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[JimH]

President Obama will be in Minneapolis for a tour of Honeywell tomorrow.  Afterward, he's having lunch at the Bachelor Farmer, a new restaurant at the corner of 1st St N and 2nd Ave N.

This is the corner JRiver has been on for the last 30 years, and so we will have a front row seat when the black limousines pull up.

There have been secret service guys in black suits and sunglasses around for the last three days.  Just now, the Minneapolis police set up a radio and surveillance tower.



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[glynor]

We had a visit in town here almost two years ago now.  It was fun, but be prepared for snarled traffic.  In addition to the Secret Service swooping in and closing roads (the main road on and off the Island, there is only one bridge, was "mostly-closed" for almost an entire day), there were thousands and thousands of onlookers who came at the same time.  The helicopters circling overhead were cool to see though, and there were actually a few fighter jets stationed at our local po-dunk airport.

It just so-happened that my company had a conference that week at the same hotel where Obama was staying for the week, and I needed to travel back and forth between the Lab and the hotel a bunch of times.  Nice to know I passed the Secret Service background checks (what they don't know doesn't hurt me, I suppose).  I never saw him, but I did catch a glimpse of the First Lady and kids down by the pool at one point.  And at one point someone came in to the lounge area where I was waiting with their dog, so I got to pet the First Dog.  Bo was a nice boy, and fluffy.

A friend of mine had an even wackier adventure... She ended up out drinking one night with a bunch of people who worked at the White House and were along for the trip.  They invited her back to the hotel for a bit more hanging out after the bars closed (we close relatively early here in Maine).  She did, but ended up losing her ID, credit cards, and cell phone to the Secret Service at some point during the adventure, and then later because roads were closed and cabs totally unavailable, she had to walk 3 miles home at the end of it all (stopping to take a nap in Acadia for a while about 1/2 way home).

Unfortunately, by the time she got back to town and checked the hotel, the entourage had all departed (hangover certainly partially to blame).  So, her "walk of shame" to get her credit cards and ID back involved writing an email to the White House rather than just slinking back into a bar the next morning!

Apparently they were friendly about it though and FedEx-ed it to her, so all was fine in the end.

[JimH]

Funny.  Sort of a "The Secret Service Ate My Homework" story.

[glynor]

Yeah... If you knew her though, you wouldn't be surprised.  She loses stuff everywhere and constantly has wacky and unplanned adventures.  In fact, I know for sure that there are at least two of her cell phones and a set of her keys at the bottom of the ocean.  Verizon kicked her off of their cell phone insurance program eons ago.

There was another funny side-show during his trip here, actually... He stopped at one of the many local ice cream shops with his kids at one point (I was stuck in the traffic jam caused by that excursion, actually).  And, amusingly enough... The wackos turned it into something.  Even made it into the local paper.  Black Power Ice Cream?  In Maine?  Really?

The owner of Mount Desert Island Ice Cream is a nice white lady, surprising no-one since Maine is one of the whitest states in the nation.  The conversations by locals about it on Facebookspacepage were hysterical.  They quoted one of the best quips in that Bangor Daily article too:

“When I first [met] Linda I thought ‘this girl obviously is hell bent on destroying the white race,’” one friend jokingly wrote on Parker’s Facebook page. “And then I ordered chocolate wasabi.”

Also, if you ever come visit us yourself... Obama really, really made the right choice.  There are probably 20 different ice cream shops in our little town in summer, but Mount Desert is absolutely, hands-down, the best one.  Try the blueberry basil and the chocolate wasabi, if they have them (they switch up their homemade flavors regularly, depending on the owner's whim).  Sounds weird, tastes awesome.

[MrC]

El Presidente was 4 miles from our house last week at the ol' Fox Theater.  The last president to visit was Herbert Hoover.  I think we were overdue.

[KingSparta]

I'm sure it was not exciting.

[DarkPenguin]

When are they letting Bob out?

[Matt]

When are they letting Bob out?

He's not allowed to sit by his window tomorrow.

I assume it's because he's on a list.

[glynor]

I assume it's because he's on a list.

They've probably been watching him for weeks! 

They know which way to aim the rifles.  Tell him he's all sighted in, and the red laser dot is infra-red so he won't even see it.

There have been secret service guys in black suits and sunglasses around for the last three days.

I'll tell you one thing.  They've been there longer than three days.  The dudes in the suits with the sunglasses are the last phase.  The other guys (and gals) blend in.  There is a Secret in Secret Service.

I remember on the way into work for a couple weeks before (and during) his visit to our little Island, there was a surprising uptick in "joggers" and "bikers" running/biking up and down Route 3.  Now, Route 3 is absolutely stunning in places (even in winter), and we get more than our fair share of joggers up and down that road.  But these numbers were suddenly staggering.  And they were all fit and young and had a vaguely ex-military look, not your usual blend of fitness buffs, housewives, and some out-of-shape vacationers trying to "enjoy the outdoors" during their trip.  Bartenders and hotel workers I talked to noticed other "odd visitors" too, well before the visit was even public knowledge, and I'm sure many more just blended in as your usual run-of-the-mill tourist families.

[Scolex]

Big Brother is always watching and when Uncle Sam is coming to town they break out the scopes whether they be micro or tele.
Sounds like a good time to take a vacation.

[InflatableMouse]

Jim, is that your bicycle? I can somehow see you padling to work every morning on that

[JimH]

Jim, is that your bicycle? I can somehow see you padling to work every morning on that

It's my daughter's bike.  She lives in the building.

[InflatableMouse]

It's my daughter's bike.  She lives in the building.

 

I once borrowed a bike from someone with a sadle like that. It was so uncomfortable I turned back at the end of the street and walked ... painfully.

[glynor]

How's the circus progressing?

[bob]

Here's a few crappy phone camera pix. They moved everyone off of the block after a while. The view from my desk has the prez limo in the background.
Hasn't left yet...
http://pix01.com/3y@wR7w

[bob]

Just left. Got a decent video. I'll try to upload it...

[bob]

Won't stream but isn't too long...
http://files.jriver.com/other/VID_20120601_152315.mp4

[MrC]

He's not allowed to sit by his window tomorrow.

I assume it's because he's on a list.

I'd assumed this to be bob's west coast comrade and conspirator.

[JimH]

The President's car.  There were two of them. 

There were two snipers on the building across the street.  At one point, we saw one looking our way with binoculars.  I waved at him.  He waved back.

[bob]

I'd assumed this to be bob's west coast comrade and conspirator.

I don't think his car was airborne for a " minute" unless this was the Illinois Nazi car from the Blues Brothers movie!

[MrC]

The small-town reporter also felt it necessary to state after its flight that the car "landed".

[KingSparta]

It would have been nice if the president used J. Rivers Media Center, and stopped in to thank JimH and the Gang for making the program.

think of the publicity.