Melissa goes to New Hampshire!

At 8 a.m. Friday morning, I got word that I would be covering the New Hampshire primary. Details to be announced later.

So I packed my bags, hit the office to get some maps, and gave Joe a squeeze before heading east.

By 2 p.m. I was in Keene. I interviewed a few folks for a color piece (including some adorable high school seniors who were crafting "Vote" t-shirts to wear for the next week), had lunch, and played a Cajun concertina.

Wandered around town, talking to more "common folks" for the story, which was ultimately bumped to Sunday or beyond.

Then I drove, in the dark, on a windy road, to the tiny town of Milford. There we parked in a snowy field and took a school bus to the New Hampshire Dome, where 4,000 Democrats had dinner. Dodd and Biden didn't come, nor did Edwards, who opted instead to go to Portsmouth for an event. Kucinich (with his beautiful wife), Richardson and Hillary (with her husband and Chelsea) spoke, as did Obama. Long night. Lots of Democrats. And a thin Howard Dean that is slightly jarring.

It was on CSPAN so Joe watched along with me for a while, which was nice.

By 9 a few of us begged a school bus to take us back to our cars. I missed Obama, but I still had an hour drive to the hotel, which I didn't have directions to. By 10:30 I was in bed, so it all worked out just fine.