Mediaboss Marketing

Patricia Borns, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press Published 10:23 p.m. ET April 8, 2017 | Updated 10:42 p.m. ET April 8, 2017

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Vice President Mike Pence, aboard Air Force Two, lands at 4:27 p.m. April 8, 2017, at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on his way to visit Sanibel Island, Fla.(Photo: Kinfay Moroti, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press)

SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. The sky turned spanking blue on the busiest Saturday of season for snowbirds soaking up their last winter rays, shark teeth hunters, weekend fishermen and residents anticipating the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence.

Rumors had been flying for days about the vice president's visit. Was he staying on nearbyCaptiva Island? No, Sanibel Island. No, its changed to Marco Island, where former House Speaker John Boehner gave a speech Friday night.

No, it's really Sanibel Island, about 20 miles southwest of Fort Myers, Fla., and 130 miles west of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.

Related:White House photo reveals inside view of Mar-a-Lago situation room Related:Missile strike 'probably the best thing' Trump has done, Boehner says

There are all kinds of rumors going around. I think people just like to hear themselves talk, Sanibel resident Craig Allen said Saturday morning while shopping atJerrys, the local supermarket.

Pence and Air Force Two touched down at at 4:27 p.m. ET at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.His motorcade crossed the Sanibel Causeway about 30 minutes later.

Where Pence is staying, where he might play golf andexactly how long he will be here is not being revealed. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction Thursday for private planes around the island from Saturday through Friday, so he appears to be spending Easter elsewhere.

Related:Pence, House Republicans scramble to resurrect Obamacare repeal Related:Trump says Pence has 'one hell of a good marriage'

Year-round residents are used to seeing celebrities like Eric Clapton show up at George and Wendy Schnapp's Sanibel Seafood Grille; Johnny Depp at a Tween Waters Halloween party; and, regularly, NBC weatherman Willard Scott, for whom the island is a second home.

Resident Anita Smith wore a slightly irritated air as she went about her chores.

We dont have enough traffic without the vice president visiting? Smith asked.

Related:Stephen Colbert cracks himself up poking fun at Mike Pence Related:Mike Pence's 'Billy Graham Rule' has Internet yelling sexism

Yet traffic was surprisingly smooth for a day of the week when rentals all over the island were turning over. A police officer stood outside Royal Shell, calming traffic as half the real estate companys 500-plus rental properties were taking in new guests.

Many business people were afraid to share feelings about the visit because of sharp political divisions being felt across the country and even more so on a small island.

But Bridgit Stone-Budd wasnt one of them.

Stone-Budd, who opened Pecking Order Fried Chicken with her husband three years ago, wasted no time posting to Facebook Friday when she heard the news:

Then she tweeted to @mike_pence inviting him to dinner on the house.

I know Mike Pence is from Indiana, and Indiana is famous for fried chicken and waffles and fried pickles, she said.

Sois the Pecking Order.

Related:Pence jokes GOP health care bill needed help from WWE Related:Vice President Pence meets with his 'second-favorite' Reagans

Stone-Budd lamented that politics kept her from going gung-hofor Pence and the president, for fear of alienating patrons. After her tweet to the vice president, one customer said hed wouldnt be following her anymore.

Some of my customers replied, Goodbye, well miss you, she said.

Bridgit Stone-Budd, who invited the vice president to dinner, serves an order of her famous fried chicken. waffles and fried pickles April 8, 2017, at Pecking Order Fried Chicken on Sanibel Island, Fla.(Photo: Patricia Borns, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press)

How do islanders keep it friendly with each other in these political times?

One of my staffs parents have completely different feelings about the president, Stone-Budd said. Were friendsthough. We just dont talk about it.

Sanibel Island, like Trump's Palm Beach on the Atlantic, is a wealthier enclave than most of Florida. The median household income is almost $100,000, just several thousand less than Palm Beach's $105,000; however, the median value of an owner-occupied home is almost $300,000 less than in Palm Beach: about $665,000 vs. $950,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For comparison, the median household income for the United States is less than $54,000, and the median value of an owner-occupied house is less than $180,000. The median is a value in the middle of a set of numbers; half are higher and half are lower.

Across the Sanibel causeway, Dave Bailey sat beside the bay with a slack fishing line in the water and a crossword puzzle in his lap.

Did Pences visit matter to him?

It depends on what he does while hes here, Baileysaid. The political furor of this country has been so ramped up over politics. In Florida, were like, ho-hum.

Related:Vice President faces backlash for photo of Freedom Caucus meeting Related:Mike Pence calls Obamacare a 'nightmare' at Kentucky stop

Bailey is especially sensitized to big-name politicians because he lives the rest of the year in Colchester, Vt., home of 2016 presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Closing on 5 p.m., police cars began stationing themselves on either side of the causeway. Sirens wailed in the distance.

Since the first part of 2017, Vice President Mike Pence hasn't appeared before photographers in anything but a business suit. On Feb. 22, 2017, he took off his coat to help volunteers clean up Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Mo., after vandalism at the Jewish cemetery.(Photo: Michael Thomas, Getty Images)

The base of the causeway was almost empty of onlookers, save two women, who hadbeen waiting patiently for Pence to drive by.

This is everything, said Tamara Leone of Illinois, who was spending a few days visiting her mother.

Leone had come to the spot to show her support for the vice president, whom she admires becausehes not afraid to show his faith," she said.

On the other side of the causeway, an excited Amanda Wilcox rushed to the side of the road as a police car screamed by. U.S. Coast Guard boats churned up the water below, and helicopters patrolled the sky.

A Cape Coral, Fla.,resident who was here enjoying a birthday picnic with friends, Wilcox wondered if a rescue were in progress for a man in a green kayak who had been missing in these waters since Friday night.

Did she know that Pence would be passing this way?

I have no idea who that is, Wilcox said.

However, she does know about Donald Trump.

Hes so controversial. Of course I do.

Follow Patricia Borns on Twitter:@PatriciaBorns

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2oOdzaP

See original here:
Vice President Mike Pence spends spring break in Florida - USA TODAY