Obama in O-Town

At the best of times, air travel can be frustrating.  All the waiting in airports, showing up 2 hours early for international flights to make sure you get through security, only to spend two hours sitting in uncomfortable chairs just putting in time (or, for the brave, dodging legions of rolling suitcases as you make a run for the nearest coffee kiosk or magazine store). And don't get me started on the long layovers... 

But, as I've learned, things get a little more frustrating when your final destination is the same as the President of the United States'.

Last Thursday (Feb. 19), Barack made his way north to Canada's capital to visit with good ol' Stevie H. (or Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to all you non-Canadians).  As his first visit to his "friendly neighbour", I personally think it went pretty darn well.  Or at least that's what I gathered from reading all the CBC coverage later. Canadians were all a-buzz, proving that Obama-mania can penetrate even the colder climates.

Liveblogging on CBC.ca started at 9:30 in the morning, and continued throughout the day. Topics included things like security measures, the salting and sanding of icy patches (to ensure Obama didn't fall and hurt himself... a common occurrence in snowy Ottawa), and Obama's brief visit to the Byward Market to get a Beavertail (no, not a REAL beaver tail... it's a pastry, very popular in Ottawa and the area.  Mmmm.)

Unfortunately, while most other Canadians were following the coverage and watching all of Obama's photo-worthy moments, I was stuck in Philadelphia. For a looooooong time.  First circling the airport for close to an hour, waiting until a runway opened up for us to land.  Then I was delayed in the airport for a few hours, getting bounced from gate to gate, as our flight kept getting pushed back to keep the airspace in Ottawa open for Obama's flight home. (It turns out Obama likes to chat... his meeting with Michael Ignatieff ran over, hence the long delay for the rest of us.)  The only moments I managed to see on the hanging terminal TV sets were a small snippet from Harper's speech about how the U.S. is our closest friend, and the couple of minutes when Obama went outside and "waved at the Canadians."

Similarly, my Dad (who was coming to pick me up) was stuck at the Ottawa airport for close to three hours.  For security reasons, many of the roads in Ottawa were shut down as "possible routes" for Obama's motorcade, which meant Dad had to rush to the airport before it was closed off altogether, finding a back way in as the main roads were already cordoned off.  Then, he waited. And waited. And waited.  The entire airport went into lockdown in preparation for the President's arrival.  Nobody could leave the terminal, nobody could get near the airport, and if you were sitting in a plane waiting to disembark, you were pretty much out of luck.  But while some people may have been a little put out, from what I hear they were more excited and interested than anything else. (And the fact that the airport's Tim Hortons was still open served to appease the stranded). I heard all about how the place was crawling with security, and how nobody was allowed near the windows, and how even the plastic plants in the terminals were searched before Obama got there to ensure he would be 100% safe.  Then, as a reward for being so patient, the stranded were treated with the sight of President Obama walking up the stairs to Air Force One, and the plane taking off.

While Ottawans were somewhat put out by all of the extra security and road closures (I remember when Dubya came to visit a few years ago... I couldn't get to school), I don't think I heard a single person complain.  Most of us are just as excited as Americans about the new President, and people were just happy to be part of the experience. Even sitting in the airport for hours, I couldn't complain. Because really, as cliche as it sounds, this really is history in the making. And who doesn't want to be part of a little slice of history?