WASHINGTON - The soon-to-be first family's arrival at the Hay-Adams Hotel brought beefed-up security, closed streets and a lot of excitement.

Obama fans are flocking to the Downtown D.C. Landmark, most with the same goal in mind.

Risa Washington, a D.C. resident, finds it exciting. She hopes "to capture a glimpse" of the couple, "that's all."

Patricia Brooks, a Landover resident, has a more specific goal in mind: "I'm just hoping I will get a glimpse of Michelle. Not President Obama, but his wife," she said.

Mavis Kleso didn't expect to see much: "Well, we knew we wouldn't, but you can always hope."

The Obamas may prove elusive, but the trappings surrounding them are hard to miss: closed sidewalks sent pedestrians scurrying for new routes to their destinations.

"I have to go to the Department of Commerce," Danote Abrishami, a tourist, said. "I will have to get a taxi, I think. It's easier than to figure out which street is open and which is closed."

But the taxi may have just as hard a time getting there. Sidewalks and streets are closed around the hotel at 16th and H streets NW. The blockages further clogged already congested downtown streets.

"This is terrible traffic," one person judged. "It's terrible."

The closer you get to the hotel the tighter the security. Duests checking into the Hay-Adams are subject to intense searches from the Secret Service. Luggage even gets a once over from the canine crew.

"It's, you know, been kind of exciting but actually they were very polite and beside seeing all of them, it's not that bad," Dave Headrick, a Chicago resident, observed.

The Hay-Adams wants everyone to know that while the Obamas are stay there, the hotel will function as normal. It has rooms available and its bar and restaurant also are open. You just have to go through a little extra scrutiny to get inside.

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