Blue Hearts

The room where I'm doing the blog and hanging.



The front of The Big Tent where I'm blogging



Where MSNB is doing there show. Short walk from my digs.




Only Segues I've seen in town.






Common site here in Denver



Could I be any happier????



Washington Post Opinion Columnist, E J Dionne who graciously posed for a fan



Unbelievable site



Former CA Gov. Gray Davis





SF Mayor Gavin Newsome



Hey All

Happy third day of the convention and Happy Birthday to my daughter, Madeline!

I already tried this once and lost all the data so I'm doing it again. Lots of fun photos for you to enjoy. This time I have my camera and NOT just the phone, Regina. : )

Went over to The Big Tent to blog to you. Hung out in the Media Lounge. (If they only knew.) Also visited the Huffington Post Lounge where they have tons of snacks and drinks and vegetarian passed appetizers as well as massages, yoga and facials!

There's a great, green option here where you can go to these bike areas, give them your credit card with no charge, use the bike for the day, and drop off at stations throughout the city. Great stuff.

Visited the MSNBC outpost where they're producing their show. It's just down the street from where I'm staying. You're really close in open air to the on-air talent and guests. They're passing out fans and hats and stuff. It's kind of fun. I always thought those Today Show groupies were kind of strange. What's the point. But it is fun to watch in person what you normally see on the tube.

After that I hooked up with my hosts and walked down the 16th Street Mall. Lots of people and fun things to see and buy. I still haven't hit the vendors. Trying to maintain some discipline here!

Walked down to the Grand Hyatt to try to visit with my Aunt, Anna Eshoo, Congresswoman from the Silicon Valley before heading to her delegation party. They wouldn't even let me in the hotel to call her room and head up. So I met her down at the Grant Humphreys Mansion, a turn of the 20th century former governor's mansion reminiscent of many of our (KC's) beautiful homes.

Anna has served the country since '92 and it's easy to see why. Her warm greeting and sincere fondness for her constituents is evident to all. She fluidly and graciously integrated a message about the history of the mansion with why we were all there and the importance of it all. Thanks for your generous hospitality, Aunty Anna. I love you!

I had the pleasure of reconnecting with my sister April's good friend, Paul Romness. We hopped in his car driven by Frank, an extremely bright and adept intern who is gifted in multi-tasking. He was able to manage the traffic, streets, directions while navigating through his PDA and talking on the phone. Frank and his kind leave me hopeful about our future.

We hit Earls for the Wine and Beer distributors party. Haven't had a Guiness on tap in a long time. Delicious. Then we caught a rickshaw/pedi-cab (not sure what they call them here) to the Convention. I was lucky enough to get a Floor/Delegate pass. The ride was great, open-air, and daring. The pedi-cabs can weave in and out of the free shuttles that go up and down 16th. No cars or taxis are allowed. Fortunately for the "drivers", it's very flat downtown.

He dropped us off at the entrance to the Pepsi Center. But, let me tell you, that was just the beginning. There was a mob, I mean line, to get past security. Not being a big fan of crowds, I went to one of the 4 bus lines that take you to another security area which was, by the way, thorough, quick and about 5 times bigger than the place where everyone else was. However, the ridiculous bus lines kept us waiting a good half hour. It was so stupid. The large security area you couldn't get to and the small security area was WAY too small.

Anyway, finally got to the building and onto the Floor. I'll try to express how I felt walking into the packed stadium surrounded by the press and all my fellow democrats. I may has well have been 10 and going to Disneyland!! Looking up and around the sights just blew me away. I struggled through the crowds and found the MO and CA sections right next to each other. They had really good placement. TX was in the nose bleed section, as well they should be. Sorry Jane.

I found and greeted my buddy, Yolanda Wheat, and her two sons Christopher and Nicholas. Wow. Have they grown since I last saw them. They are becoming amazing young men, with great manners by the way.

Then I found Kelvin and Sarah, successful delegate candidates and convention buddies.

Of course I couldn't find a seat so I stood the entire time watching most of the convention from a big-screen tv in the halls where they sell t-shirts and snacks. I was hanging with a handful of guys enjoying our special hallway camaraderie. As usual, the trend was set and, by the time Hillary finished her excellent speech, we were surrounded by 50 or so fellow watcher and the stadium seated had nothing on us. We were cheering in the halls and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I guess we were a spectacle because no fewer than three film crews and cameramen were filming us. Go figure.

After the speech, everyone started pouring out of the stands. I saw Dave Helling from The KC Star looking for delegates to interview. I sent him in the direction of Alternate, Aimee Gromowski. It was crazy, interviews everywhere: Gavin Newsome, Mayor of SF, Former Governors Gray Davis of CA and Bob Holden of MO, etc. etc.

Then, on the way back to the buses, I see actress Jorja Fox who played Sara Sidle on CSI. So fun. I heard there were numerous celebs leaving the CA delegation area, but I think they were probably in some VIP area.

Got to go to the MO delegation party sponsored by numerous MO companies. Lovely food and a "big" band. No dancing. Oh well. But got to visit with Gerard Grimaldi, former buddy from the Wheat campaign. And Richard Martin, all that and more. Emmanuel Cleaver welcomed us and introduced Congressmen Ike Skelton and Russ Carnahan, and Senator Claire McCaskill.

But, I didn't want to make it too late of a night so I caught a cab and got home at just after 1 a.m. My cabbie, Mark, was a great conversationalist and we got into it on the way home. Happy to say we were on the same page.

What a fabulous day. See you tomorrow.

Your fearless Blue Hearts leader,
Kristin