Wednesday was my network's turn in travel pool and I hadn't done travel pool on the road in quite some time. But it's always a bit of a challenge because you know that you're representing all of TV so when you make a mistake, you're messing up for five networks instead of just one. I set out on the day with the goal not to make any mistakes at all and I knew I was going to have 17 hours to maintain that goal. If you want to know what you do in travel pool, this was basically my day:
1. Go to the pool hold and get swept by Secret Service. Eat.
2. Get on a van and wait.
3. Ride in the motorcade at top speeds through neighborhoods and city streets.
4.Arrive at destination and run to the spot of the event. Wait. Eat.
5. Get back in the van and repeat step 3
6. Arrive at the airport and RUN to get on Air Force One in time.
7. Participate in the off camera briefing on board and then file a report to all the networks. (Skip eating because you're working.)
8. Arrive at the airport and then repeat 5 and 3 then 4.
9. Wait in another pool hold. Eat.
10. Repeat 5 and 3.
11. Arrive at the helicopter landing zone and hop on a helicopter to fly to another spot then repeat 5 then 3 and then 9.
12. Then repeat 2 then 3 then 4.
13. Finally repeat 5 then 3.
14. Get in a different van and drive back to the press hotel arriving at midnight.
Are you with me? It's a lot of hurrying up and waiting. And running and getting in and out of 15-passenger vans. All done wearing heels. And carrying your suitcase and computer bag. Sounds glamorous, right?
Somehow all the above actually was actually somewhat fun even though it was 17 hours in travel pool. It included all the good elements... a motorcade, a ride on Air Force One, a chopper ride, and a bit of news. Dana gaggled on board about the new book from Scott McClellan and so my job was to take what was said in the gaggle and send it out to all five networks. Somehow on the plane, we never lost a wireless signal so I was able to send it out immediately and the networks had it in record fashion. But not soon enough for me to get food on Air Force One. I heard the salmon was fairly good!! Bummer!
My time in travel pool produced several other stories worth blogging about. They are kind of random but here are a few other experiences and in random order
*In Colorado, my hotel advertised a beautiful scenic view of the mountains but when I looked out my window, all I saw was fog. Apparently Colorado is known for its mountains which I never saw until we were taking off. The weather there was awful. We were there for the graduation of the Air Force Academy and it was the first time in many years that it was rainy and foggy. That was an understatement. It was just downright nasty weather. And of course the event is outside. I have to give POTUS some props because he shook hands and posed for pictures with each of the 1,012 graduates. It took more than two hours. In the rain and freezing temperatures. I opted out of standing in the rain for almost three hours and headed for the tent with the rest of my colleagues from the press. It was no warmer in there but at least we didn't have rain in our faces. I haven't been that cold in quite a while and of course I didn't have a coat or anything remotely warm.
1. Go to the pool hold and get swept by Secret Service. Eat.
2. Get on a van and wait.
3. Ride in the motorcade at top speeds through neighborhoods and city streets.
4.Arrive at destination and run to the spot of the event. Wait. Eat.
5. Get back in the van and repeat step 3
6. Arrive at the airport and RUN to get on Air Force One in time.
7. Participate in the off camera briefing on board and then file a report to all the networks. (Skip eating because you're working.)
8. Arrive at the airport and then repeat 5 and 3 then 4.
9. Wait in another pool hold. Eat.
10. Repeat 5 and 3.
11. Arrive at the helicopter landing zone and hop on a helicopter to fly to another spot then repeat 5 then 3 and then 9.
12. Then repeat 2 then 3 then 4.
13. Finally repeat 5 then 3.
14. Get in a different van and drive back to the press hotel arriving at midnight.
Are you with me? It's a lot of hurrying up and waiting. And running and getting in and out of 15-passenger vans. All done wearing heels. And carrying your suitcase and computer bag. Sounds glamorous, right?
Somehow all the above actually was actually somewhat fun even though it was 17 hours in travel pool. It included all the good elements... a motorcade, a ride on Air Force One, a chopper ride, and a bit of news. Dana gaggled on board about the new book from Scott McClellan and so my job was to take what was said in the gaggle and send it out to all five networks. Somehow on the plane, we never lost a wireless signal so I was able to send it out immediately and the networks had it in record fashion. But not soon enough for me to get food on Air Force One. I heard the salmon was fairly good!! Bummer!
My time in travel pool produced several other stories worth blogging about. They are kind of random but here are a few other experiences and in random order
*In Colorado, my hotel advertised a beautiful scenic view of the mountains but when I looked out my window, all I saw was fog. Apparently Colorado is known for its mountains which I never saw until we were taking off. The weather there was awful. We were there for the graduation of the Air Force Academy and it was the first time in many years that it was rainy and foggy. That was an understatement. It was just downright nasty weather. And of course the event is outside. I have to give POTUS some props because he shook hands and posed for pictures with each of the 1,012 graduates. It took more than two hours. In the rain and freezing temperatures. I opted out of standing in the rain for almost three hours and headed for the tent with the rest of my colleagues from the press. It was no warmer in there but at least we didn't have rain in our faces. I haven't been that cold in quite a while and of course I didn't have a coat or anything remotely warm.
*The flyover at the end of the graduation was waaaay cool. It was doubtful that it could take place due to the weather but it cleared up somewhat and they were able to do it. So as the airmen are tossing their caps in the air, the five fighter jets zoom across the sky. It's really cool but it happened so quickly that I couldn't get a picture of it. So here's a picture from last year. It's the same thing but this year without any hint of a blue sky.
*Not many people can say they've taken a helicopter from Salt Lake City to Park City through the snow-capped mountains. It was really cool and I would have shown you pictures but this time we were on a slightly different helicopter that didn't have the same windows and we had shoulder harnesses for seat belts. So you'll have to trust me when I say it was absolutely gorgeous!! The mountains are huge and most of them still have a lot of snow on them! If I was a skier, which I'm not, I would definitely make sure I spent a lot of time in that area.
*When POTUS goes to fundraisers that are closed to the press, we have to go to the pool hold. And at fundraisers, many times we hold at a really nice house. The first of houses we held in on Wednesday was actually the guest house for the main house where the fundraiser was taking place. It's really sad when the guest house is about 20 times bigger than your own home and about a million times nicer. You can't fathom how much money these people actually have. The second house was actually a house about a 1/2 mile from Mitt Romney's house on the top of a mountain in Park City, UT. It was for sale actually but the entire travel pool probably couldn't have pooled (no pun intended) our resources to pay the down payment on it. Impressive. And just the nicest people. And the best catering in a pool hold that I've seen in a long long time!
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