Greetings from the Sunshine State

I'm spending about 12 hours in the Sunshine State and sadly it's almost over. It's just so much nicer here than it was in New Hampshire. We were delayed leaving Boston last night and didn't leave until 10:20p and landed in Orlando by about 1:30a. And then by the time we got our luggage, rented a car, and got lost in the Hispanic neighborhoods of Orlando in the middle of the night due to a broken GPS system, I finally made it into my huge three room suite at 3a. Normally I would spend some time in each of the rooms and enjoy the spacious accommodations but at that hour, sleep was the priority. We were able to sleep in a little bit this morning and I had a nice smoothie for breakfast at the pool/spa at the Ritz Carlton. Did I mention that I was "working" at the time? It was such a beautiful morning and I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine.

We made it to the McCain event site but ended up having to park a few miles away so I let my correspondent out of the car and went to park the car. Then it turned out that there was no shuttle because McCain was early (I've totally given up on his acronym and will just use his name until I figure something else out.) So I was blocked out of the event. So I sat in my car and then decided to make a Wal-Mart run. So I've been on the campaign trail for two days and not actually seen McCain yet. I can't believe it's only Monday. These have been the longest two days in the history of mankind.

We're headed to Ohio tonight. We were planning on going to Tampa but we changed our plans late this afternoon. I am planning on getting stopped for the special search at the airport because any time there is a one-way ticket purchased at the last minute, you have to go through the entire TSA search. I'm actually getting used to it and taking it like a champ. Boy do I miss the charter!!

Don't Take it for Granite

Greetings from New Hampshire. I am officially on the trail and learning all about how life is soooo different outside POTUS's bubble. Today we woke up in Hooksett, NH and spent the day in Concord in the rain. I am not sure if I had ever been to Concord before but I can officially cross it off my list. We were in New Hampshire because WBPOTUS-R was attending the NASCAR race. I didn't end up going to the race itself which is fine by me because I don't get the fascination with watching cars go around in a circle for several hours. Anywho, that I meant I came all this way and never even got close to McCain. I never even saw any signs that he was here. But it was a good day nonetheless. Kind of a calmer day to get me acclimated to the political travel world. The first thing I had to do this morning was find a suitable liveshot location. We decided on the bank parking lot because A) there was a view of the capitol building in the back, B) it was Sunday so it wasn't opened and C) if it continued to rain, we could do the liveshots under the canopy of the drive-thru teller lanes. I of course didn't pack the correct rain gear so conveniently we went over to the L.L. Bean outlet store and I purchased a new rain coat that's lightweight. Of course about five minutes after I put on my new raincoat, it stopped raining. Now because I actually have an appropriate jacket, it won't rain again the whole time we're out on the road.

I've survived commercial travel so far. But tonight we are flying from Boston to Orlando and our flight has been delayed by an hour and a half which puts us into our hotel sometime around 2a. Luckily I talked them into letting us sleep in and not have to be live until noon. I have to sleep at least four hours tonight (plus hopefully sleeping on the plane) in order to be functional tomorrow. I didn't sleep all that well last night even though I was in the lap of luxury in Hooksett, the center of the great Granite State. Sleep has definitely been taken for granite, I mean granted! (Get it!??!)

A lot of what I do on the road is logistics which is convenient because I get to pick the hotels we stay at. So far, we're staying at 4 and 5-stars. Of course the rule of traveling with POTUS applies here too. The nicer the hotel, the less time you have to sleep there. 

Tomorrow we wake up in Orlando and have an afternoon WBPOTUS-R event and then we drive to Tampa for the night. At the end of this stint, I might be sleep deprived, but I'm pretty sure I'll move up at least one level in the Marriott Rewards program. My goal is Platinum!!

 

I Remember

I was quite busy at work yesterday but I took some time out to reflect on the 7th anniversary of 9/11. It is definitely something you never forget. I remember randomly turning on CNN that morning and almost immediately watching the second plane crash in to the second tower. I remember how God shielded me from seeing the plane hit the Pentagon. I remember how I was on my way to work only to get turned around right before driving by the Pentagon. I left home a few minutes later that morning and if I had left on time, I would have been right by the Pentagon at 9:37am. I remember calling my boss to tell him I was going to be late and I'll never forget what he said to me. He said, "Becky, everything has changed. Everything." I didn't grasp the totality of what he was saying but he proved to be right. He told me to go back home and wait a little bit until things had calmed down and then try to come in later. I remember calling my mom to tell her I was safe. I remember sitting at home, feeling my house shake from when the wall of the Pentagon collapsed. I remember having to talk my way over the Key Bridge and it taking more than two hours to eventually get to work. I remember working the overnight shift that night in the control room producing liveshots (something I had limited amounts of experience doing at that point). I remember eventually driving home near dawn on the absolutely abandoned interstate and seeing them unfurl the American flag next to the hole in the Pentagon. I remember the smoke and the smell of burning metal and other unthinkable things that I could even smell at my house about seven miles away. I remember not sleeping for several days and working 20 hour days. I remember the pain I saw in the family members of those lost in the attacks and just weeping inside. I remember going to church the Sunday afterwards and just bawling the entire time starting from the time I walked in the door.

I also remember a few months later, maybe it was around the six month anniversary but I'm not sure. It was the only time I have ever cried at work due to something I'm covering. I was at the burn center at Washington Hospital Center at a press conference of victims from the Pentagon. These were the most severe victims of the attacks in DC, with at least 95% of their body in third degree burns. I listened to their stories and just the amount of courage they had and I just cried. Most of them were in military and they just wanted to get better so they could go back to work and serve their country. They described their daily routine of having their bandages changed with the most intense pain imaginable. They called their nurses angels which I had no doubt that they were. By the time it came time for me to interview them, I was a basket case. I literally couldn't put two words together (and for those that know me, that's not usually a struggle of mine!) I remember finally realizing in a tangible way what had happened to our country, our world through the eyes of one or two people. It was an incredibly powerful day.

So last night, some friends of mine and I visited the Pentagon Memorial. I wasn't with POTUS on Thursday morning because we weren't travel pool for it. (Thanks to leap year, this is the first time in five years that we weren't travel pool on 9/11.) I watched the ceremony on TV like everyone else. Actually I was watching the several live cameras uninterrupted so I saw more of it than what was actually on TV. (On a completely side note, I saw three of the Becky Protective Detail at the Pentagon yesterday! My team was well represented!) Anyway, when Darla asked if anyone wanted to go after 7p when it opened to the public, I jumped at the chance (and tried to get my piece done early!). It was incredibly moving and inspiring. Being right there on the path of the plane was moving. Just seeing the benches representing all 184 victims- from age 3 to 70- reminded me of how many families were affected that day. And that was only the Pentagon attack. The memorial was designed really well and is a great tribute to those who died that day.

When we were leaving, I stopped a second to look at the flag draped over the Pentagon, in the same place where I saw it being unfurled seven years prior. I thought about how much had changed in the world and in me. I thought about those people I had seen at the hospital that day and how hard a day the anniversary must be for them. I thought about the sadness that the loved ones of victims probably have every time this anniversary comes around. And I thought about how proud I was to be an American and privileged to be living right in the middle of it all.

Let's Call Him...

Thank you for the suggestions for the new acronym. I'm thinking of going with WBPOTUS-R for McCain. (Wanna Be POTUS-Republican) And that will mean that Obama will be WBPOTUS-D. I have to be fair, objective, and treat them the same. I almost said fair and balanced but that just drives me crazy because then I get all these suggestions that I should go work for FOX. And I'm confident that I'm the exact place where God wants me right now. Anyway, I digress and don't mean to come across bitter (I attribute any hints of that to being tired)... on to the day's events!!!

This morning was my first time covering a political event that did not involve POTUS. It's a whole different ballgame when it's not actually the POTUS. I was in Fairfax this morning at the McCain-Palin rally where they drew their largest crowd. 23,000 people! 23,000 very excited people!

We showed up at 4:45a at the park. At that point, they hadn't even really set up where the security perimeter was truly going to be. I think it changed about ten times in about an hour. We set up our liveshot location three different times in three different places. At one point, the USSS (none of the agents were friends of mine- that force is HUGE!) told me that I couldn't go back and forth between the satellite truck and the live location. That would have been kind of sucky but fine but I decided to challenge it just a little bit. I just asked the right questions and when I used the right words and next thing you know they agreed to let the secure area expand. They even let me park my car on site which they didn't let pretty much ANYONE else. I don't know what it is but I really have a way with making friends with the agents. I also convinced the McCain staff to rope off an area where we could have space without the 23,000 people in our faces. That was so nice because there were a lot of people as previously mentioned and I think everyone was rather cozy by the end of it.

We did liveshots in the morning and then watched the rally. I actually have never been to a political event that big, with the exception of the inauguration. But as far as political rallies go, this was by far the biggest I've personally been to. It was perhaps the most unorganized event from my perspective I've been to. But I don't blame them. They only had 15 hours to put it together and it was HUGE. The WBPOTUS-R's team were exceptionally helpful to us!

At the end of the rally, I had to feed tape so I was escorted out of the crowd with WBPOTUS-R staff (ok, that acronym might not last long because that is complicated to type and doesn't roll off the tongue like POTUS) and they left me standing right by the Straight Talk Express (STE in pool reports) which also meant that I was up close and personal to WBPOTUS-R and WBVPOTUS-R. They weren't facing me but I did sort of get close. Closer than most of the 23,000 people (except Darla and Savonne) got to them. I know my pictures aren't the best but then I make myself feel better by telling myself that I'm really there to work so picture-taking is not my focus, literally and figuratively. Plus, I'm inspired to get a new camera even more! But here are some of the shots from the day.

I did survive the day although I'm not going to lie to you, I barely did. I don't know what I was thinking when I got dressed this morning and decided wearing two and half inch heels to run around in the wet grass and mud all morning. And then I stood on a fairly steep hill for about three hours. I'm not sure if my feet will forgive me. I just took my shoes off when I got back to the bureau because my feet were screaming at me. For the next nine hours, I went around my office in my bare feet and remarkably I could finally walk to the car to come home and collapse on my couch! It was a great day and I feel like it was a success for my first day on the trail- even if it was only ten miles from home!

False Alarm- well sort of!

Today was my first day with the political unit covering the campaign for the next POTUS. It's going to be a whole new world than what I'm used to but it's not full steam ahead for me yet. My correspondent and I actually stayed in DC today and we're likely to stay put for the rest of the week and not head out until next week. McCain (I need a cool acronym for him) is having a rally all the way in Fairfax tomorrow. Thank God I live in Virginia because I have to be there at 5a. So I do get to sleep in my own bed which I'm actually grateful for!

So I'm sorry there is nothing more exciting to report but it's only a matter of time. In the meantime, I'll be thinking of acronyms and will accept any suggestions!

It's Raining! It's Pouring!!

So I realize that most of my blog posts involve one of three things (sometimes more than one): food, POTUS, and rain. Today I'm just focusing on one. Tropical Storm Hanna. I'm thankful that my parents fared well through the storm as they live in the exact place where Hanna made landfall. It couldn't have been too bad because they slept through the storm. So that means that we get the remnants with lots and lots of rain. My afternoon plans got canceled because of the rain and I think God is telling me that I should be productive with this extra time and actually clean my house and finish my piles of laundry. Instead, I decided to walk down to the end of my street and check out the creek bed. Keep in mind that on a normal day, there is barely any water here and that it's always low enough to walk or bike across. And where you see the water a little out of its bank, it's really a decline down of about eight feet. I don't think this picture does it justice, especially since I apparently missed the entire tree floating by right before I got there. Let's just say that it's a LOT of rain. More than what I saw in Texas! And it's still supposed to rain hard for another two or three hours. I might just be wild and crazy enough to check it out again in a little bit. I keep looking out of my window to make sure my car hasn't floated away.




In other news, I survived the past week at work and after two last minute trips by POTUS and several other big stories, I made it through being in charge thanks to my co-workers. I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about on some of the network conference calls and in meetings. In reality, it was just like being in high school and hoping the teacher doesn't call on you to explain a chapter in the novel that you just read the Cliff Notes for. Not that I know what that feels like! :) I have one more day on Monday not to screw anything up too badly.


On Tuesday, I hit the campaign trail for a while. All I know is that I'll be with my correspondent and I believe we'll be with the McCain-Palin ticket. So I don't know where I'm going, how long I'll be gone, what to pack, how I'm going to get there. Oh actually I do know that but I'm in denial. I'll be flying commercially. A lot. Like every day. I'm already mentally preparing myself and I know I can survive! :) I'll do my best to blog while I'm out on the road but I can't make any guarantees. Apparently I will be working my tail off at all hours of the day and night. For two weeks at least. Sounds fun, right? It will be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it a lot. Or at least I've convinced myself that it will be fun!!

Large and In Charge!!

My boss jinxed me. He's on vacation this week and he put me in charge of the WH unit. He said on Friday, "What's the worst that can happen? Bush is going to the RNC and then to Camp for the rest of the week. You'll be fine. Until you're not." Of course Hurricane Gustav made his way into the gulf full steam ahead. POTUS cancelled his plans to go to Minneapolis. And thus my "trial by hurricane" started for the week.

Yesterday, we were travel pool so even though I didn't have to go into work, I was dealing with things from home. Which meant that I didn't really get a Sunday nap. And I had so much stress there for a little while that the only thing I could think of to relieve the pressure was to break open the emergency stash of Thin Mints in my freezer. Those Girl Scouts cookies came through once again! I figured it was okay to open the box since the fall GSs start selling cookies in the next month or two. (BTW, I love living in an area where there are fall GSs and spring GSs because you don't have to worry about running out of cookies!)

Anyway, I digress. Day #1 of being in charge went fairly well. All the logistics were in place and I felt like it went pretty well. I only had to bother my boss on the beach two or three times!! It didn't really bother me that I was interrupting his vacation. He's the one that jinxed me in the first place! And this is the not the first time. The first time I had to do travel pool, he was explaining to me which van to get in, what to do, where to go and he said, "You won't have to worry about it but just have a question prepared just in case POTUS calls on you. It never happens but just always be prepared." Next thing I know, POTUS is calling on me for a question. On my very first day in travel pool. I guess I should be used to the whole trial by fire thing by now!