I was in the Ellipse, about 30 yards from the stage, freezing my ass off. It took 3.5 hours standing in line to finally get in, but it was a good time talking to people around me, a lot of who had traveled from other countries to be there.

I've been to several rallies, so I know the Secret Service do an incredible job of searching people coming in, but this one was crazy thorough... the reason why the line took 3.5 hours despite having at least a dozen entrance stalls. Guy ahead of me had a digital camera and SS had him snap a photo, and then they checked the screen to view the photo, to assure that it was a functioning camera, and not, I suppose, gutted out to hide explosive or weapon inside. An old guy had a cane, a metal one that screwed apart into a couple sections, they took it apart and used a flashlight to inspect inside. I saw a woman's large wallet that had a bunch of clutter in it, and they went through each individual piece of paper in it. Just a few things I observed in my immediate area.

I was in the Ellipse, about 30 yards from the stage, freezing my ass off. It took 3.5 hours standing in line to finally get in, but it was a good time talking to people around me, a lot of who had traveled from other countries to be there.