On their second full day of vacation on Oahu, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama paid their respects to U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, visited the grave of Obama’s grandfather, then spent the afternoon hiking with their daughters in Maunawili.
The president’s motorcade left his Kailua vacation home at 9:31 a.m., heading for the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
Reporters traveling with the motorcade reported that the president was briefly visible in a black SUV as he departed.
A few people gathered along Pali Highway, hoping for a glimpse of the commander in chief.
The motorcade arrived at Punchbowl at 9:58 a.m., and the service for Inouye began shortly after 10 a.m.
Obama and his wife were seated in the front row with Lt. Gen. Francis Wiercinski, commander of U.S. Army Pacific; Inouye’s widow, Irene; his son, Ken; daughter-in-law Jessica Inouye; stepdaughter Jennifer Hirano; and Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of U.S. Pacific forces, and his wife.
Obama elected not to speak at the ceremony, which ended at 11:20 a.m.
Later, he and the first lady took a brief stroll through the cemetery to visit the grave of his grandfather Stanley Dunham, a World War II veteran. The couple could be seen from afar, walking together toward the site.
The president’s motorcade left Punchbowl at 11:29 a.m. and returned to the vacation home at 11:57 a.m.
It was seen leaving again at 1:31 p.m. About 20 minutes later the Obamas and daughters Sasha and Malia arrived at the Maunawili Demonstration Trail, a beginner-level trail that stretches 9.3 miles from Maunawili to Waimanalo.
The family returned to the home shortly after 4 p.m.
On Saturday the president played golf during the day and dined with family and friends at Morimoto’s restaurant in Waikiki.
Brandon Leong said he was treating his wife to a birthday celebration at the restaurant when, around 8 p.m., plainclothes agents began walking around the space, inspecting everything from the tables to the roof and the bushes. About 10 minutes later, Long said, restaurant patrons were scanned with a metal detector and told security was being heightened for a VIP guest.
"Our waiter also hinted that we might see something spectacular tonight to add to my wife’s birthday celebration," Leong wrote in an email.
Then around 8:30 p.m., Leong said, about four people walked in and sat down directly behind him and his wife. Ten minutes after that, he said, Michelle Obama walked in with two other people and the president bringing up the rear.
"He (the president) walked by our table … (and) said ‘Merry Christmas,’" Leong said, adding that the dinner party ordered a long list of items and drank Stoli martinis.
"It was a birthday celebration for my wife that she and I will never forget," he remarked.
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KOKUA LINE: June Watanabe in on vacation. Her column returns in January. Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
