• Flickr set
  
• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/1/08 Part I


• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/2/08 Part I


• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/2/08 Part II


• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/3/08 Part I


• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/3/08 Part II


• Iowa Caucus Trip 1/4/08

There are no pictures this time, only words. Pictures start in the next entry.

We pull into Des Moines. I have to say that this is a neat city. There is snow all over and it’s pristine sparkling white. The roads and sidewalks are clear and nice. We passed some really cool old looking warehouses. When we got to downtown several political offices were pointed out; my memory may be failing but I believe that Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee had offices in the same downtown building. It was a cute downtown and kind of reminded me of Minneapolis, only on a much smaller scale. In the building I saw a gold domed building that I felt looked like a very federal looking mosque (it was the capital; more on that later). We get to the hotel (LATE) and folks start getting their room keys. Well, some did. I was part of the crew that was told that our rooms weren’t ready yet (it was well past 3) so we were to head to a banquet room where we could leave our suitcases and freshen up there or crash someone else’s room.

Yes. Crash a stranger’s room. I would like to add that as one of the older participants I knew NO ONE. There were no “getting to know you” type games, no introductions, none of that. This caused me some heartburn later.

I chose to change in a public restroom stall. Some girls did a full on makeover. Now, I appreciate the fact that these girls did brush their teeth after the journey and I also applaud their dental hygiene when they decided to spend the full two minutes brushing but DANG. I had just gotten off a long bus right AND peed and needed a hand wash and all the sinks were occupied. Luckily I squeezed in, left my suitcase in the (unlocked) banquet room, and got back on the bus to get to my volunteer location. I was volunteering for Barack Obama and had stars in my eyes!

After getting a bit lost we ended up at a big room at the local zoo. This is where I’m going to have to keep my mouth shut. I’m not really allowed to blog about what happened, but I may tell you if you ask nicely and use the Amazon link above to buy your goodies. Let’s just say I was already irritable from a 15 hour bus ride where I got maybe two hours of sleep (and I’m being generous with that calculation), and then had no room which added to that, and then got news and directions that made me absolutely furious. I spent a lot of time talking to my mom. I was so angry that I asked her to look up the cost of a one-way flight back home (expensive). I had decided that the next day if things didn’t look up I was going to rent a car and head home. Listen, when I’m that irritable the only option is to let me escape. We left the volunteer opportunity (UGH) to go get food and head to Knoxville (yes, they have one too!) to see Bill Clinton.

Best laid plans, right? We picked up the John Edwards folks (their volunteer HQ was in a union office—if you haven’t heard yet, he’s the son of a millworker!) who had met the Edwards and even given them hugs. Edwards did this keen thing where he was at a different location every two hours for 36 hours. We stopped at a Burger King and, unfortunately, the crowd took FOREVER to get through (I am NOT blaming the staff here—in fact, I told them what a good job they did with all of us), me being the last. Some tiny dork told me he liked my hood (it has this crazy fake fur that’s almost like a teddy bear), everyone got his food, and I got on the bus to eat.

There was an executive decision not to go to Knoxville after all since it was due to start in ten minutes but was an hour away. This was actually fine as I needed sleep.

I should mention that when I got on the bus at the volunteer location the Organizer (let’s just call her that) called a few names and handed room keys. I asked if I had one? She said yes, she’d given it to A______. I told her I didn’t know who that was. She went to this mystery girl, got a card, and told me my room number. I was on the verge of tears which I pretty much live on, but my voice was squeaky from exhaustion and rage. Really. It was best to let me be.

Anyway, let’s get back to our post-BK ride back to the hotel. Some guy sat next to me and despite my irritation I warmed to him and had a chat. He reminded me so much of Kenneth on “30 Rock” that I had to. Additionally, he was working on the Huckabee campaign yet intended to go to a Hillary Clinton event. He was a walking contradiction with a fabulous accent and I just wanted to adopt him.

I get to the (unlocked) banquet room and get my suitcase (not stolen). I went to my room where I claimed a bed to share with a stranger. They at least organized us by party—I shared a room with two Clinton volunteers. One girl commented that the room-sharing was “ghetto.” I took my shower (in a room with three girls in their late teens/early twenties this is the best way to go), took my benedryl, and passed out quickly. Phew.

Labels: iowa, politics