Back home it's Primary day, and I'm missing it. I mentioned it to Buster this morning, because I wanted to make sure he didn't forget he's in a contested race with good ol' Val. Haaahahahahahahaaaaa!!
Last night we were guests at a cocktail party hosted by Medtronics, which is a large contributor for the Convention. I have lots of great pictures, which I will upload later because we've got to head to the morning meeting.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday afternoon
After a short morning walk we had lunch then headed toward the Excel Convention Center for business. The excitement was actually palpable, with both peace demonstrators and Republicans gathering in the neighborhood.
We were originally going to take the River Walk there, but we were promptly rerouted into a side door of the Center and I can only assume they did that because of the impending protests.
With my heart in my throat, I found my seat in the nosebleed section of the Convention Center. Buster and company were down on the floor of the Convention, right next to the stage. What a beautiful stage it was!
I sat with a new friend, Lisa, up in the balcony and we watched the proceedings unfold.
As previously set, the pomp and circumstance was more reserved in observance of the hurricane victims. I was particularly proud when I heard the majority of the convention singing along with Miss Minnesota for the National Anthem. Wonderful!
The Convention Center was gorgeous, of course.
However, I kept expecting an explosion to come from this particular press box:
The committees were introduced and instructed where they would be meeting (Rules, etc) and the Convention adjourned for an hour. Lisa and I went down to meet up with her husband Stan along with Buster, and we walked around the lower floors of the Center.
I looked over at one point and realized I was next to a press box for the ABC reporters. The reporter next to me, and I mean REALLY right next to me was Ann. Can’t remember her last name, because apparently I’m a friggin idiot. Geez I hope I’m at least getting her first name correct!!!
As Buster and I talked, we watched the other delegates walk by us on the big red floor. My son called and I instructed him to go in Grandma’s house and turn on the news so he could see where I was. As I was on the phone with him, Mitt Romney walked up. Mitt Romney! He stopped to say hello to a gentleman next to us. Buster and I both struggled to get our cameras up to take his picture, and unfortunately all I got was the top of his head. Oh well. Nice hair. Buster chased after and took a better pic, and he’s complaining right now because I’m asking him to send it over to my computer. Baby.
The big buzz was the question of whether or not Laura Bush would be appearing. We’ve been told all day that she would not be, but then when the convention reconvened I happened to be looking across at the teleprompter where it read, “Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the First Lady of the United States of America, Laura Bush.” So I jumped up before anyone else. At this point, Lisa and I are watching the convention on the same level as the delegate floor, in the media stands. I snapped a few photos, and for some reason my listening skills were kind of put to the side as I stood in awe looking at the First Lady.
It was my first First Lady. What interested me was Laura’s ability to stray from what the teleprompter was reading was fantastic. She talked freely at times and always sounded as though it was rehearsed over and over. She was at ease, and able to handle the convention audience like an old pro.
Then we were all actually very surprised with Cindy McCain’s appearance. Oh my gosh what a MINX!!! She was very hot, in her stylish attire; it made all us chickies feel frumpy. Meow.
The program was much more than what we expected, with videotaped messages from the gulf coast states' governors. An impromptu poll conducted determined the Texas governor was a bit of a hottie:
I got to get down close to the floor where the delegates were seated, and it was a neat feeling. Lots of excitement.
When the Convention concluded for the day, we all walked outside to the news that the protesters had gotten very out of hand and the city police had unloaded a lot of tear gas. Sure, there were the peaceful protesters, but then there were the a-holes who thought they were having a Rodney King riot in the streets. All the clean, friendly streets that we’d walked this morning were littered with the damage left behind by the hate mongers. They’d broken windows, trashed cars, and of course scared the pants off anyone who happened to be nearby. The news footage was quite dramatic. These people who called themselves protesters were actually masked and ready to fight. So I suppose they weren’t too surprised when the police and national guard responded with full force. I am told their goal was to prevent delegates from getting to the convention, which is just asinine. Geez, guys, put some of that energy to good use.
Tonight we have functions to attend so we are updating our blogs and reloading the cameras for more adventures. I think I’ll plug Buster’s camera into my laptop right now, so I can steal some of his excellent photos.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Monday Monday
We awoke to the news that a planned protest march will be coming pretty close to us here in the "convention area" and also to the news that the hurricane is downgrading by the hour. Breakfast was served during a 7:30am delegate meeting, and the press was there to greet everyone. Jan Brewer seems to be heading up things and I believe her title is "Delegate Chair" so we have been seeing lots of her.
My stomach has been pretty edgy since we got here, so breakfast is not my favorite time of the day. And according to this picture, I have a little of the puffy eye thing going on!
Congressman Shadegg gave a presentation during breakfast, he spoke about the difficulties of doing business in a Democrat-led Congress. Pelosi pulls a lot of underhanded stuff to keep the Republicans quiet and there's a lot of childishness. Pitiful.
We were updated on today's schedule. We have our first convention session at 2:30pm, after that a reception at the BNSF area which is several train cars. That will be awesome. Then after that a hospitality party back in Minneapolis at the convention center, hosted by Medtronic. We have buses to take us there and back which is fortunate because it's so difficult to navigate these streets.
My stomach has been pretty edgy since we got here, so breakfast is not my favorite time of the day. And according to this picture, I have a little of the puffy eye thing going on!
Congressman Shadegg gave a presentation during breakfast, he spoke about the difficulties of doing business in a Democrat-led Congress. Pelosi pulls a lot of underhanded stuff to keep the Republicans quiet and there's a lot of childishness. Pitiful.
We were updated on today's schedule. We have our first convention session at 2:30pm, after that a reception at the BNSF area which is several train cars. That will be awesome. Then after that a hospitality party back in Minneapolis at the convention center, hosted by Medtronic. We have buses to take us there and back which is fortunate because it's so difficult to navigate these streets.
Sunday Night
Sunday afternoon we went to the Arizona hospitality party, which was located in the Landmark Building. Built in 1902, it is a three story building comprised of nothing but sheer artwork. Amazing, breath-taking, I was sorry that I didn’t have fresh batteries in my camera. The food was tremendous, of course.
Governor Pitaki I hope I spelled his name right) of Minnesota spoke to our group briefly, and the majority of the presentation was lead by our Secretary of State (the highest ranking Republican in the State of Arizona) Jan Brewer. “God Bless America” was sung by a girl who appeared last year on American Idol. Sorry, didn't get a photo.
Buster spoke momentarily to a gal who was with the press. She asked some “vanilla” questions, which were the usual things like “What do you think of McCain’s running mate?” That kind of stuff.
We were guests at the Minneapolis Convention Center, for a welcome party that included some patriotic displays, an Abraham Lincoln look a like,(creepy)
an Air Force One model, and also Roosevelt’s Limo--with probably the only stuffed version of Roosevelt in the whole world sitting inside:
there was a prototype of Reagan’s limo, and lots of shopping. I bought a sweatshirt for my son that has a picture of McCain in his military days, and the logo looks like G.I. Joe except it says G.I. John, a REAL American Hero. Waaay cool.
The food was everywhere, pretty much every few feet was a table full of food. The bars were each sponsored so that meant all we wanted was free. The highlight for me was getting to be up close with an American Bald Eagle. She was just gorgeous. The handler took my photo with her, unfortunately it was a little blurry.
I took one of Buster as he was looking at his camera and his turned out pretty good.
The Eagle’s nest on display was over 6 feet in length. The handlers had all kinds of interesting info about the Bald Eagle, and it was neat to listen to. I have to admit, I got up on that stage with that magnificent bird and I couldn’t help but get teary-eyed. That bird has been thru so much with our country and it was a great experience to right up there with her for a photo. Those eyes were piercing, and that beak was enormous. I’ll never forget that one. She looks so stoic in the photos. In person it was an amazing thing to be near.
Sunday evening we joined our fellow Arizonans back at our host hotel, the St. Paul, for drinks and conversation in the lobby. Several prominent campaigners and politicians were there and talking casual which was nice.
Not the debating and arguing we had Saturday night!
We had music once again from the jazz treo, periodically we would see people we recognized from politics and television. Mike Watkis from the Phoenix news joined us briefly. At one point I looked up at a man walking in the front door and I said,
"He looks like a drunk Tom Brokaw." Well then we looked closer and it was really Tom Brokaw. His hair was tousled by the breeze outdoors and he kinda weaved to the side a little bit as he was walking in. Tom Brokaw. Amazing.
Cancelled stuff. Gotta address that.
Not really what the press is saying on t.v., because all the functions that were scheduled are still happening. We’re still having a session Monday afternoon at the Convention Center but we’re not going to have the big program that they’d originally intended. That’s fine, because there’s so much going on and it’s been difficult to keep up. Because of overlapping events, we had to skip the Lee Greenwood concert and I’m alright with that. Too much stuff, too busy of a schedule to attend to.
Why would they cancel things in Minnesota due to an impending storm in Louisiana? All we can figure is the matter of respect. Although I’m pretty sure the next time Arizona has a major disaster (thousands of acres of fires) the rest of the country will keep living their lives and doing things as planned.
We are being prompted to give to the American Red Cross, to support those who are in the gulf coast states, and to be flexible for this week’s schedule.
Governor Pitaki I hope I spelled his name right) of Minnesota spoke to our group briefly, and the majority of the presentation was lead by our Secretary of State (the highest ranking Republican in the State of Arizona) Jan Brewer. “God Bless America” was sung by a girl who appeared last year on American Idol. Sorry, didn't get a photo.
Buster spoke momentarily to a gal who was with the press. She asked some “vanilla” questions, which were the usual things like “What do you think of McCain’s running mate?” That kind of stuff.
We were guests at the Minneapolis Convention Center, for a welcome party that included some patriotic displays, an Abraham Lincoln look a like,(creepy)
an Air Force One model, and also Roosevelt’s Limo--with probably the only stuffed version of Roosevelt in the whole world sitting inside:
there was a prototype of Reagan’s limo, and lots of shopping. I bought a sweatshirt for my son that has a picture of McCain in his military days, and the logo looks like G.I. Joe except it says G.I. John, a REAL American Hero. Waaay cool.
The food was everywhere, pretty much every few feet was a table full of food. The bars were each sponsored so that meant all we wanted was free. The highlight for me was getting to be up close with an American Bald Eagle. She was just gorgeous. The handler took my photo with her, unfortunately it was a little blurry.
I took one of Buster as he was looking at his camera and his turned out pretty good.
The Eagle’s nest on display was over 6 feet in length. The handlers had all kinds of interesting info about the Bald Eagle, and it was neat to listen to. I have to admit, I got up on that stage with that magnificent bird and I couldn’t help but get teary-eyed. That bird has been thru so much with our country and it was a great experience to right up there with her for a photo. Those eyes were piercing, and that beak was enormous. I’ll never forget that one. She looks so stoic in the photos. In person it was an amazing thing to be near.
Sunday evening we joined our fellow Arizonans back at our host hotel, the St. Paul, for drinks and conversation in the lobby. Several prominent campaigners and politicians were there and talking casual which was nice.
Not the debating and arguing we had Saturday night!
We had music once again from the jazz treo, periodically we would see people we recognized from politics and television. Mike Watkis from the Phoenix news joined us briefly. At one point I looked up at a man walking in the front door and I said,
"He looks like a drunk Tom Brokaw." Well then we looked closer and it was really Tom Brokaw. His hair was tousled by the breeze outdoors and he kinda weaved to the side a little bit as he was walking in. Tom Brokaw. Amazing.
Cancelled stuff. Gotta address that.
Not really what the press is saying on t.v., because all the functions that were scheduled are still happening. We’re still having a session Monday afternoon at the Convention Center but we’re not going to have the big program that they’d originally intended. That’s fine, because there’s so much going on and it’s been difficult to keep up. Because of overlapping events, we had to skip the Lee Greenwood concert and I’m alright with that. Too much stuff, too busy of a schedule to attend to.
Why would they cancel things in Minnesota due to an impending storm in Louisiana? All we can figure is the matter of respect. Although I’m pretty sure the next time Arizona has a major disaster (thousands of acres of fires) the rest of the country will keep living their lives and doing things as planned.
We are being prompted to give to the American Red Cross, to support those who are in the gulf coast states, and to be flexible for this week’s schedule.
Day Two
Slept quite solidly from 2am to 8am, then we decided to get walking for breakfast. Buster suggested a place he’d read about in one of the many guidebooks we were given, and we headed off in that direction. It’s a rail-car diner, situated downtown. What a neat place. The food was great, the people were all locals and we a fun time.
Walking around after breakfast, we found a wondrous thing; a park with a creek running thru it. Jaw-dropping beautiful. Really, you’ve got to visit this pretty city.
Then as we wandered more, we found the Farmer’s Market. I have never been to a real one, and I found myself taking pictures of the fruits and vegetables and sending them to Steve with my phone. You know you’re getting older when you get excited about a Farmer’s Market. And you’re emailing the photos. We found a farmer who seemed to specialize in HUGE cabbage, so we had to take a picture of that.
Oh, and the raspberries. Awesome.
The majority of the Arizona delegates are staying in the same hotel, the St. Paul. It is across the street from a historic building, called the “Landmark,” and it is a courthouse built in 1902.
Also across the street is the stage area for MSNBC and the Today Show. After observing this sort of town square we noticed a guy dancing all by himself. Then someone else started dancing. We poked our heads outside to see if there was music, and there was none. The police and national guard took great interest in the area as the dancers increased in number one at a time, eventually amounting to about 15 people who just flailed around on the sidewalk and street corners. Some of them had ipods with earbuds, others did not. It was funny to watch, at first, until I overthought the whole situation and got REALLY creeped out. What were these people doing? Were they creating a distraction for something else? Bruce Willis action plots came to mind. Before I could get my camera and get out there to take photos of the dancers, they dispersed.
But I noticed in my travels of the neighborhood that the police and secret service presence has pretty much doubled since our arrival 24 hours ago. Streets are becoming blocked off more and more,
and the black hawk helicopters are circling:
It’s a bit of a crushing feeling, to know that you’re in a sort of “ground zero” for something this big. Police everywhere, national guard on every street, and secret service.
Walking around after breakfast, we found a wondrous thing; a park with a creek running thru it. Jaw-dropping beautiful. Really, you’ve got to visit this pretty city.
Then as we wandered more, we found the Farmer’s Market. I have never been to a real one, and I found myself taking pictures of the fruits and vegetables and sending them to Steve with my phone. You know you’re getting older when you get excited about a Farmer’s Market. And you’re emailing the photos. We found a farmer who seemed to specialize in HUGE cabbage, so we had to take a picture of that.
Oh, and the raspberries. Awesome.
The majority of the Arizona delegates are staying in the same hotel, the St. Paul. It is across the street from a historic building, called the “Landmark,” and it is a courthouse built in 1902.
Also across the street is the stage area for MSNBC and the Today Show. After observing this sort of town square we noticed a guy dancing all by himself. Then someone else started dancing. We poked our heads outside to see if there was music, and there was none. The police and national guard took great interest in the area as the dancers increased in number one at a time, eventually amounting to about 15 people who just flailed around on the sidewalk and street corners. Some of them had ipods with earbuds, others did not. It was funny to watch, at first, until I overthought the whole situation and got REALLY creeped out. What were these people doing? Were they creating a distraction for something else? Bruce Willis action plots came to mind. Before I could get my camera and get out there to take photos of the dancers, they dispersed.
But I noticed in my travels of the neighborhood that the police and secret service presence has pretty much doubled since our arrival 24 hours ago. Streets are becoming blocked off more and more,
and the black hawk helicopters are circling:
It’s a bit of a crushing feeling, to know that you’re in a sort of “ground zero” for something this big. Police everywhere, national guard on every street, and secret service.
Day One
One full day in the St Paul Minnesota area and we have had too many experiences to remember!!
We landed after a very bumpy flight, looking forward to some mild temperatures. 115 degrees back at home gets really old after a while. The weather didn’t disappoint. 80 degrees and a great breeze coming off the Mississippi River—which is less than a block away from the hotel. Trees everywhere, grass, flowers, and the most amazing architecture! The buildings in St. Paul are gorgeous. Very old, very beautiful, and the style is like Gothem City. All we need is Batman.
We walked to dinner and it certainly was worth the trek. A place called Senor Wong’s. It’s Asian and Mexican food mixed together, just amazing. We sat next to the brick streets at our outdoor table and enjoyed some really fantastic food. Really. Quite indescribable. Our waitress has lived in the St. Paul area for 20 years and she had some suggestions on places to see while we’re here. A little known fact; mobsters from Chicago fled the police and landed here in Minnesota. The built marvelous mansions and created a network of caves and passageways underground for their drug trafficking business. She mentioned that we should get a tour of the houses, it’s something you definitely don’t see every day.
We joined other Arizona Delegates at the hotel after dinner, and got to know one another. The atmosphere was so unique. Marble floors and mahogany woodwork, and muted lighting that gave such a glow to the place. So nice. There was a jazz singer, bass player, and baby grand piano nearby entertaining us off and on. Secretary of State Jan Brewer had a little gathering in the middle of the lobby in the big red comfy chairs. We had our own gathering off to the side of the lobby, with all kinds of Republican party workers from Arizona. There was a Senator but I never did get his name.
At times the conversation went from very political to very casual, and of course after several hours of cocktails things got kinda silly. Sometime after midnight or 1 am we joined Jan Brewers’ group in the center of the lobby and the heated debates began. Don’t know if that coincided with our joining of the group, or if it was because the tempers were activated by something said, but man it got quite tense at times. I learned in that whole thing some particulars about voter registration laws and petition laws, so the whole night was not wasted. My goal in attending this convention is to learn as much as I can, and last night was no exception.
We landed after a very bumpy flight, looking forward to some mild temperatures. 115 degrees back at home gets really old after a while. The weather didn’t disappoint. 80 degrees and a great breeze coming off the Mississippi River—which is less than a block away from the hotel. Trees everywhere, grass, flowers, and the most amazing architecture! The buildings in St. Paul are gorgeous. Very old, very beautiful, and the style is like Gothem City. All we need is Batman.
We walked to dinner and it certainly was worth the trek. A place called Senor Wong’s. It’s Asian and Mexican food mixed together, just amazing. We sat next to the brick streets at our outdoor table and enjoyed some really fantastic food. Really. Quite indescribable. Our waitress has lived in the St. Paul area for 20 years and she had some suggestions on places to see while we’re here. A little known fact; mobsters from Chicago fled the police and landed here in Minnesota. The built marvelous mansions and created a network of caves and passageways underground for their drug trafficking business. She mentioned that we should get a tour of the houses, it’s something you definitely don’t see every day.
We joined other Arizona Delegates at the hotel after dinner, and got to know one another. The atmosphere was so unique. Marble floors and mahogany woodwork, and muted lighting that gave such a glow to the place. So nice. There was a jazz singer, bass player, and baby grand piano nearby entertaining us off and on. Secretary of State Jan Brewer had a little gathering in the middle of the lobby in the big red comfy chairs. We had our own gathering off to the side of the lobby, with all kinds of Republican party workers from Arizona. There was a Senator but I never did get his name.
At times the conversation went from very political to very casual, and of course after several hours of cocktails things got kinda silly. Sometime after midnight or 1 am we joined Jan Brewers’ group in the center of the lobby and the heated debates began. Don’t know if that coincided with our joining of the group, or if it was because the tempers were activated by something said, but man it got quite tense at times. I learned in that whole thing some particulars about voter registration laws and petition laws, so the whole night was not wasted. My goal in attending this convention is to learn as much as I can, and last night was no exception.
Airlines...
Here’s a good example of airline cutbacks: an inflight movie was offered since we were on a four hour flight. I brought two pair of earphones in anticipation. As we started to get plugged in, Buster realized his wasn’t working. When we inquired about it, the staff suggested we plug his into someone else’s. We had to drape his earphones over the seat and plug it into the armrest behind. And everytime someone behind us needed to get up we had to get up and unplug so they could get by.
Oh yeah. The food wasn’t free, and neither was the water. But, at least the flight was on schedule and the bathroom worked!
Oh yeah. The food wasn’t free, and neither was the water. But, at least the flight was on schedule and the bathroom worked!
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