Mr. President "Snowbama" visits Kailua

It's been an exciting last few weeks to say the least! Less than a week after we returned from filming Rick's first Food Network Challenge competition, our sweet beach town of Kailua, where cakelava is based, was filled with excitement. Kailua was preparing to host President Obama ("Snowbama") and his family for their what has become, an annual Hawaiian Christmas vacation. President Obama and his family arrived on Christmas Eve to the same exquisite Kailua beach estate they stayed at last year. Their vacation home is about 2.5 miles from our cake studio. As to be expected, the island of Oahu and especially Kailua based businesses love hosting the Obama family. There have been signs in the windows of local businesses saying "the Obama Ohana" ("Ohana" meaning family), to show their support of the first family, but also hoping they may choose their establishment for their next meal or visit. One of the lucky Kailua businesses able to serve the President has been a small surf shop/shave ice store near the beach called Island Snow. It is no secret that President Obama loves his shave ice, as do most residents and visitors of Hawaii. It is one of Rick's and my favorite foods, and we eat it every chance we get. We even have a frequent buyer card at Island Snow. If you have had CNN on recently, you may have heard the term "Snowbama," a name which originated at Kailua's Island Snow and refers to the 3-flavor shave ice that President Obama ordered.

Yesterday, the first day of the New Year, President Obama was all over Kailua, and thank goodness so were we! As many of you who follow us on Facebook or Twitter know, I had the great honor of getting to shake President Obama's hand. Rick and I were on the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base with our friend Eric and saw the President exiting from the fitness center on base. We knew ahead of time he was going to be there and came prepared with our cameras. As President Obama turned to the crowd, he started shaking people's hands. Due to security measures you are not allowed to reach out your hand, he has to choose to shake it, and luckily he felt inclined to shake mine. What an amazing experience and thankfully Rick and Eric had camera's handy and documented this milestone event! Below are some of the photos we took yesterday, including the photo of him shaking my hand. I was star struck afterwards, we all were, and if we weren't headed to brunch afterwards I wouldn't have washed my hand. Ha ha. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life and a incredible way to start the New Year! Enjoy the pics!






the photo Rick snapped of President Obama shaking my hand. As you can see, the perspective wasn't ideal but he was that close!

The shot taken by Eric as President Obama shakes my hand

Happy New Year to everyone! It's a new year, a new decade and we can't wait to see what happens in 2010. We'll be back soon with more cakes and more news!

Aloha, 'til next time!