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Greetings after a first full day on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. It was a day filled with a ton of energy, stops in several towns and cities, lunch at one of the cooler 24-hour diners you'll ever see, and even a goat stumping for Jon Huntsman.
Today, I started the day in Concord for the NBC Meet the Press - Facebook New Hampshire GOP debate. While the media crowd wasn't as large as Saturday night's ABC News debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, it was still a mob in the "spin room" trying to snag interviews afterward. Rick Santorum was surrounded four or five layers deep by reporters, writers and photographers. Even with Sen. Rand Paul -- who was in Concord in support of his dad -- it was a couple layers and a long reach. Outside, supporters aligned with Romney, Huntsman and Paul tried to out-chant each other. Huntsman even had the support of a real-life goat.
Later in the day, we stopped at the Red Arrow Diner to grab a bite. It's apparently something of a popular haunt for famous people. We were told by a customer Adam Sandler used to go there all the time. On the wall, there were pictures of President Barack Obama, fmr. President Bill Clinton, Paul Newman. They've all been there to eat.
It was standing-room only. It's a place popular to locals and visitors alike. Since it was our first time, they applauded us as Red Arrow Diner "virgins" and gave us stickers. The chicken and rice soup and the pot roast were both fantastic.
In the afternoon, we got more acquainted with our working spaces in Manchester. The ABC News area for radio reports seemed more functional. The NBC News side (I'm also credentialed there for TV) is more hip -- full of wall accent lights and an impressive backdrop for TV reports in the middle of the filing area.
After that, we took a jaunt on foot over to a Newt Gingrich stop in town. He told Doug Wright Mitt Romney's criticism of Jon Huntsman earlier in the day for serving under Barack Obama was "narrow-minded."
On the way back to our filing areas, we stopped at the Manchester City Cemetery. I don't think you could come up with a more New England-esque setting - filled with old crypts and headstones.
In the evening, I took a ride with Doug Wright and producer Lee Lonsberry over to Exeter, N.H., to check out a campaign stop for Mitt Romney. He had New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at his side. Each at different times got the crowd fired up to drown out a few Occupy protestors who were able to sneak into the high school gym.
