who is my only expert source as he attended the '04 Convention in Boston) we'll just go downtown every day and get to go to various events and will stay out at these events very late into the night. So what if we don't necessarily have tickets to any of these events. We'll get them! We'll see people! Those people will give us tickets!

Hmmmm....

Even if all that is true, I am still left without being able to make any actual plans. We won't know what we're doing until the day--or even hours or minutes--before. Most likely will leave the house (we're staying with a friend) in the morning and not be back until late at night. So, how in the world do I pack?

I've determined that my various outfits have to fit the following:

1) Be business-casual (apparently the dress code for most events)
2) Be conducive to walking potentially long and unknown distances
3) Be comfortable in projected temps of the mid-80s
4) Take me from morning through mid-day and into the night (where suddenly business casual just doesn't seem to fit the bill!)


What perfect outfit matches all that?

Part of me thinks I should just invest in 5 cute Obama t-shirts, pair them with black pants and cute (yet comfy!) shoes and make that my "uniform" for the week. After all, if an Obama t-shirt isn't perfect attire at the Democratic National Convention then what is?

But seriously, I went shopping this weekend and purchased a few items which I think will work well in Denver. One of which was a new bag. Of course, Abel felt this was totally unnecessary, but it was cute and on-sale. Now, however, I'm having second thoughts. So, let's take a little vote. Will this bag work for Denver? Or, should I return it?

Qualities of a good Denver bag include:


1) Cute enough to go from day to evening
2) Large enough to carry a bottle of water, my wallet, some make-up, papers/tickets, etc. and potentially snacks (who knows what we'll do for meals).
3) Not so expensive that I'll be upset if it gets damaged in this grand adventure.

So, does this fit the bill?

Kohls Daisy Fuentes Knot Tote
on sale for $30

Please vote in the poll to your right!! The fate of this bag is in your hands!

Three weeks from now...

...I'll (hopefully!) be at INVESCO Field at Mile High listening to Senator Barack Obama accept the Democratic Nomination for President. I am SO excited!

You see, my husband and I, we're basically political junkies.

When he got a raise a few months ago we decided we'd put some of that money toward a vacation--just the two of us. While practically all our friends have jaunted off on cruises, or to Italy, or to all-inclusive Caribbean resorts, we went on a very low-key honeymoon to the Outer Banks and have centered all our vacations around extended family or weddings.

For a few days we dreamed of a vacation featuring crystal clear water and a swim up bar. Then we realized that what we each really wanted to do was go to Denver. No, not to ski. To attend the Democratic National Convention! (Told you: political junkies!)

Oh, but the hurdles were high. Neither of us are delegates (but trust me, I'm going to figure out how to make that happen four years from now!) and every hotel room in the city seemed to be booked by the DNC. Airfares were sky high.

But we quickly got into gear. My parents blocked their calendar to watch Lucas. Abel found a friend we could stay with. We figured out what day Southwest was opening up the flights for convention week and booked our flights at midnight that day. We've also both been working every connection (granted, Abel has a few more than I do) to get tickets to cool parties and events--more than 1,500 events are planned in Denver that week! The one ticket we have yet to secure is the most important--Obama's acceptance speech. But, we're working on it.

And now we're just three weeks away. So, I need to start focusing on the truly important question: What should I wear?!