As the sun rises over the White House, the day begins for the man who traveled so far to get here.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest grew up in a modest house in Kansas City's Red Bridge neighborhood, never dreaming he would one day work in America's most famous house.
"It doesn't ever get old. How could it? Look at it," said Earnest as he arrived for work.
But inside the doors of the West Wing where Earnest took over as press secretary in 2014, it feels less like a museum and more like a pressure cooker.
"It's demanding. There's never a dull moment around here," said Earnest. "It now has become increasingly clear to me why most people do this for a couple of years and then they're ready to go do something else."
His day starts with a series of meetings. First with the White House Chief of Staff.
"That is where all the component heads of the White House will sit down to talk about the items that are on their agenda," said Earnest. "That's often a good way for me to learn about what's happening at the White House that day."
Then he discusses all those issues with his own staff, a team of deputy press secretaries each assigned a particular issue. It's all in preparation for the biggest moment of Earnest's day -- the daily press briefing with the White House press corps.
And on this day, Earnest and his staff don't know what reporters might ask.
"Some of the hardest days to do the press briefing are the days when it's not obvious what the major story of the day is," said Earnest. "So it means the variety of questions is much broader, so sometimes it makes it harder to prepare."
As he starts the long walk from his office through the West Wing and towards the briefing room, he knows he actually started preparing for this thirty years ago -- back in Kansas City.
"Kansas City was a great town to grow up in," said Earnest. "It felt like the kind of place where you had some small town values but at the same time it was a city where you could be exposed to some different things."
But one of those things was not politics. While his parents, who still live in the KC metro, taught Earnest and his younger brothers about the importance of voting, they did not discuss politics often.
"It's not as if there were these machine-level politics we were engaged in," said Earnest. "It was something I gravitated to more on my own."
Earnest feels his path to the White House likely began at the private Barstow School in south Kansas City, where he graduated in 1993.
"One of the things about my Barstow education is that it was very wide ranging. And I had excellent teachers," said Earnest.
From there he went on to Rice University in Houston, where he later earned his first job in politics, before moving to Washington D.C.
Finding a job there wasn't easy, but every time he passed the White House, he felt inspired.
"I remember looking at it thinking what a special opportunity it would be to go there someday or to have an opportunity to work there. What a tremendous honor that would be," said Earnest.
Finally in 2007 he received his big break -- A job in Iowa, as the communications director for then Senator Barack Obama's first presidential campaign.
Said Earnest of the president, "In some ways I feel like I've been on a journey with him."
A journey that eventually led Earnest to the White House, and down the long West Wing hall on his way to the briefing room.
Finally, with his Royals mug in hand, he meets the press. The briefing begins.
"Good afternoon everybody. Happy Monday," said Earnest as he entered the briefing room.
As he predicted, the press peppers him with a wide ranging list of questions. Everything from the presidential election to the fight over the Supreme Court nominee.
But Earnest handles it with ease, earning the respect of the press -- and of the president, who he could now call a friend.
"Traveling around on Air Force One, spending time and getting to know the President of the United States on a personal basis is a really special opportunity, and I haven't taken a second of it for granted," said Earnest.
In his spacious West Wing office, plenty of Kansas City treasures line the walls, like a base signed by the entire 2014 Royals team. Earnest calls himself a big fan.
But there's nothing more special on his walls than a painting given to him by his late grandmother. A painting she did, herself.
"She was somebody who was the most loving, welcoming, generous and affirming person I've ever met," said Earnest of his grandmother who lived in Kansas City. "And she didn't do that for me just because I was her grandson. She did that to everybody in her life and she did that because she had a very strong sense of who she was and what she believed in."
It's those KC beliefs that help carry Earnest through another very long, DC day.
Getting some last minute advice from Sunny and Bo before the press briefing pic.twitter.com/6jXO8QMD4a
— Josh Earnest (@PressSec) April 28, 2016
Q&A with Josh Earnest:
What's next for you after the Obama administration ends?
"I intend to make the most of this very humbling and special opportunity that I have but when the time comes to do something else, I'll be ready to do something else too."
What's your take on the Royals success?
"One of the things that I have been so impressed by in terms of the way that they have really turned that franchise around is that they came in with a plan and this was not a short term plan. This was not a quick fix. But they understood this is something they wanted to try to fix from the bottom up."
What's your favorite KC barbecue?
"See that's a little bit of a trick question because that can get you into trouble. Very sensitive around there. What I will say is our go-to barbecue place particularly now that they've opened up a location near my parent's house is Jack Stack. You can reliably get a very tasty barbecue meal at Jack Stack on a regular basis."
Watch the full interview with Earnest below. If you cannot see the media player, click here to watch.
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
