Farrell: How to get 'Today' show host Al Roker on and off Hilton Head in under 30 minutes

Four members of the large crowd that gathered behind "Today" show host Al Roker on Wednesday at the 18th hole of Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island -- I should say, that gathered way behind Al Roker -- or rather, way way behind Al Roker, over the water and at The Quarterdeck -- used their bodies to spell "Ohio."

O-H-I-O.

It was a very unfair thing to do to a man who, at that point, had been in 36 states over the past six days.

No one would have blamed Roker if he had forgotten he was currently in South Carolina as he was giving the local forecast on Charleston's and Columbia's NBC affiliates in Harbour Town. But what chance did he have with that party trick?

He was on a very tight timetable, though. His producers wanted him in and out of town in under 30 minutes. So there was no time to explain to him, "Mr. Roker. You could've saved yourself a state by simply coming to Hilton Head first.

"Because half of Ohio is here at any given time anyway."

Oh, and there was also a goat there.

I can't believe I didn't start with the goat.

I will get to that goat in a minute.

Roker made his stop on Hilton Head as part of Rokerthon 2, a weeklong tour of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in which he visits a state, gives the weather report, leaves a state and then goes on to the next state.

It is a tightly orchestrated operation that is also a sometimes confusing and often delayed blur of airplanes, cars, handlers and producers who rush Roker in and rush Roker out with the sounds of fans yelling "We love you, Al" following him to the next state.

It is as exhausting and fun as it sounds, his producers said. But, as it is with many crazy endeavors, it's also for a good cause.

Roker and his team are raising money for Feeding America and hoping to break a Guinness World Record.

Last year, he raised money for the USO and broke a record giving the weather report for 34 hours straight.

This year, "Today" show producers Sean Reis and Matt Greenfield decided to get crazy and do something they've never done before.

"In July we sat down and talked about what to do," Reis said. "I jokingly said 'All 50 states in five days!' We looked at a map. ... OK. A week would be possible."

Roker loved the idea.

Fifty states in a week means lots of planning and strategizing, though, and a guarantee that all the planning and strategizing in the world won't matter in the end.

This was true Wednesday.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce had worked with the "Today" show crew for days, and even did a dry run of Roker's visit Tuesday, to make Roker's quick visit as efficient as possible.

Fans started to gather near the 18th hole before 3 p.m., when Roker was due to arrive. A few had signs. More had beer and cocktails.

Among the crowd was a brown and white goat with sleepy eyes named Little Brown, brought to Harbour Town by Krystal Hesler, manager of Lawton Stables, and Haley Zimmerman, a trainer at the riding academy.

It was important that Little Brown meet Roker.

All week fans have been bringing goats to Roker's stops. It is inside joke that began with a commercial promoting Rokerthon 2, in which Roker hitchhikes across the country and picks up a goat along the way.

Around 3:30 p.m. a Sea Pines security officer cleared the crowd. Fans were supposed to gather at Quarterdeck and not on the course.

I was talking with real estate agent Susan Jacobsen when the crowd doubled back toward us.

"DOES THE GOAT KNOW?" she asked.

Many fans simply left. The bugs were too much. But Jacobsen reluctantly headed over toward the Quarterdeck.

So did the goat.

Also reluctantly.

For different reasons.

Gathering at The Quarterdeck meant that Roker would be a mere speck in the distance for his fans ... and the goat.

"All these people came out to see him and won't be able to," Jacobsen said before walking over to the bar.

Never fear. Word came that Roker, who was headed our way after a stop in Savannah, decided he was going to ride a bike along part of the yacht basin and over to the 18th hole.

Fans would get to see him after all. A dozen or so waited near the red bike he was to ride. Jacobsen found out about this and headed back from the restaurant, where the crowd was now in the hundreds, to the site of the bike.

She, Hesler and Zimmerman came running around the basin ... with the goat.

But then that plan changed.

And time kept ticking.

It was almost 5 p.m. Roker was way behind schedule and still had two more states to visit before midnight.

No worries. No worries. Plans change.

But goats don't know that.

"We have sort of a goat situation here," chamber controller Ray Deal, who was waiting with Roker's bike, said into his phone when he heard there was maybe time for the bike but then definitely no time now for the bike.

Roker had arrived and was just down the street.

It was every goat for herself after that.

Some fans went running toward the staging area, but they just missed him by the time they got there.

The goat knew better, though.

She took a shortcut on a golf path and cut Roker off at the pass.

"She's tired," Hesler, Zimmerman and Jacobsen told Roker as they took photos with him.

"Me too," Roker said.

Follow columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell at twitter.com/elizfarrell and facebook.com/elizfarrell.

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This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Farrell: How to get 'Today' show host Al Roker on and off Hilton Head in under 30 minutes."