Best moments

Best moments of the summer and fall: 
 - Blowing up balloons for the 4th of July parade in Emily W's car. We let one go, out of about 80 that we managed to fit into her trunk and backseat. I was holding them during the drive from parking spot to parking spot, and from Amherst to Merrimack. 
 - Hanging out in that old fashioned ice cream shop with Russell after tracking Sununu. We stopped off to buy bread, and noticed that the bakery was attached to this really cute shop where we sat at the counter and got lemonade and ice cream, and talked to the owner. Mandy Grunwald walked past, and so did Governor Lynch. 
 - Walking by the Potomac in Georgetown and thinking, I could see myself living in D.C and coming to Georgetown on Sundays. 
 - Running to the Bridge side of Elm street with Andy to avoid getting run over at the intersection. We used to do that when we did our Bridge run to get coffee, biscotti or our beloved berry berry smoothie. Then, walking back to the office commenting on the texture of said smoothie. 
 - Kayaking in the Bennington, VT, area with Mike. It was my first time kayaking, but apart from the couple of times I got stuck, I loved every second of it. 
 - Driving to Vermont with Russell after filming Sununu at some county meeting. We had a couple of hours to kill and there was nothing to do in Haverhill, so we drove to find a place to eat, crossed the state line, found a breakfast place, and ordered our second breakfast of the day (pancakes and coffee for me, something non kosher for him). Then we checked out a cute whole food store that was called Whole Foods, a misleading name because I got excited at the thought that there was a Whole Foods in the area. 
 - Taking pictures of the yard sign making the night of the 30 minute Obama ad. I wonder where all those pictures are now. I'm sure I have some great ones of Jeremy, Bill, Dan and Vanessa. And Chris, who hated me for stalking him with the camera. 
 - Running to CVS with Katie L. at 9am on Election Day because we'd been standing in the cold for nearly 6 hours and needed more socks and gloves. We wondered why nothing was open, because for us, the day had begun at 2 am. 
 - Getting truck drivers to honk at us on Elm with Katie C, Carol Ann's sister, on E Day. We needed something to keep us entertained and awake because we'd been up for about 9 hours by then, so we kept betting that we'd get this or that truck driver to honk at us when he saw our sign. There was more waving and smiling than I've ever done in my life, but it was so much fun. After a couple of hours, when we saw the enthusiasm of people who honked and waved when they saw our Obama and Shaheen signs, we understood that we were going to win the election. It was the best feeling in the world. We felt so lucky to be part of this. 
 - Putting door hangers on door handles in Ossipee the day before E Day, with Jeremy and Abby. Jeremy wanted so badly to see a moose, and Abby just wanted to avoid a car accident when we were driving through the woods. We had so much fun that day, it's hard to pick a favorite moment. We stopped at this cute café for lunch, then came back later for hot cider (my first hot cider). Drove through a trailer park that had a "private road" sign. It looked like some sort of meth lab compound, and we didn't get out of the car to place our door hangers. We stopped several times in the woods to take silly pictures, came across a dead deer hanging from two wood poles. We worked until midnight that night, and got up after about two hours of sleep so I guess that made up for it. 
 - The Election night victory party! We found out at just 8pm that the Governor had won and was now Senator-Elect, rushed to the Radisson for the party, and hugged and congratulated everyone for their hard work. The presidential results came in slowly, and by 11, we knew that Barack had won. I took about 500 pictures that night, of my co-workers celebrating, of the tv screens when the results came in, and of the victory speech. We waved flags when the Senator Elect came onstage to deliver her victory speech, with her cute family at her side. 
 - The train ride from Montreal to Albany. The view from the train was so perfect. We rode through the Adirondacks, where I now really want to go. The ride lasted about 8 hours, but it was worth it. I had a book to read, but couldn't stop staring out the window at the lakes, rivers and woods around us. 
 - The train ride from Boston to Washington D.C in early November. This time, I saw Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island in the fall (my dad and I had taken a trip from NYC to Boston in the summer of '04). We also passed through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. I missed NYC and Philadelphia because it was too dark to see. Again, I had a book to read, but was too mesmerized by the scenery to read. I didn't want to miss a second of the ride. On the way back, I saw New York and Philadelphia in the daytime, and almost got off at Penn station to spend the rest of the day in New York, before I remembered how much packing I had to do because I was leaving two days later. 
 - Reading The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears in a Caribou Coffee in D.C, while drinking overpriced hot apple cider. I love reading in cafés, and watching people around me. 
 - The car ride back to Manchester from Portsmouth where Scott from the field office got us lost and crossed into Massachusetts. It took us over 2 hours to get from Portsmouth to ManchVegas, a ride that usually lasts between 50-60 minutes. We had more time to get to talk, while Sam and his friend were sound asleep in the backseat. Scott (last name unknown) and I had similar experiences, and we had the kind of conversation I've never had with someone who is a near stranger. By midnight, we talked like we were the best of friends despite having only met at 6pm.