WASHINGTON — Maine resident Jennifer Benner first got an inkling they were on a different sort of White House public tour Thursday when they spotted video cameras and the guide told them to prepare for a “nice surprise.”
As they walked into the Blue Room, they were greeted by first lady Michelle Obama and first dog Bo.
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“It was very cool,” Benner, from Cushing, said in a phone interview. “She couldn’t have been more pleasant or more welcoming.”
The White House public tour — arranged through the office of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District — was part of the Washington stop on a family road trip to Florida in celebration of the recent 13th birthdays of Benner’s daughter Casey Benner, and her nephew Zach Jones. Also on the trip: Benner’s sister Sarah Jones and her stepmother, Alyson Jones, also both of Cushing.
No photographers were on hand for the occasion, but the White House streamed video on WhiteHouse.gov.
When the first lady found out Benner and her family hailed from Maine, she said the Obamas enjoyed their summer vacation in Bar Harbor in 2010. And when she heard that Casey and Zach were on a birthday trip, high-fives were exchanged between the kids and the first lady.
“When we went in there I was kind of nervous and shaky and I didn’t know what to think,” Casey said. “But we started talking to her and she was so friendly it seemed like I knew her. Then she went to give me a high-five and by that time I was totally comfortable with her.”
As soon as the family got outside, “I was like, I have to tell my friends,” Casey said. “I texted quite a lot of people.”
MaineToday Media Washington Bureau Chief Jonathan Riskind can be contacted at 791-6280 or at:
jriskind@mainetoday.com
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