Carmody lands in Denver

From the laptop of Sam Carmody:


My anticipation for the weeklong festivities surrounding the Democratic National Convention escalated Friday morning as I boarded my plane to Denver at Bradley International Airport.

I was not the only one on the plane eager about the journey. I ran into Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo and the state party's staffers who were also making their way to the convention. They could not wait to be a part of this historic event too.

As soon as our plane touched down in Denver, I said my goodbyes to my fellow Connecticut Democrats and set out to explore the city. Downtown Denver, an impeccably clean and beautiful city, was bustling with activity.

People packed the streets, many obviously visiting for the convention. There were merchants selling Barack Obama pins and T-shirts, protesters for peace, and a number of Green Bay Packers' fans sporting their signature cheddar cheese hats in preparation for the Broncos versus Packers' practice game that evening at Invesco Field – the same arena in which Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech to nearly 76,000 people Thursday night.

I walked over to the Pepsi Center where the convention proceedings will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Hundreds of police vehicles were present and even more satellite trucks for the news media were gathered around the convention center. Workers were decorating the area with red, white, and blue banners and attaching giant stars to the building.

There is no doubt that months and months of work went into this event.

On Saturday, I attended orientation and training for my volunteer assignments. Some of my tasks for the week seem quite glamorous, while other tasks appear rather dull. However, just being a part of the whole process is exciting enough.

This week will surely be one of great magnitude, and I cannot wait to get to work and share with all of you the details.

The pictures above are courtesy of Sam Carmody. Workers are getting a MSNBC studio, top, and the Pepsi Center, bottom, ready for the Democratic National Convention.