EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- Hours before Oregon State University's graduation, dozens of people gathered near the Eugene Airport to welcome the First Lady to Oregon.
First Lady Michelle Obama landed with her two daughters just before 3:00 PM. They did not arrive in the plane most people identify as Air Force One, although their landing was preceeded by circling fighter jets and multiple security checks on the terminal.
Some families parked along Greenhill Road and waited more than three hours for Mrs. Obama's arrival. From Eugene, Jake Gariepy and his children were there for a second time; they got to see Mrs. Obama's motorcade pass by when she visited her brother, Craig Robinson, in August 2011.
"Last time we saw the motorcade go by, but the windows were up and they were all blacked out so you couldn't tell which car she was in but we waved anyway," said Gariepy. "We just want to support our President and our First Lady."
The Gariepys were among many standing in the fields near the airport when the plane finally landed.
"We were on our deck at our home in Eugene and we saw a plane fly over earlier, and we thought, we imagined, it was her plane," laughed Jim and Joby Patterson of Eugene. "Really, it was just a United plane but we thought 'maybe that's the Air Force plane', so we just thought we'd come and see if we could see her."
Joby Patterson was hoping for an autograph from Mrs. Obama to add to her collection of presidential signatures, but wasn't so lucky. Security was tight across the airport with Eugene Police blocking the entrance to the terminal and the secret service barricading some areas completely.
Throughout the afternoon, more and more cars were stopping, asking what was going on. Some disapproved of the support being shown while others got in line.
Mrs. Obama and her daughters finally arrived in a simple white plane, marked with the American flag on the tail. President Barack Obama headed to Mexico for the G20 Summit and was not able to join his wife and daughters.
The convoy quickly rushed the Obama family out of the airport area. Waving as they passed, Mrs. Obama was driven out to Highway 99 where the family was then escorted to Corvallis.
"We got to see the two girls come by. We got to wave at the First Lady so I would say it was well worth it," said Karen Vestle.
