Democratic National Convention

It came and it conquered.

The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte was great. Keep in mind, I can only say that because I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off, stressed out of my mind, outside in the sweltering heat or pouring rain. However, I did get to be right in the middle of it all. The hotel I work at is right smack dab in the center of town. That meant I got to witness protests, cops galore and politicians right outside our doors or in our lobby.

The EpiCentre is really the spot for entertainment, food and activities. I’ll let their website sum it all up for you.

Anyways, that place had lots going on all week. The corner restaurant (which is usually Vida Cantina I believe) was transformed into CNN Grill. This was heavily guarded and only people with credentials were allowed inside, but CNN broadcasted from the restaurant all week.

There was a really cool sand sculpture of President Obama out front. We heard he lost an arm after a big rain storm though, poor guy. Someone in the Observer said  “It bears an uncanny resemblance to what the president would look like if he were made out of sand sculpted by someone who had never actually seen him.”

MSNBC was broadcasting from the EpiCentre all week. I never made it in the background of any of the shows, but I did listen to Chuck Todd for a bit and some guests on his show before I couldn’t listen any more.

There was a scheduled protest march for Sunday afternoon. It was expected to draw a huge crowd since protesters weren’t able to march in Tampa due to rain. Word was the city was expecting upwards of 10,000 people. Well, the march ended up being smaller than expected and very tame. Estimates at that point were about 800 people. Joe did witness some protests right outside my hotel on Wednesday that also seemed entertaining. You name it, they were protesting it. Five point if you can find the hotel in the background!

Joe and I usually turn on Fox and Friends in the morning for a bit before heading off to work. When we saw they were broadcasting from Charlotte just outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame we had to see Steve, Gretchen and Brian in person. They didn’t have a crowd, just a small set and free Pita Pit (score!) Throughout the week they had some specials like actual NASCAR drivers and their cars, segway tours and birds from the Carolina Raptor Center. How cool!

A few politicians and "celebrities" I did see:

• Nancy Pelosi (Minority Lead of the House and Former Speaker)
• Bruce Braley (Congressman from Iowa... representing the district with my hometown!)
• Martin O'Malley (Governor of Massachusetts) 
• Barney Frank (Massachusetts Congressman)
• Reverend Jesse Jackson (Seriously, he's still around? I don't even have a title for him)
• Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark, NJ)
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida Congresswoman and DNC Chair)
• Chuck Todd (Political Analyst for NBC News)
• Bob Schieffer (Moderator of Face The Nations on CBS)
• Steve, Gretchen and Brian on Fox and Friends (Our favorites!!!)

Some of these people stayed at the hotel, some I saw in the lobby or around town. We also had the privilege of hosting First Lady Michelle Obama for a lunch at the hotel. As you can imagine the security was tight and most hotel associates didn't even get to see her. 

Finally I wanted to share some pictures from the Charlotte Observer. These were all taken from the website, but some of them captured the week perfectly.

Cops directly traffic while dancing and entertaining the masses.

Dismantling the stage at Bank of America Stadium.

President Obama's speech was given at Time Warner Cable Arena instead.

More from the protests. The cops were in full force!

And finally some interesting people found around the city.

source

I feel like I'm forgetting so much about the week. All in all it was a lot of fun to be part of something so big and watched by so many. I hope you all watched the news and saw Charlotte too!