After attending the Democratic National Conventions in 2008 and 2012, I was not able to go and represent BlueNC this year. Fortunately, my good friend, Elayne DeMaria, the founder of DownTicketDems.com is there and is willing to send pictures and some stories from the field.

If you have never been, the convention week features festivals, concerts, seminars, meetings, receptions, and parties. All of this happens before, during, and after the main event.

It can be exhausting trying to make it to events spread out across a city and it is especially hard when the heat index hits 107 degrees like it did in Philadelphia today.

Elayne reported that the streets were flooded with protestors who were blocking the entrances to the subway. She and her reporting partner were forced to walk 10 blocks in the dangerous heat to get back to their car.

I'll let Elayne finish telling about her day:

Day one started with a celebrity sighting of Jerry Springer. I was hoping for a George Clooney sighting but it is only Day One!

We are sitting in the most beautiful building in Philadelphia; the Union League which is hosting Women’s Equalitea; A feminist gathering celebrating Hillary Clinton for smashing the highest of glass ceilings and the congressional members and candidates at the DNC. It is a stark contrast to angry Bernie supporters who are marching outside the building.

I am disappointed by the hateful tone of the Bernie supporters. I feel that Bernie has lost control of some of his supporters. I understand their concern but I am not feeling the revolution. Hillary and Bernie are on the same page. The revolution will take place on Election Day when we elect the first woman President of the United States.

I am in a room with my people, the women who have spent a lifetime fighting for this moment. The room is beaming with pride. Hundreds of women smiling and gathering together like we have known each other for years because we have. We have fought this fight with every crack in that glass ceiling. We are the revolution. The room is on fire.

I spoke with one of the leaders of the NOW she mentioned that recruiting young women has been tough because they take for granted the fights we have won.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day did not go as planned. After taking a subway to the Wells Fargo Arena, we could not get in because when we picked up our credentials, they failed to tell us we needed to go somewhere else to get a Day Pass. We couldn’t get into the Wells Fargo Center. Thousands of Bernie supporters chanted, marched and carried on with such enthusiasm, they shut down the subway. We had to walk 10 blocks to an open subway station. Did I mention it was 95 degrees?

So all of you saw more of the convention than we did. We were in a restaurant having dinner and they put on the baseball game. We made it back to the hotel to see Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders.

You have to be proud!