Obama Visits The Jersey Shore

President Obama checked out a record-breaking sand castle, played a football boardwalk game and "high-fived" lots of kids while he made a short visit to Point Pleasant Beach early Tuesday afternoon before speaking in Asbury Park. 

Gov. Christie won the brown bear at the "Touchdown Fever" game on the boardwalk and gave it to Obama as a gift since Obama's favorite team is the Chicago Bears.

Obama and Gov. Christie arrived at the boardwalk at about 12:10 p.m. and were met by a wet but cheering crowd. The president flashed his signature wide grin and said, "We'll be back."

He went to talk to Ed Jarrett, a sculptor building the "Sandy Castle," a record-breaking sand castle on Jenkinson's beach. Jarrett said later that Obama had apparently learned about the castle and asked him specific, detailed questions about the process and when it would be completed.

"I got five minutes of fame with the president, I felt honored and humbled," said Jarrett, looking amazed and awed shortly after Obama left. "It wasn't until this morning that I was told he was coming and that he wanted to meet me.

"He asked me, 'What is your biggest concern with building this?'" Jarrett said.

"I smiled and said that until today, it was thunder and lightning," Jarrett said. "But this morning a bulldozer moving sand on the beach shook the ground and I lost the top eight feet and we have to do that again.

"I didn't interview him, he interviewed me, that's awesome," Jarrett said.

Before losing that eight feet, Jarrett was already 14 feet beyond his last world record, which was for a castle he built in Connecticut.

Obama and Christie then played "Touchdown Fever," a boardwalk game across from the giant sand castle and a few doors south of Jenkinson's Aquarium. Obama pulled out his wallet and paid for the game. Christie wound up winning the game, but handed the prize, a brown bear to Obama and Obama held it up to show the crowd.

Mark Malland, who was working the stand, explained later that Christie gave Obama the bear because it's a "Chicago Bear," aka the president's favorite team.

Obama then shook hands with folks waiting behind police lines on both sides of the boardwalk. He greeted, shook hands and "high fived" groups of children who had gone on field trips to the aquarium and then stuck around for the extra bonus of meeting the president.

Local and state police covered the area in anticipation of the president's visit. Point Beach police and numerous other law enforcement officials were outside a house next to Jenkinson's Aquarium on the boardwalk this morning.

Obama was planning to speak about the Jersey Shore's recovery progress in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy during his Asbury Park visit. His New Jersey trip comes immediately after a stop in Oklahoma to assess tornado damage from last week.