Being our first president who hails from a tropical island, it should surprise no one that Barack Obama decided to return to his childhood home when he needed a little Christmas-holiday R&R.

But Hawaii is more than just palm trees and leis. It is also one of the most densely populated states in America.

When our last president decamped to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, just about the only thing that got displaced was brush. Things are a little different when Obama hits the usually crowded beaches of Oahu. Keep reading to check out some photographic evidence from the president's vacation.

A Secret Service officer tells a surfer that he doesn't have to stop hanging 10, but he can't hang it here.



Here an agent in cargo pants puts the kibosh on a local man's picturesque jog.



While most Hawaiians were happy to see their most famous son, the police made sure they expressed their enthusiasm in an orderly fashion.


Ah, Air Force One. At least we know the president won't have to suffer from the new airline passenger restrictions his administration has begun enforcing.