Obamas' Visit

The Obamas have come and gone from MDI, much to the relief of many local folks. Not that the Obamas weren't welcome - a lot of people genuinely seemed excited about their being here for two days - but summer is brief and residents here are glad to get back to their seasonal routine.
Some people were disappointed they didn't see more of the First Family. Hundreds of people who lined Route 3 through Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove, hoping to see the motorcade as it made its way to the heavily guarded Regency hotel from the Trenton airport, were irritated when it took another route and evaded them completely. Two days later, many people went to Trenton to see them leave, knowing there was no other way to get off the island (not by presidential motorcade, anyway).
But some who wanted to see the president and his family during their visit lucked out. Many saw them from afar when the Obamas happened to appear nearby, and some of them even had close encounters by correctly guessing where they might be next.
Staff at Stewman's Downtown, the Bar Harbor Club, Havana, The Claremont Hotel and Mount Desert Island Ice Cream didn't have to guess. They saw the Obamas up close and personal when the First Family stopped in for meals or for other reasons - tennis at the club and cones at MDI Ice Cream.
Suddenly finding yourself with the president as your customer certainly would be a riveting/terrifying experience for the average store clerk or shop owner (even though the businesses did get a few minutes notice from the Secret Service), but according to this Portland Press Herald story, one waiter at Stewman's got the most important customers he'll ever have with only six days of experience of waiting tables. He might as well switch careers now, if you ask me, because his career as a waiter is going to be all downhill from here.
Unfortunately, some people see everything through the lens of partisan politics, and part of the Obamas' MDI visit got snared in this trap. I won't comment on what some of these hyper-partisan bloggers said, other than to say that local folks responded with a lot of wisecracks and head-scratching. The BDN had a story about what Linda Parker (the ice cream shop owner) thought about all the fuss.
The Obamas might be gone, but a lot of local hotel, eatery and shop owners are hoping their visit will draw business to MDI for a long time.