Excitement at the national convention began as soon as I stepped off the plane. Instant bonding was common among the throngs of like-minded individuals who had come together with one goal in mind - before we even left the airport.

Adding to the camaraderie, hotel arrangements are made by the party so delegates from each state stay at the same hotel(s.) Small states share hotels. Does never-ending party come to mind for some reason?

Delegates are easy to spot because they wear a ton of mandatory badges around their necks (including photo ID) throughout the convention. You can’t get in anywhere in the convention or official areas without your badge.

All the townsfolk in the convention center city went out of their way to be nice to us - regardless of their party affiliation.

Delegates are bussed everywhere - to the convention center, to planned excursions and planned dinners and parties - and security is incredibly high. Tough looking security people go through the bus identifying everyone at least twice before it takes off.

The most unnerving check to me was when they used a mirror, which looks like a large version of the one the dentist uses in your mouth, to check for bombs under the bus. It had never occurred to me that someone might want to blow us up.

Once we minions arrived at the convention center, the whole goal was to get the excitement level high (after of course passing through more security.) Music, Las Vegas style lighting and fabulous speakers did the trick - we were already hyped.

But without a doubt the most exciting part for me was walking down the halls and passing so close to news makers that you could touch them. Some of them even acknowledged us. And no I didn’t run over and shake their hands, but I sure wanted to.

Parties, sighting seeing and did I mention parties…plus all he work that gets done day and night in the convention hall go on nearly 24-hours a day before the big night when the president elect is officially nominated and gives his big talk. Day attendance at the convention is sparse.

More to follow…

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And they are a blast! I went to the Presidential Inauguration and Inaugural Ball too and I'll share those memories with you when we inaugurate our next president.

Because we are not supposed to write our political opinions on national politics on this blog, I won't say which party - but the truth is they both run their conventions pretty much the same.

Everyone asks me how I became a delegate or in my case an alternate delegate. Most people think you have to be rich and famous and that is not true. I am proof.

I worked for the party a lot. I did things such as making phone calls asking for money and worked at the phone bank reminding others to vote. I attended monthly meetings, attended local and state conventions and when national election time drew near volunteered to put up signs.

Putting up the at least 30 signs they left me was a challenge because they were all over town...so I bribed a friend and told him if he would help me, afterwards I would make him a dinner of homemade vegetable soup and homemade cinnamon rolls.

He went for it so you might say I went to the convention because of my country style cooking. He went to the convention too and we did dance together at the inaugural ball. Just friends though - unfortunately he's too young for me.

Tomorrow I'll write what it's like when you arrive at the convention city and experience a convention up live and personal.

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I don't know about you but I always get the bug to travel this time of year. The thought of walking in the leaves, the beautiful fall colors and the cool, crisp air all sound so appealing.

But it takes me a lot of time to book my flights because I wind up flipping through web site after web site to find the best price. Time I don't have to waste.

I found a great, new, easy site that compares three travel web sites at one time such as Orbitz, Expedia, and Hotwire, saving tons of time. There are a total of 12 travel sites to compare on lowfare.com.

And they don't suggest different days for you to leave or return as many of the airline web sites do. I find that a particularly annoying trend.

Take a look at lowfares.com.

Save your time for something fun...not looking for the cheapest fares.

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One of my son's is a meteorologist. He forecasts the weather on NBC in Minneapolis but of course with satellite tracking ( a picture of the clouds from space) he can see the weather all over the world. He says there is some potentially ominous storm news for us.

This time of year the Bermuda High is usually sitting over Bermuda and pushes storms to the south of us. Think of it as a huge mountain of air that protects South Florida because storms have to go around it.

But this year the Bermuda High is 500 miles farther north than it typically is - similar to where it was in the record hurricane season of 2004.

Tropical storms follow a track...the way a train does. When the Bermuda High is north of us...that storm track leads the storms towards us.

That doesn't mean we're doomed to be hit by hurricanes but it certainly increases the odds. The very fickle Bermuda High will eventually drift back down to Bermuda. For us, the sooner that happens the better.

On the good side, he did say the water temperatures are cooler this year than 2004 so that may decrease the intensity of any storms.

It's not the best news but at least we will be prepared in the event of a hurricane. We all know the drill and the good news is when storms hit, we are prepared.

Click to see video of Bermuda High.

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People all over the world have been inspired by Dr. Randy Pausch.

A computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer a year ago and told he had 6 months left. He outlived his doctor's prognosis by 6 months.

Happily married and the father of 3 young children, it was a devastating blow. He could have spent his remaining days grieving over the injustice of it all. Instead he chose to live every day as fully as he could.

He has inspired millions with his positive attitude and encourages everyone to follow their dreams. Sadly he died on July 25 at the age of 47.

Many say they have changed their lives positively because of Randy Pausch and his inspirational message. I encourage you to listen but be forewarned...it is powerful and may cause you to ask yourself what are you waiting for to follow your dreams

The following are his words and the video of his last lecture.

"I am flattered and embarassed by all the recent attention to my "Last Lecture." I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online. The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful. But rest assured; I'm hardly unique. Send your kids to Carnegie Mellon and the other professors here will teach them valuable life lessons long after I'm gone.

-- Randy"

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With school starting in a couple of weeks, a lot of folks are leaving on that last summer getaway and criminals know it.

The biggest tip to keep your home safe when you're gone is don't let your house look unoccupied.

According to the latest statistics from citydata.com, there were 585 burglaries in Delray in 2006. The following are a few ideas to help make your home less of a target.

*Obviously lock your doors and windows, have lights that turn on and off automatically in different rooms at night, motion detector lights outside and if you have a security system, arm it.

*Stand outside in both the front and back of your house at night when the lights are on. See anything anything in there you'd like? You get the idea. Ask a trusted neighbor or friend to partially open window coverings during the day and close them at night.

*Don't leave valuable (electronics, jewelry) out in plain sight. Put as much as you can in your safe deposit box - jewelry, extra credit cards, keys, etc. Thieves have wish lists too and you don't want to be the one filling it for them.

*Turn the garage door opener off while you're gone.

*If there is a car in your driveway, ask someone to move it to a different place everyday so it looks like someone is using it. Otherwise ask a neighbor if they'd park their car in your driveway part of the time while you're gone.

*Turn the ringer off your phone. Some burglars call a house (they're can often find your phone number.) If no one answers, that's all the invitation they need.

*A police officer told me, don't cancel your paper...he said have someone pick it up. Have someone pick up your mail daily as well and any packages that may show up along with the flyers that get left on your front door/porch.

*Ask a neighbor to put a bag of his trash in your trash container on trash day and put it out for pick-up.

*If your backyard is fenced, post a Beware of Dog sign on the gates.

*Turn your radio to a talk station and leave it on loud enough to be heard outside. Put it on a timer.

*Trim your hedges and plants so no one can hide behind them.

*It's too late for this year but consider landscaping around doors and windows with plants with plants that have thorns. The more thorns the better - Crown of Thorns, Spanish Bayonet - but that's another blog.

*Turn off the water before you leave. That has nothing to do with being robbed but coming home to a house that has been flooded would not be fun either.

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