Obama opts for lunchtime stroll

The bear is loose once again.

President Obama ditched his motorcade on Monday, instead choosing to walk to a private luncheon at the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C., located just two blocks from the White House.

Rare sight in DC. POTUS walking to luncheon event. pic.twitter.com/vjp0dtMYqI

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 26, 2015

{mosads}Obama strolled out of the White House grounds with a coffee cup in hand shortly after noon.

Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and White House director of legislative affairs Kate Fallon walked by his side.

A crowd of people lined the streets along Obama’s route. One man said, “There he is!” when he spotted the president.

Former Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and George Mitchell (D-Maine) are hosting the lunch event, which current and former senators will attend, according to ABC News.

The private Metropolitan Club, founded in 1863, bills itself as “a destination for many local, national and international leaders” due to its “proximity to the White House and other icons of the nation’s capital,” according to its website.

Although his surprise off-campus trips on foot are rare, Obama has increased their frequency during his second term.

After walking to Starbucks in June 2014, Obama said, “The bear is loose,” a joke he has made multiple times to describe his walks.

Obama last walked off the White House grounds in April, when he inadvertently walked into a meeting of reporters while taking the national Teacher of the Year award winner to lunch.