Meeting Sarah...

Two days before the Straight Talk Express came to town, I had little if any desire to take advantage of the VIP tickets my husband managed to snag for the rally. However, when McCain announced the fiesty Sarah Palin for his running mate, I quickly changed my tune. I knew, before even attending the rally, that this woman is going to make history and I wanted to be front and center to witness it. And front and center I was...

With my 6 month old in tow, Olivia, Nolan, Tim and I managed to secure our spot right next to the stage entrance. It was a gamble, given that we would never be able to see the stage from that spot. But if my instincts were right, we'd be able to see all the action happening off stage.

After waiting for 2 hours in the hot summer sun, (which was made more palatable by our small conversations with notable guests like singer John Rich and Governor Ridge) the Straight Talk Express finally rolled onto the scene and stopped right in front of us. McCain, leading the way, stepped off the bus to the roar of a crowd numbering in excess of 10,000. He was followed by Cindy and his family and Sarah Palin and her family. I admit I was slightly star struck when Governor Palin stepped down and in the most uncontrolled teenage fashion I yelled out "We love you Sarah!". What a huge thrill for me when she waved at me and pointed out my baby to her little girl Piper (who by the way, is just a doll).

After the speach, as they were getting on the bus, and were surrounded by secret service men, a few in the crowd who had the ear of the Governor, asked if he could possibly get McCain over to our side to shmooze with the crowd. Well, Gov. Ridge did one better. He took Governor Palin by the hand, brought her over to the crowd and proudly declared "I want you all to meet the next Vice President of the United States".

I shamelessly planted by little kids right near the ropes (politicians always like kids - right?) and baited her with my baby. Sure enough Sarah made a beeline to Julianna and like two moms at a local park we struck up a conversation about our kids, their ages, babies, etc. And in predictable fashion, while we moms "chatted" our husbands also made small talk.

Tim managed to capture some of these moments on his Iphone. The crowd was pressing in so much that I couldn't manage to turn around and get us all in a photo. Still you can see the tip of my hat and I love the photo of Sarah talking sweetly to my Julianna.

It was a great day and one that I know my kids will remember forever - Their first campaign rally.