Hi all-

Just wanted to take a moment to tell you about my adventure of going to the banquet in Dubuque. 

I have always been happy to live in Iowa, but have known that there are very few times when I will get a chance to see famous people here, unless it is during the caucuses.  Imagine my delight when I found out that Kate would be speaking in a public forum, less than 2 hours from my home.  I quickly purchased a ticket to the banquet and made plans with a friend of mine to make my way there.  We decided to stay in Dubuque in case it got late after the banquet, so we met at the hotel at 5 pm.  We got into our banquet duds and packed up the cameras, and headed out for Happy's. 

As always with mapquest in Iowa, it was an adventure.  I turned on the road that mapquest suggested and had a very scenic drive thru the lovely Dubuque countryside.  After making our way back to the main road again, I headed for the intersection that looked on the map to be the correct road.  A few minutes later, we ended up at Happy's.  I was a little nervous to go since the only people I knew were my friend and Kate, but then I figured “What the heck!  It’s Iowa, how bad can it be?”.  We were welcomed at the door and given our tickets, and made our way to find a seat.  I had been in contact with the Dubuque Democrats website person, thanks to Totally Kate’s connections, and asked at the desk if he was there.  He hadn’t arrived yet, so my friend and I went to find a seat. 

We saw Kate arrive with her family, but they were surrounded at once by the people from the area stopping to say hi.  We decided to get a drink at the bar, and wait for an opportunity to say hi.  Kate came up to the bar at the same time to buy drinks for friends, but we didn’t want to bother her right away.  She glanced at us and smiled, then went on her way.

I finally connected up with the website person, and got things situated for my recording duties.  We had a free moment, before things began, so I went to introduce myself and explain what I was doing there.  I said hi to Kate and said I was going to be recording her speech so that we could put it on her website.  She said hello and thanked me for coming.  We went back to our seats and waited for things to start. 

I did some last minute adjustment of the cameras and my friend stepped over to get a close up pic of Kate.  Kate asked if she was with that girl over there doing video and she said yes.  She shook Kate’s hand snapped a couple of pictures, then returned to her seat.

Terry Stewart introduced Kate, then she went up for her speech.  It was very moving and a nice tribute to her parents.  I will submit the video to Totally Kate as soon as I can so everyone can see it. 

I had brought a birthday card for Kate, but wasn’t certain if I should give it to her, so I kept it for later.  When she walked by to see someone she knew, I decided to go ahead and give it to her.  She said thanks for the card, and thanks for doing the video. 

Kate spent most of her time when not on stage, visiting with friends and family.  She was very gracious to everyone.  Her father was inducted into the Dubuque Democrats Hall of Fame, and the whole family went up to accept the award. 

At the end of the evening, the family gathered in the back to get some pictures, so I snapped one from the side.  We went out with smiles on our faces and headed back to the hotel.  On the way out, we saw Kate and her son Alec talking.  She stopped to thank us again for coming and taking video for the website.  I was on cloud nine!

We went back to the hotel, and rehashed the entire evening over a glass of wine.  All in all, it was a very pleasant evening, very down to earth, fairly typical for Iowa.  I love to visit other places following Kate, but I love it best when Kate comes here!