The national media has descended, the Vineyard suddenly newsworthy with the arrival of a certain VIP: Very Important President. But a relaxing retreat leaves little room for groundbreaking news material, and colorful details become the preferred descriptors for the movement of the Obama family around the Island. The accounts pour in, in the form of press reports, dispatched intermittently throughout the day. President Obama is the star of the show, but the Vineyard provides a curious backdrop to those unfamiliar with our humble landscape and casual lifestyle.

media
Jaxon White

The press pool reports began Sunday, as a laid-back First Family played musical aircrafts en route to the Vineyard. The Obamas were dressed for summer and smiling as they touched down on the Island, but the presidential pet was the first to step eagerly into vacation mode. “The First Dog, Bo, could be seen gleefully bounding around the grass near the tarmac,” wrote Boston Globe reporter Susan Milligan, adding that the pup had reportedly been a model passenger aboard both Air Force and Marine One.

Pool reports are delivered by reporters from different publications each day, providing a variety of style and approach. It’s not difficult to distinguish the locals — correspondents from the two Island newspapers — from those nationally drawn, especially when it comes to descriptions of the region and geography.

“It is a large property with rolling fields surrounded by thick stands of trees, dotted with empty silos,” wrote L.A. Times journalist Christi Parsons, describing what she believed to be the President’s vacation property. “There’s a dirt road leading from the main road to an old barn with weathered brown shingles,” she wrote, attempting to illustrate our familiar cedar shingling while unknowingly describing the landscape of Blue Heron’s neighbor, Rainbow Farm.

The arriving Presidential motorcade elicited an excited welcome crew along the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road on the way to Blue Heron Farm. Descriptions of the drive stir images of a simpler, bygone slice of small town life, as in a report from Ms. Milligan; “Many people lined the street, waving, sitting on cars or on the backs of pickup trucks, hoping to see the Obamas. Some waved American flags.” A later report provided a jolt back into the present; “Seen along the way: horses, ponds, lots of greenery, one sign welcoming Obama family, and a gallon of gas for $3.27,” wrote Politico reporter Nia-Malika Henderson.

The people out to greet our White House visitors have provided some of the most colorful report fodder. “A few people gathered on the road to watch the president pass, among them a woman in her pj’s holding a baby and waving,” wrote Ms. Parsons. “People waved as Obama left and held up their dogs and made them wave too,” wrote Ms. Henderson. “Hundreds of appreciative onlookers bid goodnight to the president and first lady after their dinner with shouts of ‘We love you,’ and ‘Thank you for everything,’” wrote Cape Cod Times reporter Jake Berry.

Obama golfing

The Obamas stayed in on their first Vineyard night, so the President emerged to an eager crowd the following morning for a golf outing. Ms. Henderson adopted an informal tongue to describe the golf party. “He is having a golf date with UBS CEO Robert Wolf, Chi-town bff Eric Whitaker, [and] aide Marvin Nicholson . . . It’s a private club, and pretty swank,” she wrote, later sending a correction that Farm Neck Golf Club, where the group played 18 holes, is actually semiprivate.

The press pool has struggled with its limited access to the President, often relying on back channels to get the full accounts. “Pool was not allowed to watch Potus tee off but cheer went up from the crowd when he hit first ball,” wrote Gayle Fee, using the acronym favored throughout the reports that stands for President of the United States. (The female version is Flotus.) The following day, Mr. Obama’s second golf outing, this time at Vineyard Haven’s Mink Meadows Golf Club, provided much more appealing report fodder, beginning with a mishap on the second hole. “According to a resident who saw the president play from the second fairway to the second hole, Obama yelled ‘Fore!’ shortly before his ball hit a tree,” wrote Ms. Parsons, a reporter from the L.A. Times. “He did not get off to a great start, striking a tree near the green on the second hole, one onlooker said,” wrote Mr. Berry, confirming the blunder.

Mr. Obama’s decision to play golf at Mink Meadows threw many members off their game, and Ms. Parsons reported one resulting conversation. “I hope I didn’t mess anyone’s day up,” he said, according to Ronnie Lytle, a local retiree who had come for an 8:20 a.m. tee time but didn’t get to play because so many carts were being reserved for the president’s party. “You did,” she told him, “but I don’t care.” Mr. Obama’s popularity held though, and Ms. Parsons wrote: “Lytle never got to play, but says it was still a good morning. She stuck around to watch the president leave.”

Of course now mobile internet devices make rapid updates and corrections simple and possible. As a result Ms. Parsons was able to quickly correct a factual error. “The motorcade headed out for the evening outing, on a drive along the sound winding past sprawling estates overlooking the water and the Cape and Nantucket in the distance,” she wrote while following the presidential party on its way to the East Chop home of presidential chief advisor Valerie Jarrett. Then the correction: “Your pooler stands corrected by Google map: Nantucket is not visible from East Chop Drive.”

A shift in tone occurred on Wednesday morning when breaking news interrupted the tranquil flow of a vacation stay. Sen. Ted Kennedy had died, and the pool reports turned serious. “The president was woken at 2 a.m. by [special assistant to the president] Marvin Nicholson and informed of Senator Kennedy’s death. He spoke to Mrs. Kennedy at about 2:25,” wrote USA Today’s Richard Wolf. “The President has ordered the flag at the White House and flags throughout the federal government to half-mast,” he later added.

A quiet beach visit ensued later that morning, with little ado and even less pool chatter. But it quickly resumed when the Obamas made a trip to Nancy’s Restaurant in Oak Bluffs for fried seafood takeout. Mr. Wolf itemized the order: “9 orders medium fried shrimp, 2 orders fried calamari, 2 cole slaws, 6 med fries, 1 clam strips, 2 fried scallops.” It was the first time the Obama daughters were seen publicly since their arrival, and reporters took note. “Cute scene earlier of Sasha on dad’s lap,” wrote Mr. Wolf, “Sasha smiles for cameras.”

The Obamas’ quiet vacation has left the press pool with a good deal of downtime, leading to updates largely unrelated to presidential activity. Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Williamson demonstrated her boredom by talking toilets: “Waiting for word at Blue Heron,” she wrote Thursday morning. “No info shared with us yet, except: the bus toilet is fine for No. 1 but No. 2 only in an emergency.” Later, a family bike ride led Ms. Williamson to wax poetic: “Spray, from afar, at the top of family bike ride in Aquinnah, along Lobsterville beach. Brilliant day, boats out, light waves glitter and beach grass swaying in light breeze.”

Not too many national headlines will emerge from this string of observations and anecdotes. The pool exists as a precautionary measure in case a bit of real news does break. Meanwhile, it is the eyes and ears for those reporters without direct access to the President on any given day.

Proving that sometimes no news can still be good news.