This morning, I was wandering around the second floor of the Ritz Carlton hotel, a swanky establishment downtown, with a photographer from Congressional Quarterly. Up by the banquet rooms, I was peering at doorways to see if I could find any signs with events, when a young man said, “You are in the right place!” and waved us toward a room. There was a sign in front of it saying “DNC Finance Committee Information.” I took this photo, but alas it’s blurry.

Inside the room I asked another helpful young man what he was doing. “Was this room for donors?” I asked. he said, yes, that he was giving them maps and telling them about events. “Are there any events going on right now,” I asked? He said, “Yes, there’s a shuttle to take them over to the Pepsi Center so they can get their photos taken on the podium.”

Earlier that morning my son Leo and I had stopped by the Big Tent, where the Sunlight Foundation is a sponsor. Leo was very excited to see the forklift out front–apparently they’re still putting final touches on the structure. We got our credentials and then went in the building next door, known as the Alliance Center, to wander around a bit.

On the third floor is the Huffington Post “oasis,” where staffers dressed in all black presided. Here weary bloggers can get healthy snacks–they gave Leo some nuts and a strawberry smoothie–do yoga and get free massages. (I’ll admit I signed up for the latter, although I doubt I’ll have time to follow through on it. That would be the most I’d ever gotten “Paid” by HuffPo, though I’ve blogged there occasionally over the years.) I’m pretty certain that if I were a member of Congress, accepting a free massage would be off limits. But who knows–I’d have to check with the ethics committees.