Andie at the Democratic National Convention - First Day

Hi Everyone!

Well, everything finally fell into place (I wasn't sure it would) and here I am in Charlotte, NC!  Flew in yesterday afternoon and took a cab out to the edge of town where I am staying in the same hotel as the Oregon Delegation.  It's a bit out of the way, but there is a bus that will take us straight downtown and I got a free bus pass, so it shouldn't be a problem.  I'm glad I can hang out with Oregonians while I am here.  My roommate is the chair of the Multnomah County Democrats and she is a hoot, so I think this will be the place to be for Convention 2012.

I'm going to try to blog about my experience as much as I can.  I got too busy in 2008 to post more than a couple of times, but I will do my best. 

I had to come to town early so I could be here for a media training from 4-6 today, but my first shoot isn't until Tuesday night.  I told the Oregon Dems that I'd be happy to help out and so I spent a couple of hours this morning helping to stuff goody bags for the delegates.  (They have some good stuff in there - Oregon has so many cool companies who were willing to donate!)

I then took a little stroll up to the University of North Carolina - Charlotte campus.  I had to walk along a busy street that seldom had sidewalks and definitely no crosswalks.  I only saw one other person walking and no one on a bicycle.  It was a tad warm this afternoon, so perhaps they were judiciously waiting until evening for their outdoor activity.  The campus is lovely - very foresty with some buildings that make me think of the "old South."

Headed downtown for my media training and got caught in a crazy rainstorm.  At first there were just a few drops of rain, but one minute later, it was coming down sideways with bits of hail.  I ducked into the Campaign store to do some shopping and wait it out (at least 4 people asked me where I got my Obamium t-shirt while I was there - check 'em out at www.obamium.com) and it just kept on pouring down, so I ventured out into the storm.  I heard that part of the downtown area flooded.  I arrived at the training thoroughly soaked, but my camera stayed dry.  Met some really nice people.  I'm surprised that I am the only one who came back from last time.  We had such a fun team in 2008.  This team looks like they should be interesting.

Hung out with a woman whose daughter works for the Convention Committee and she helped me find the Time Warner Media Party out at the NC Music Factory.  Wow!  What an event!  Apparently, over 1,500 members of the media are expected this year, so it was a bit party.  The shuttle bus that took us from the Convention Center to the Music Factory had a police escort and we were speeding along, weaving in and out of traffic and driving on the wrong side of the road.  It was crazy, especially because there were about 20 shuttle buses ferrying people to the site, so lots and lots of cops.

The NC Music Factory area is a collection of restaurants and music venues and we had the whole place for our party. They provided us with lots of free food, booze and great music.  I didn't see any famous media personalities (they were probably in the VIP party), but I did meet a nice man who edits video for Brian Williams "Rock Center."

I did see the Mayor of Charlotte, Anthony Foxx, and he introduced several other Governors and political types, but I didn't see them.

I left the media party about half an hour before it shut down in an effort to avoid long lines at the shuttle buses.

Looking forward to Day 2!  I'll be hanging out with the Oregon Delegation most of the day.