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Five helicopters, 57 Secret Service agents? Obama's trip to a posh golf club not many know about

Five helicopters, 57 Secret Service agents? Obama's trip to a posh golf club not many know about

Obamas are headed to Ocean Reef for a weekend of "gab and golf."

President Barack Obama's plate is full of difficult situations, foreign and domestic. From the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea to the instability brewing in Venezuela and North Korea still lobbing missiles into the sea. And then there is the President's ongoing battle against income inequality in America.

If there was only a place that where he could go to relax. A place that believes, "the busier life gets, the more we seek true tranquility, a place where the world’s clamor can be shut out and forgotten for a while." Luckily, the president has found such a place.

President Obama (and we assume his family) is reportedly about to take another vacation.  This time, the first family is expected to visit the Ocean Reef Club, a private, gated community that requires the sponsorship of a member in order to play golf on one of its three courses.  Ocean Reef is a place Marc Caputo from the Miami Herald's Blog also called, "about as far away from middle class as you can get in Key Largo."

Image: OceanCliff.com Image source: oceanreef.com

On Monday, disgruntled Ocean Reef members tipped TheBlaze to the this weekend's high-profile trip. Their concerns were typical of most small towns that feel the overwhelming power of a presidential visit. However, in this instance, they were upset that the Obamas, their friends and a reported 57 Secret Service agents would paralyze traffic on the small island and exclude them from the golf courses during a "Spring Break weekend when many families count on relaxing together."

Image: OceanReef.com Image source: oceanreef.com

The White House did not confirm the rumor, nor did they deny it. The response to our inquiry was simply, "No information has been released regarding Florida, but we are happy to add you to the distribution list if/when an advisory comes out."

Calls to the office of the president of the Ocean Reef Club were met with a curt "no comment." And then, within an hour of our inquiry, the following was sent to all members of the private club:

Ocean Reef

Dear Member,

The Ocean Reef Club is expecting a distinguished visitor this weekend, March 7th – 9th that will require an advanced level of security. As with all VIP visits, there may be some minor disruptions including special flight plan rules, closures at the airport and short closures of some roadways. Most of these security measures will be temporary, and should not impact the normal operations of the Club.  We appreciate your patience, and apologize for any inconvenience in advance.

Ocean Reef has a long tradition in hosting many high level individuals, and all of those visits have added to our rich and unique history and to our reputation as the safest most secure private club in the world. Please help us continue this tradition by ensuring the privacy of this guest at all times.

TheBlaze contacted several businesses on the island and learned that the rumor mill in the community of around 10,000 people was already abuzz with the word that the Obamas were coming to visit. From the UPS store to the local deep sea fishing outlet, it was fairly well known that a "very important person -- probably the president" was coming to town.

On Tuesday, the Chicago Sun Times reported that the Obamas are headed to Ocean Reef for a weekend of "gab and golf." Michael Sneed's political gossip column claimed that the family was renting "five houses on the uber-politically conservative compound." Sneed also stated that the guests would be arriving in five helicopters. TheBlaze cannot confirm that five helicopters will be used to bring the Obamas and their guests to Ocean Reef, but a helicopter arrival is likely as Air Force One is too large for the local airport and will probably have to land at Homestead Air Force Base (about 30 miles from Key Largo).

Calls to the Ocean Reef Public Information Officer have not yet been returned.

Follow Mike Opelka on Twitter - @Stuntbrain

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