Of the many US presidential visits to Belfast over the years, this one was high security but comparatively low-key.
A fairly modest mix of onlookers and protesters gathered near Ulster University hoping to catch a glimpse of Joe Biden's motorcade.
But police and the Secret Service heavily locking down the entire section of York Street encompassing the campus kept them well away from the US president.
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In the end the crowd and the press pack on assembled risers had gathered for nothing but empty tarmac, as Mr Biden slipped into the building through a side entrance.
Not even a £10 lunch voucher offered to exasperated journalists left standing in the cold could lessen their frustration.
Inside, a specially selected audience of young people, civic leaders and politicians gathered in the atrium of Ulster University's newly built £350million campus.
The state-of-the-art setting was picked to demonstrate the transformation Mr Biden has seen in the city 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement peace deal.
Mr Biden told the audience that such a glass-fronted building would have been "highly unlikely" during one of his previous visits in 1991, when the Troubles still raged.
"Where barbed wire once sliced up the city, today we find a cathedral of learning built of glass and let the light shine in and out," he said.
"It's an incredible testament to the power and the possibilities of peace."
Ulster University made the most of the exposure, with its branding everywhere including as the backdrop for Mr Biden's address.
The president praised the Northern Ireland of today as a "churn of creativity, art, poetry, theatre" with a growing film industry.
A nod to James Martin, star of Oscar-winning film An Irish Goodbye who was in the audience, was greeted with a warm applause.
Mr Biden's delivery was not perfect, with the president mumbling over the autocue on occasion.
But this was a well-crafted speech aimed at having a broad appeal in a place where words must be chosen carefully.
For a president accused by unionists of being "pro-nationalist", he spoke of the pride the US has in the "Ulster Scots immigrants who helped found and build my country".
Mr Biden also went off-script to mention his British ancestral connections. It followed his team being forced to insist he is not "anti-British" after overnight criticism from unionists.
The briefness of his morning meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, duly dubbed a "bi-latte", also may not have helped the optics.
Security concerns and Stormont's absence combined to shorten the Northern Ireland leg of his four-day trip to the island.
But Mr Biden's central message was one of continued support from the US presidency and his government in helping Northern Ireland to develop and prosper.
He spoke of the "incredible economic opportunities" and "investment potential" for the region, saying that US companies "want to invest in Northern Ireland".
And with the softest of nudges to the DUP, the president made clear the US wants Stormont power-sharing restored to unlock this promised windfall.
"As a friend, I hope it’s not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe the democratic institutions established in the Good Friday Agreement remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland," he said.
Mr Biden said he believed the "stability and predictability" offered by the Windsor Framework deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements with Great Britain "will encourage greater investment in Northern Ireland".
After an overnight stay and and a half-day of engagements, Mr Biden managed to complete his visit with no major gaffes.
His trip south of the border should be much more plain-sailing, even if the stormy weather suggests otherwise.
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