Life in the LinOhana: February 2011

At 5:55am, I headed downstairs from my room and into the elevator. There were already 2 secret service guys in the elevator going down too. I said good morning to them. They were very polite and returned the greeting. I knew Obama was in town because they announced his visit on the local news and security was tight the night before. At one point, no one could get in or out of the hotel. Hotel security was at an all time high. There were secret service men, dogs, local police, etc.... all over the premise.

As I entered the Westin gym on the 2nd floor, there were about 6 people in there working out. Nothing out of the ordinary. I hopped on the last open treadmill and started my slow jogging. I was tired and just couldn't really get going. I noticed that for the next 30 mins, secret service guys (including the 2 I saw in the elevator) started showing up every 10 mins or so to scope out the gym. After I saw them a few times, I had a suspicion that president Obama may come and workout. My guess was as good as anyone's. I continued to jog on the treadmill. Looked down at the treadmill display and it said "mile 4.5". Boy, do I need some sugar or energy drink to pick me up.

Then around 6:30am, in comes President Obama along with a few tough looking secret service guys!!! How exciting! He entered the gym and nearly everyone stopped whatever they were doing. As for me, a rush of adrenaline kicked in and now I was no longer feeling tired from the late night before. I kicked up my pace on the treadmill and was now running on an adrenaline rush!!! I could not believe that president Obama just walked in!!! Everyone inside the gym basically stopped whatever they were doing when they realized they were in the same room with the president. President Obama saw everyone too and waved hello to all. I was in awe myself!

I finished my 6 mile run on the treadmill around 6:50am. I looked over my left shoulder and he was still on the treadmill running. President Obama had his mp3 player on. I wanted to walk over and say hello but then I thought I should leave the man alone to workout. Why is he any different than any other guy getting his workout done in the morning? So, I walked over to the free weights area and did some arm exercises. Still, I kept an eye on Obama every few minutes. On his treadmill, he would increase his pace for a few mins and then decrease his pace as in typical interval programs. He also kept looking at his watch every few minutes, tracking his time.

President Obama worked out on the treadmill for about 20 mins or so and then went over to the stationary bikes. He did another 20 mins on the bike and finished. While on the stationary bike, he also did some interval training of fast and slow paces. By this time, it was already around 7:10am and I was going to be late for my flight if I stuck around the gym any longer. I couldn't decide.... do I wait longer to see what president Obama is going to do or leave to catch my flight? Needless to say, I stayed. I just happened to be standing near the middle of the gym where his hat and stuff were sitting. He crossed in front of me and said hello. I asked him if I may take his picture but he declined and said he normally doesn't do public photos. However, he did say "But I will shake your hand.". After shaking his hand, I didn't quite know what to ask him. Do I ask him about the economy? Do I ask him about his meeting with the silicon valley billionaires the night before? He did meet Steve Jobs (Apple CEO), John Chambers(Cisco CEO), Mark Zuckerberg(Facebook CEO), and Larry Ellison(Oracle CEO). There was already a press photo released on CNN with Obama talking to Mark Zuckerbeg and Steve Jobs. I had to think of something quick he can relate to. Out of the blue, Hawaii came to mind. Everyone knows he grew up in Hawaii. I asked him if he was going to Hawaii again this summer. He didn't answer. I told him my wife is from Hawaii and we visit every summer. He said, "Really, what part of Hawaii?" I told him Kaneohe. I also told him that we hear about his summer visits to Hawaii at about the same time we go every year. I joked "My wife tells our friends that President Obama follows us around the island every summer". He laughed and said "Please tell your wife Aloha for me!".

I then left the gym and was waiting for the elevator just outside the gym. Still there were 4 or 5 secret service agents standing around. Next I see President Obama exit the gym with a pack of secret service agents in their gym clothes behind him. Just as I suspected, they were in the gym working out with him too. I felt that one tall black secret service agent was eyeing me the whole time I was there. They headed down another hall and took what looked like the freight elevator instead of the normal elevator. I overheard one of the secret services agents speak into his radio ear piece, "President is on the move".

I got back to my room around 7:25am. I showered, packed up my stuff very quickly, and told my sales guy and roommate he totally missed out on Obama. He and I were supposed to go into the gym at 6am together but he went back to sleep instead. I rushed downstairs to catch the 7:40am shuttle to SFO airport which was only about a quarter of a mile away. I could see the airport from my room. As I got to the busy airport, there were long security lines..... just my luck. I am probably going to be late or miss my flight. Nothing I can do. When I finally passed through TSA, I headed to my gate. Upon arriving at the gate around 8:20am, I checked the flight schedule monitor. It said in bold flashing letters "Delayed. New departure time 9:45am". Just wonderful. Now, I have another hour and a half to wait. Then, they announced that my gate got moved to another terminal. I proceeded to the new gate which was about 10 minutes away and saw Air Force-1 in the distance. I found a gate that would give me the best picture of AF-1 but there was already a ton of people there taking pictures/videos. I squeezed in and took my share of pictures/videos. I could see Obama's entourage (approximately 10 cars/vans) driving to his plane a little over half a mile away. While I was watching, others around said all flights had been suspended. No flights were getting in or out of SFO right now. Being a VIP has its privileges, especially the president of the USA. Now, I know why my flight was delayed... for a total of 2 hours overall. Thanks to president Obama. I could see all around the airport. There really was nothing moving on any taxiways I could see. No planes, baggage trucks, cars, crew of any sort moving. Within 5 minutes, I could see AF-1 starting rolling from its parked position. AF-1 was parked next to a large hanger away from any general passenger terminals. I turned on my video cam on my phone and started shooting. It was such a beautiful sight to see AF-1 (Boeing 747) take off so quickly. The sky was cloudy but no rain. Visibility was good. Everyone around me took their fair share of AF-1 video too. A lady around me said "bye bye president Obama". For a few seconds, I had forgotten that it was president Obama on AF-1. I was just admiring the Boeing-747 fly away. Such a beautiful piece of human mastery and technology wonder. So amazing that us mortals can piece together millions of pieces of metal, wires, glass, nuts, bolts, etc and make it fly like a bird.

What an eventful morning!