I Got to See Sarah! I Got to See Sarah!

(Since I’ve gotten behind again, I’m just going to work backwards. This is the most recent, blog-worthy event)

On Tuesday, after foregoing lunch the last two days to make up the hours, I left work early at 3:30pm. Shelly, unable to accompany me, remained at the Court of Appeals in Raleigh, (humorous phrase describing Shelly's work activities deleted due to frantic AM phone call requesting its removal). However, not to be wholly divest of human companionship, I picked up two other travel buddies, one willing, the other not so much.
Ditching my Buick, the three of us piled into the Four-runner and hit the road for Greenville, a little town in eastern North Carolina. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the event we were to attend was located at East Carolina University (Home of the Pirates, if shout-outs are to be believed). Putting our trust in the dash-mounted GPS, we got on the road at 3:45 and arrived at the town limits around 5:15 pm. I gained a new appreciation of the Four-Runner’s acceleration and top cruising speeds.
We arrived there safely, though we had a few tense moments about 5 minutes out of the venue, as we passed boarded-up warehouses, over-grown train tracks, and aimless street drifters galore. "Uh… are you sure you got the address right?" I asked. "If I were Sarah Palin, I don’t think I’d come here!" Fortunately, one wrong turn later and a short trip down a GPS-recommended gravel road, we saw an emblazoned sign proclaiming East Carolina University, and all was well.
All, that was, except for parking. After driving half a mile down the road, we finally happened upon a parking lot, which boasted not one empty spot. Circling around the back of a stadium, we found no other empty spots either, but did see an open gate leading into an empty field, which we entered. Helpful lot attendants directed us to an empty spot, whereupon we embarked on foot to the nearby Arena.
After passing through the metal detectors (I was a little unimpressed by the disinterest the searchers displayed in the diaper bag, which was passed through outside the detectors) we joined the mob entering the arena, and all was well.
All, that was, except for seating. The three of us walked round and round the arena, searching for two empty chairs. Finally, after two failed attempts to claim saved seats, we resigned ourselves to the nosebleed section, where our view would be partially obscured by the enormous American flag suspended from the ceiling. And, bear in mind, all of this was about an hour and a half before the keynote speaker was to take the podium.
Fortunately, other speakers passed the time. Two local politicians gave brief speeches, then Pat McCrory spoke, then Elizabeth Dole. Finally, around 7:30, the arena erupted in screams of "Palin! Palin! Palin!" (or was it "Sarah!"? It seemed interchangeable) and The Naughty Alaskan Librarian took the stage. (That’s not just my pet name for her; it was on an email forward my brother sent me.)
I’d already heard the stump speech a few times, so there wasn’t much new there. And between the lighting and the distance, my camera just wasn’t up to the task. Erika’s binoculars helped me get within ten feet of her, though. I did get this good shot of my travel companions, however:

Yep, that’s right! Jason lent me Erika and Charlotte for the evening! The latter was pretty good; she didn’t like sitting still much, especially after an hour and a half ride, so Erika had to take her down to the concourse a few times to walk around. But you can’t ask an awful lot of a toddler. She did draw a great deal of positive attention; the two girls behind us, age early twenties, spent almost as much time cooing over Charlotte’s cuteness as they did cheering. Charlotte especially brought down the house with her nearly intelligible attempt at chanting "Sarah!" along with the crowd! "Say-a!" Charlotte yelled excitedly. "Close enough!" the two girls laughed.

Here's about the best I could get:

Yeah, I know- real great shot.

And just as quickly, the event was over. Watching Palin work the crowd afterwards, shaking hands across the metal barricades, I lamented my lack of floor tickets, and wondered if I’d ever again get the chance. But I had a couple of ladies to see home, one of whom was very, very tired by that point. And since I didn’t want to deal with the wide-awake Charlotte by myself while Erika dozed, I got us on the way.
After a brief stop for gas, and a stop at the Wendy’s drive-through (the DeAdder women aren’t the only ones with an aversion to Burger King, apparently), we hit the road, taking 264 back to Raleigh, where we picked up 440 the rest of the way. We listened to the second presidential debate, though the AM stations carrying it were a little fuzzy.
After relinquishing the two of them to Jason, I took my car home, and finally, at 11 o’clock, put an end to my day. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I did manage to fake Shelly out and scare her, though: She called, and I told her I was still half an hour away, when in reality I was about 30 seconds from opening the front door. So, perfect end to a perfect day!

So, tomorrow's entry will be about our Charlotte trip last weekend.