President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Sasha and Malia are in Hawaii for their annual Christmas trip.
As Zennie62Media is part of the White House Press Pool, we are able to share the accounts from the pool reporters who are there with The President. Here are the press notes in the order that they were received on Sunday, December 22nd and thanks to Ashley Parker of The New York Times.
Kailua, Hawaii
Greetings from Kailua, where, after an uneventful 40 minute ride, your pool is holding at a nearby house in the palm tree-lined residential neighborhood where President Obama and his family are spending their winter holiday in a private vacation home.
At the entrance of Kailuana Place, which leads to Obama’s rental, Secret Service have erected a concrete barricade and a security checkpoint in a white tent. Several police cars were also stationed at the entrance, and your pool spotted an agent in a golf cart patrolling the neighborhood, as well.
The pool is not close enough to see Obama’s house.
At roughly 2:18 p.m. local, President Obama departed his residence. The pool joined the motorcade near the top of Kailuana Place, not far from theexit of the neighborhood, and we are now rolling to a TBD location. (It isprobably worth noting here that Oregon State, coached by Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson, is playing Akron in the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament scheduled to start at roughly 2:30 p.m. local
today).
Your pool was unable to glimpse Obama in his SUV. As he left the neighborhood, a gaggle of bathingsuit-clad kids gathered on the corner to wave at the motorcade, and locals gathered on the first several dozen
yards of the main street (outside the security perimeter) to watch Obama pass by.
Honolulu, Hawaii
After a roughly 30-minute ride, President Obama — accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and two daughters — arrived at 2:49 p.m. local at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii to attend the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Oregon State University (where Michelle’s brother Craig Robinson is the head coach) is playing the University of Akron.
The ride was uneventful; some people whose cars were stopped along the way for the motorcade got out of their vehicles to wave at the spectacle and flash the shaka sign at the president.
The First Family entered the arena, to cheers, shortly before game time. (They also made their first jumbotron appearance before tip-off). Obama, wearing a purple polo shirt, and his family are sitting courtside just behind the Oregon bench.
Your pooler also spotted Josh and Natalie Earnest, and Sam Kass, at the game.
Honolulu, Hawaii
At 5:11 p.m. local, President Obama left the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center, and we are now heading back to his vacation home in Kailua. The Zips (Akron) beat the Beavers (Oregon State), 83 to 71. According to the media relations director for the university, the crowd count was 3,405.
Obama, wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, left the court during halftime, though he stopped to high-five some Oregon fans on the way out. He returned just before the second half began.
At some point, a man dressed in a full polar bear costume and a woman with an anti Keystone Pipeline sign (“Beavers Hate Pipelines”) entered the arena, across the court from where the Obamas were sitting. The duo began dancing during a second half time-out, but it was unclear if the president noticed them.
Also sitting with First Family at the game: Bobby Titcomb, and the rest of the Robinson family — Marian Robinson (Michelle and Craig’s mother), Craig’s wife, and his children, according to a White House aide.
Kailua, Hawaii
At approximately 5:42 p.m. local, President Obama arrived back at his vacation home. The ride was uneventful and drizzly, with gray clouds highlighted by the sun filling the otherwise blue sky. The pool is now
holding at a nearby house for an estimated 20 minutes or so, until Obama heads back out to a TBD location.
Kailua, Hawaii
At approximately 6:46 p.m. local, President Obama left his vacation home, and we are now headed to a TBD location. In the dark, your pool was unable to glimpse Obama in his motorcade.
Honolulu, Hawaii
At the 7:23 p.m. local, President Obama and his family arrived at Morimoto Waikiki, where they are having dinner. Your pool did not see the First Family enter the restaurant. We are holding at the Outback Steakhouse.
Honolulu, Hawaii
At approximately 9:29 p.m. local, President Obama and his family left Morimoto Waikiki, and we are now headed back to his vacation home on the windward side of the island. While the First Family was eating, a crowd of roughly 100 gathered across the street, hoping to glimpse the Obamas on their way out. The crowd cheered as the president exited the restaurant, and he briefly waved at them.
Kailua, Hawaii
At approximately 10:04 p.m. local, President Obama and his family arrived
back at their vacation home. We now have a lid. Mahalo and goodnight.