we live so close to new hampshire, the first state to hold their presidential primary (today!), that we had to go check out the campaign action. we, and a couple of friends, headed to the granite state and were able to get into both a john edwards and a barack obama stump speech/rally.

edwards was our first stop:

madeleine stowe and some guy from desperate housewives introduced him:

and there was a pretty good crowd:

but that crowd was about 1/4 the size of the group waiting to see barack obama. this was the group in front of us in line:

and the rest were all behind us. the line wrapped completely around this new hampshire middle school building. we waited outside for 90 minutes while the secret service swept the building and it was very cold. luckily gl and i had plenty of knitted goods to keep us warm:

that’s us trying to look pleasant in spite of not being able to feel our toes and being very very hungry.

once inside we figured we would hear a quick speech, take some pictures and head out for a nice meal. (tom and i hadn’t eaten since breakfast and gl and bill had only an early lunch. we had planned to eat before obama, but had to skip it to make it on time to the next event.) little did we know, obama was running late.

for two hours we sat on a gymnasium floor, cold, cranky, tired and with bellies grumbling. loaded up with dollars and quarters, gl ventured out to find some snacks within the building, but was only able to round up these two items for the four of us to share before the vending machine broke:

finally, he showed up. although he did not, as we had hoped, arrive with free pizza for all:

and the celebrity sighting at this event was none other than ken burns:

trust me, that’s him behind the blond lady.

it was a fun adventure, and i’m glad we got the opportunity to see some of the action in person. i’m sure that none of the candidates will be hitting the pavement and shaking hands in our state. it will be interesting to watch who comes out on top tonight.

it doesn’t matter to me who you vote for…if you are able, find your state’s date and vote this year!

What a great experience……Remember that Mark is fighting for the very freedom that we take for granted. What a priviledge and honor to be able to choose who governs us. I agree, we all need to vote!

Wow! You got great pix of both guys!!! And “Mike” from DH was there!!!! I think I would have been more excited about that! hahah

Looks like it was a fun time, and a great experience!
I miss knitting night, but I should be back in a couple of weeks! I hope all is well
Deidre