My first day in Denver!

I have flown in to Denver many, many times and am used to the plane ride. Usually I read a book and listen to music...but during this flight I found myself unable to focus! All I could do was anticipate the momentous week ahead of me. This is my very first convention and I really feel like I am being the change I wish to see in this country just by being here!

When the flight landed in Denver and I made it to the terminal with a smile on my face for the crowd of people waiting. There were people waiting with OBAMA signs, DNC signs, and many news crews. It was a great high energy introduction to the city of Denver and the 2008 Convention!

I gathered my luggage and made it to the shuttle van that took me straight...to the wrong hotel! I ran into a young man from Guam whose delegation is sharing a hotel with Idaho and Indian who shared several cabs with me. After a few hours, we made it to our hotel!

There were several events this afternoon. Several Idaho delegates went to the Interfaith celebration and several went to Pachanga: A Celebration of the Fair Housing Act. I went to the Pachanga and met several wonderful delegates from Texas. There was salsa music, delicious food, and was in an area of the city they are working to revitalize. It was a beautiful day to stroll the streets of Denver and meet people like Jeff Key who is working to provide mental health support for returning Iraq veterans (as a former veteran himself, he feels soldiers are not getting the support they need).

The evening event was a gigantic party called "Friends of New Orleans" at the Colorado Convention Center. A great New Orleans band band played and Idaho's delegation took over the dance floor. Jerry Brady, Nicole LeFavour, and Jessica Taylor really showed the other delegates that Idaho CAN DANCE! More than just a party, this event was about supporting our fellow Americans. Thousands of delegates turned out to support efforts in the Katrina stricken area. The mayor of New Orleans spoke, as did Howard Dean. It is a testament to the inadequacies of Bush's Administration how many are still displaced and how badly they have fumbled the recovery efforts in the area. The event really underlined our need for McCain to be defeated in the fall to prevent four more years of inadequate, unconcerned government.

As a young Democrat, I was excited to hear of a party sponsored by the Young Democrats of America later in the evening. In total, 7 Idaho delegates and pages went to the event at the Bar Standard in Downtown Denver. There was lots of good music and interesting young folks to talk to. I spoke with a young man named Mike who creates amazing artwork on earth friendly t-shirts. His site is http://www.bloodheartgroup.com/ and I highly recommend you check out his website and artwork. Also, there were many local Denver-ites out and about in support of the DNC. I met a young teacher from this city who took two days of work this week to volunteer at the Convention. Dedication like hers is awesome to see in other young people!

As the group of us traveled home this evening, we were all smiles. The most often uttered phrase on the way back to the hotel was, "Can you believe this is actually happening?" We are all working so hard to do Idaho proud and enjoy as much of this once in a lifetime experience as we can! Thank you for all your support and keep checking for more updates!