Follow the Crumbs #1

Question

(This is a new format I wanted to play with. I'll post it as-is to start with and add clues around how to go about it if needed. Hopefully someone will first pick up the idea and follow the crumbs to the answer!)

Follow the Crumbs:

1. At Four Directions #5, a man was admiring the landmark. He had a creature on his shirt. The creature was a certain color and some of them live in a place that is unexpected. Determine the color and the unexpected home.

2. At the unexpected home, there is a villa named after a different creature the same color as the creature from the first clue. Inside that villa, there are two red chairs on either side of an unexpected piece of furniture. Determine the unexpected decor.

3. Close to a place of faith is a body of water named after the decor from the second clue. Just North is a man with half a hand wearing a shirt bearing the logo of an organization. Determine the organization.

4. In 2015, a meeting of the organization was greeted via video by a significant person.

What was the greeter's name?

The solution to Four Directions #5 (referred to in the first crumb above) was

the Four Corners Monument at the intersection of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah

Hint #1:

For clue #1, it could take a while. I'd start just south of center to find our admirer.

Answer 1

After a convoluted and entertaining trail of clues, the answer is:

Michelle Obama

1. At Four Directions #5, a man was admiring the landmark. He had a creature on his shirt. The creature was a certain color and some of them live in a place that is unexpected. Determine the color and the unexpected home.

If you browse the photos found on Google Maps that were taken at the Four Corners monument, there are a couple that feature a man in a t-shirt with a picture of a blue penguin, e.g. this one. The Galapagos penguin is the most northerly of the penguins, and I guess a tropical island is an unexpected place to find penguins!

2. At the unexpected home, there is a villa named after a different creature the same color as the creature from the first clue. Inside that villa, there are two red chairs on either side of an unexpected piece of furniture. Determine the unexpected decor.

I searched for Galapagos Blue Villa and it came up with the "Blue Heron" villa, which is indeed in the Galapagos islands. Again, looking at the photos on google maps, I found this which shows a tortoise shell between two red chairs.

3. Close to a place of faith is a body of water named after the decor from the second clue. Just North is a man with half a hand wearing a shirt bearing the logo of an organization. Determine the organization.

After a bit of random searching on Maps relating to "Tortoise shell" I came across the Tortoise Shell spring in Yellowstone. "Place of faith" is a nice clue for the "Old Faithful" geyser. There's a photograph taken just to the north by a man whose hand is strongly distorted by the photo. His shirt appears to bear the logo of the "Agricultural FFA".

4. In 2015, a meeting of the organization was greeted via video by a significant person. What was the greeter's name?

A bit of searching on the National FFA Organization website reveals that in 2015 Michelle Obama gave a video greeting to the attendees.