I (Duffy) spent last week with the White House advance team helping prepare Petra for the First Lady’s arrival. It was not something I was originally very excited about – it was going to require spending many nights in a VERY small town and I had heard that White House visits meant crazy hours and general chaos. But in fact the opposite was true – except for Wadi Musa being a small town. I had a great time. It was terrific seeing how White House staff plans a visit and seeing how the Secret Service works to make it succeed.The pre-visit planning also meant that I got to spend a lot of time wandering around Petra which truly is an amazing park. I also got to spend time with archaeologists learning about the history and the excavations. It is definitely a truism that like “a bad day fishing is better than a good day in the office” – similarly any day in Petra is better than a day in the office.
The visit itself went smoothly. Greta Van Susteren was traveling with the First Lady and you can see some video footage of the tour. No video of me but good shots of Mrs. Bush and Petra.
EVERYONE in town knew that the First Lady was visiting (although some rumors had it as Barbara Bush.) This meant that tour operators and hotel staff urged people to go to the park early so there were lots of tourists around during her tour. October is peak season in Petra and in Jordan. During one very sweet moment, Mrs. Bush was serenaded with the University of Texas song by American tourists being cordoned off by the Secret Service and she responded with big smiles and that finger thing UT grads do that is supposed to look like a longhorn steer.
At the end of the day I got my picture taken with Mrs. Bush. I haven’t gotten my copy yet but I know that she looked beautiful and I looked like someone who had literally just spent six hours frantically running around a desert. Cars in the park are VERY restricted so many of the last minute set-up tasks required “Hike into park a mile carrying gear – set up space – hike out of park a mile back to the helicopter landing zone. Repeat.”
The visit itself went smoothly. Greta Van Susteren was traveling with the First Lady and you can see some video footage of the tour. No video of me but good shots of Mrs. Bush and Petra.
EVERYONE in town knew that the First Lady was visiting (although some rumors had it as Barbara Bush.) This meant that tour operators and hotel staff urged people to go to the park early so there were lots of tourists around during her tour. October is peak season in Petra and in Jordan. During one very sweet moment, Mrs. Bush was serenaded with the University of Texas song by American tourists being cordoned off by the Secret Service and she responded with big smiles and that finger thing UT grads do that is supposed to look like a longhorn steer.
At the end of the day I got my picture taken with Mrs. Bush. I haven’t gotten my copy yet but I know that she looked beautiful and I looked like someone who had literally just spent six hours frantically running around a desert. Cars in the park are VERY restricted so many of the last minute set-up tasks required “Hike into park a mile carrying gear – set up space – hike out of park a mile back to the helicopter landing zone. Repeat.” 
2 comments:
Very cool. I think you need to make the pic with the First Lady your Christmas card!
Wow, so neat! You are a celebrity, now. I think it would have been fun to chase (literally) the first lady all over Petra! I am glad when you say who is posting. I really cannot tell you two apart. Thanks for your great blog!
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