Sep
2008
Governor Sarah Palin at The Villages, FL
September 21st, 2008 at 09:59 pm by wRitErsbLock in Uncategorizedsherlock and I drove out to The Villages, FL this afternoon to hear Sarah Palin speak. I have a bunch of pictures that I will throw into the extended entry (we’re talking something like twenty-five pictures). All my pictures were taken with my Nikon D40. Sherlock has his higher-quality pictures posted already over on Bakerstreet, including two scans of Sarah Palin’s autograph.
We arrived at The Villages right around 130p, which is when they were supposed to start letting people in to the event. We quickly grew weary of sitting in the not-moving traffic. At the first opportunity, we turned off the road and parked in some random parking lot; we started walking. About a mile into our walk along the golf cart path, we realized our tickets were safely locked in the car. Ugh. If you’ve never been in Central Florida at 2p walking in the god-awful heat, you cannot appreciate how devastating this realization was to us. Sherlock offered to go back to the car while I continued to the event, so that I could be the pushy New Yorker I am and get us a good spot.
We had no idea that we were parked some four plus miles from the event. The temperature was easily well over ninety degrees. Yes, yes, I am currently training to run a marathon, but I run in the morning, when it’s dark, and cool. Walking four miles in the high heat of the afternoon was difficult. Fortunately, I had a bottle of gatorade with me, else I might have collapsed from heat stroke!
I took a picture of the line of cars and a golf cart that refused my begging for a ride as I walked. See the complete lack of shade? Brutal heat.
As I neared the town center where the event was taking place, I stopped some people walking away from the town. “Do youse guys know something I don’t?” They told me it was so crowded, that even if you had a ticket you could not get into the ticket area, and there was zero chance of seeing the stage, so they were leaving. I already had an hours drive, and a four mile walk invested, so I was committed. And since sherlock was not answering his cell phone, I couldn’t ask him for his opinion.
I walked up to the town square and was amazed and, frankly, overjoyed at the crowd. The media seems to want you to believe no one cares about the McCain/Palin campaign. The media is (surprise, surprise) lying to you.
I finally reached sherlock on his cell and found out he was at the sign indicating 3/4 mile to town. I told him I’d get a drink from the sandwich shop and meet him at the corner. Yeah, that didn’t quite happen. When I was the next person in line, my vision clouded over, the room started spinning, and I realized if I didn’t sit immediately, they’d be carting my heat-stroked ass out on a stretcher and I’d miss the event. Fortunately, a very nice couple didn’t freak out when I invited myself to their empty seat! A few minutes later, I bought a Coke and flagged my husband down as he was passing by the restaurant.
Nothing is as wonderful as a cold Coke in an air conditioned restaurant — with clean bathrooms!
After taking our sweet time in the a/c, we went out to push through the crowd. It was 330p, and time to find a spot.
Me.
We ended up finding a spot behind the stage. It was really a terrible location for this event, but at least they had up giant screens for the majority of the crowd who could not see.
The bus arrived.
Piper, Todd, Sarah, Willow & Trig Palin greet the crowd from the stage.
The press vehicles.
After, we breached security to get near the pathway the Palins were taking back to the tour bus. I missed getting pictures of Piper (I have some of the top of her head), but I got some great shots of Willow. Piper and Willow were both giving autographs. Piper’s was HUGE! Too bad I didn’t get Piper’s or Willow’s.
Willow Palin
A little blurry, but still worth posting.
Sarah Palin
I’ll go ahead and tell you: I think Todd Palin is so cute!
Sarah signing autographs.
Like all of us, Sarah was dripping sweat. It was really insane to have this event outside in the middle of the afternoon. I’m told one hundred fifty people were carted off on stretchers from heat exhaustion.
Updated: that’s actually my husband’s arm at the far right, so this is when he got Todd’s autograph.
After, we bee-lined to find the motorcade.
Sherlock has better pictures of Sarah Palin posted. He also has a great shot of the bus in which you can see baby Trig.
We both were able to get Todd’s autograph. Sherlock got Sarah’s, twice.
We got lucky after the event. As a golf cart passed us by with just one person on it, I begged for a ride. He was only going one mile our direction, but that was one less mile we had to walk, so we were thrilled. He let us out, and we walked about half a mile before another golf cart, already fully loaded, stopped and suggested we hop on. We stood on the back. I have to tell you, for that mile and a half, I nearly fell of five times. It was scary! But, we were thrilled to not be walking. Then, after a brief walk, another golf cart offered to take us the rest of the way to the car. I was so, so grateful, because we were exhausted. On the drive home, half an hour into the drive, we realize we might just then be getting to our car if we had not been so lucky. Thank you to those kind people!
UPDATED @1039p: That was quick! Welcome Instapundit readers!
UPDATED @ 754a: Welcome Conservative Grapevine readers, and Gateway Pundit readers!
Welcome to Pereiraville! I'm wRitErsbLock; I'm a runner who lives in Central Florida. Make yourself comfortable, comment often, and try not to spill your wine. Enjoy your stay!
Your 2¢
That is insane. It is frickin’ September here.. that is SUMMER. Good Grief. Its just too hot… to hold something like that outside. In September. Holy crap.
Bou’s last blog post..The Ankle Is Attached to the Tibial Tendon
Great pictures. Thanks
Nice reporting, thanks for the good read. Brought back memories of the time my wife and I spent stationed in the jungles of Mayport Florida.
Heh, Palin’s definitely from Alaska. She should have been wearing loose cotton. I’d bet one of her staff is getting massive shit flipped their way
Oops sorry for the S bomb.
Thanks!
Great coverage.
Thank you, Florida!
Amadeo’s last blog post..Pilin’ On Palin
Thanks for the pictures! You were truly lucky to be there. I would have also endured going through all your hot, long treks just to see and show my support to the McCain Palin ticket. I was really amazed to see Sarah with all the perspiration and sweat but still able to share a smile with all the people. You can tell she really loves to be with people and able to bring some HOPE for our future!
Thanks for the report and the photos! I think your closeups of the Palins look great.
And the leftist media said just yesterday how the “Palin honeymoon” was over. Yeah, right!
Wow - terrific pictures (headed over to Sherlock’s after this comment :-)) you did a wonderful job out in the heat! And congrats on the Instalanche. yay!
thank you for the great post and wonderful pics. I hope all is well for you.
She’s not sweating, she’s “glowing”. Great stuff y’all thanks for doing it for all of us!
You photos were JUST what I was looking for. I LOVE Sarah!! Thank you for taking the “hit” for us out here who could not get across the country to see her. I googled you and found the photos. WHERE is the PRESS on this?? They should be have photos on Drudge etal. But YOU got them, you go girl!!!
Curious, I didn’t post pictures of the plane flying overhead with the banner declaring “The South is Palin country.” I took pictures of it. Sorry about that.
‘The South is Palin country’. Heh.
I was glad to see so many turning out. Down here, it is so Democratic.
And your pix really did turn out GREAT!
Bou’s last blog post..Looking Into The Future
Great post! I wanted to to go the rally, but I knew how hot it’d be and from what I heard it was. I think they should have done with toward the later afternoon maybe early evening. But I’m glad to see the turn out rivaling some of Obama’s crowds and even better one newscasters mentioned 30x larger than Biden’s. Gotta love it!
R. Alexander Spoerer
http://www.renegadesanctuary.com
R. Alexander Spoerer’s last blog post..Presenting at BlogOrlando 2008
You, my friend, kick A$$!! =)
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You’d make a really good stalker. Look at those pictures, and how close you got!
Also, I’m surprised there wasn’t some enterprising old man out there with his golf cart offering shuttle service (for a price). I’d prolly pay $5 for a ride.
Oh yeah: WTH are you wearing jeans? Crazy Floridian.
I got there at noon, waited 75 minutes to park, and then stood in line until four. We didn’t get in but stood outside the barriers in the rear. From your description you were one of those who didn’t bother with the line but went straight for the front. Maybe you should visit kindergarten and learn the part about waiting in line.
AWESOME! Great pics; I love the one of you in the hat! You gonna train in that?
Can’t believe they scheduled something like that on a summer afternoon, though… Todd… is a total cutie.
Ron,
Security wasn’t letting anyone into the ticket area when we got there. So we were behind the stage for the speech. But when the speech was over, during the mass exodus, we got into the ticket area, along with others like us. I’m sorry you didn’t get whatever you were hoping for.
We didn’t push in front of anyone. We were just patient in the crowd of people hoping for an autograph.
I should have drove over!! You have some great shots!!
Maya, many golf carts were charging for rides. We just got lucky.
And, I don’t wear shorts except for running
He.
Is.
Hot.
That’s all folks. (Except, - great pix!)
.
Looking hard for some brown or black skin in those shots. Didn’t even see a lot of dark tans. Hmm.
Splendid One- You have evidently never heard of the Villages and exactly who lives there. It’s a retirement community, so big it has its own zip code.
Bou’s last blog post..Looking Into The Future
Of what possible importance is the color of people’s skin, Splendid One??? They have a name for people who feel an obsessive need to count things, you know; it’s in the DSM-IV if you want to look it up and get the diagnostic code to see if your insurance company will cover treatment.
Wacky Hermit’s last blog post..Feed Me, PLEASE…
Republicans are racist! Don’t tell Sarah that her husband is part Eskimo!
sarahk’s last blog post..By the way?
If Governor Palin was Obama’s running mate, the report would have been of 150 people fainting from excitement, not heat exhaustion!
Terry_Jim’s last blog post..Constitution Day
Splendid One, I guess a racist like you likes to look for those damn ‘black’ and ‘brown’ skins hmm? Well maybe you should check your eyesight, in the first picture of Sarah there is a large ‘black skin’ right behind her, and if you knew WB then you would know she is married to a ‘brown skin’ (me) you racist fuck!
Super pics. I can’t wait to see if they stop in Kalifornia.
Navy CPO’s last blog post..Because
Sherlock = big dumby
” in the first picture of Sarah there is a large ‘black skin’ right behind her”
The man in that picture is Sarah Palin’s security detail fool. Of the supposed 60,000 people that are there, the 10 black law enforcement officials that are there are for her safe guard.
Anyone with the least amount of sense and has an understanding of economics 101, knows that the Republican party with Bush at the helm did not hold the interest of the American people. They robbed the bank vault while everyone was standing in line. Now McCain is stating that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. The American intelligence and labor force are strong! What does that mean if there are no jobs, look at the market (people have lost confidence) you can hold on to your racist beliefs if you want to, but if you think that McCain and Palin care about you just because they look like you then don’t be upset if they win and you receive another four more years of the Republican war machine, Bush doctrine of failed foreign policy, and failing economy. Open your eyes. Wake up America! The Republican party has rebranded themselves with a pretty bow of the package, but when you open it up there’s nothing new inside just more of the same old stuff. I’m do not impressed! It’s just a bunch of scare tactics, tough talk, misinformation. Again more of the Bush Administration of Jedi mind tricks. If you say a lie enough times, people will believe it as the truth.
Oliver,
Yes, the economy is tanking. Funny how that’s happened under a Democrat-dominated Congress.
But, it’s the Liberal Media’s plan to blame Bush for everything, so they forget to mention that our economic woes really began when Pelosi and her ilk took the helm.
Anyway, it’s difficult for me to take people who kept electing Ted Kennedy back into office seriously! Thanks for stopping by, though!
Hey my friend! Great photos, and I’m sure it’s a memory you’ll talk about for years.
Of course, I’m doing all I can to make sure she & McCain don’t get into office, but I’m just a liberal Yankee. What can I say!?!! I still love ya!
Gee Oliver, I guess I don’t have the edumacation that you massachewsuess folks do, I spell dumby D U M M Y, guess they’ll have to kick me out of Mensa now! Yeah I know it was security, but he said there were no blacks in the pictures and there clearly is, and as I figure he wasn’t there and the pictures don’t show all 60000 people there, and the place is a largely white retirement community, the odds are that it was a mostly white crowd. I’m sure I could go to an Obama event and have no whites in photos of him too.
As for the rest of your rant, when the democrats took congress on the promise of lowering gas prices, it was at an average of 2.22 a gallon, what is the price now? Ask Pelosi why that is? Ask Obama why Fannie and Freddy Mac gave him more money then any other senator? I know I can’t convince you from the BS the media and liberal idiots are feeding you, It’s like crack to you.
I also think you need reading comprehension (clue: I’m not white) as once again the first words out of your mouth is ‘RACIST’, that seems to be the battle cry of the liberal to shout down someone that opposes your view, it makes you feel superior and hopefully shuts the opponent down for fear of being labeled racist.
yay for you!!
I am so glad you got to go!!!
Richmond’s last blog post..I will kick some Velociraptor ASS!!
Thanks for visiting our great ACTIVE 55+ community. Both my husband and I decided “Why Wait?” to live here after we’re retired? We are just at that 50-mark and both continue to work, while we are enjoying life in The Villages. Actually, we have 2 zip codes and anyone [of any skin color] is welcome to live here. I surely attempt to be ‘color blind’; not BLIND-ed…… [Surely our African American Club/ along with the other nearly 1000 clubs and organizations!!!!!/ will take exception to your observation].
I KNOW the enthusiastic attendence by Village residents at special festivals and functions, so I drove my golf cart down to The Square around 10:30, along with water bottles, snacks and folding chair. I sat near the boardwalk by the Lake Sumter and read a book and got a tan while waiting. Florida doesn’t usually feel the effects of FALL until Oct or Nov. [That's why we get lots of visitors from 'Up North'.] The sun was hot and the Villages handed out many bottles of water free of charge. Port-a-potties were strategicaly placed, and there are actually several AIR CONDITIONED public restroom sites available also. I had a great view of the jumbo-tron, and although I had tickets, didn’t feel the need to be THAT close to the stage, as I was probably only 75′ from it, outside of the barricade.
Yes, it was a crazy day. [The Villages does do a lot of things to excess.] And a HOT day. As sitting President George W Bush said while HE came and spoke at that same Town Square as our VP nominate, “It’s ALWAYS a Beautiful Day in The Villages”. I’m glad that Sarah got such a warm reception and YOU were able to visit! Thanks!
Correction: “Sitting President George W Bush said while HE came and spoke at that same Town Square [as our VP nominate SARAH PALIN did]“…….
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