The president is in town.
Early Tuesday morning, Air Force One delivered President Joe Biden and his family to the Santa Barbara Airport on the way to their Santa Ynez Valley vacation.
Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago ran late, and the plane arrived around 2:20 a.m. A motorcade took the Bidens to Santa Ynez, with a sheriff’s Air Support Unit helicopter hovering above, KEYT reported.
A steady stream of locals headed to the airport on Tuesday morning to take photos of Air Force One — a C-32A aircraft — through the security fence.
The C-32A — the military version of the Boeing 757 — regularly serves as Air Force Two when used by the first lady, the vice president and other high-ranking officials.
But it can be pressed into service as Air Force One for flights to destinations such as Santa Barbara that cannot accommodate the larger and more familiar VC-25 aircraft, which is derived from the Boeing 747.
Seeing the plane on Tuesday brought back memories for Julie Michealsen.
In 1992, former president Ronald Reagan brought former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to his Rancho del Cielo in the Santa Ynez Valley.
When she heard the news they were coming, Michealsen said, she “grabbed all five kids, jammed them in the car and raced over here.”
There was a line of people against the fence, trying to get a good look at the disembarking plane passengers, she said. Her 10-year-old son wanted a better view, so he shimmied up the fence. When he waved at the men leaving the plane, Gorbachev waved back, she said.
“I have fond memories of this place,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring the grandkids by later today.”
Lupe Leyva said he came to see the plane and take a picture with it.
Asked how he heard about Biden’s visit, Leyva joked, “Oh, he texted me.”
Biden’s Vacation in Santa Ynez Valley
In comments to media Monday en route to Chicago, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed the president’s vacation plan included spending time with his family.
“I think that’s important for any families to do. Presidents are never on vacation. He’s a president wherever he is,” she said.
“He’s certainly going to continue to be doing the work, going to be very much focused and getting updates,” Jean-Pierre said, adding those updates include the situation in the Middle East plus other foreign and domestic issues.
The Bidens are expected to stay in the Santa Ynez Valley for the rest of the week.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions for Tuesday through Sunday around the Santa Ynez Airport.
Multiple military aircraft also have attracted attention while flying and landing around the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria airports last week.
As Noozhawk previously reported, the vacation follows Biden’s DNC speech making the case for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Once expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president, Biden stepped aside in July, saying he believed it would be “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.”
The timing of a vacation some 2,000 miles from the convention and in a sleepy community likely helps avoid Biden inadvertently upstaging Harris and Walz as the party moves to a new generation.
The White House confirmed the Bidens were staying at the Santa Ynez Valley ranch of billionaire Joe Kiani, a family friend and a big political donor. Biden’s son Hunter reportedly visited the ranch in March 2023.
The Kiani Preserve, which includes a winery, boasts 8,000 acres spanning hills and canyons “in the shadow of Figueroa Mountain.”
Biden previously came to Santa Barbara County in 2014 for a fundraiser at a private Montecito home. He and Jill Biden briefly met with a group of teachers and gave them a tour of Air Force Two.
