Republican National Convention in 19 days....

Plans continue at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center for the Republican National Convention which convenes in 19 days. Welcoming parties for state delegations will be on Sunday before the official start on Monday with Virginia's delegates invited to more than one event to celebrate their arrival in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Many restaurants and local bars plan to stay open until 4 a.m. instead of their usual midnight closing to accommodate the late-night convention goers. With 45,000 guests in town, it should be busy into the wee hours of the morning.

Sleep will be on the back burner, it has been decided while talking with other Virginia delegates. There are so many activities to attend and events to participate in and sights to see that most will probably operate on three or four hours of sleep a night.

Almost daily invitations are coming in by email and snail mail for parties, excursions, and outings with other state delegations.

Security is a priority, and protesters have already applied to march on and circle the convention center. City leaders plan to curtail that activity as much as possible.

Bloggers, as many as 200, will be reporting as well as mainstream media. Our own Jim Hoeft from Bearing Drift in the Virginia blogosphere will be there reporting, and I will be live blogging whenever possible between the whirlwind of activities and events. Laptop and camera will be staples during my trip.

I am particularly excited because my daughter is accompanying me on this trip. Together we will experience the history of a presidential convention nomination process.

Only 19 days to go....