The First Family has arrived on Martha's Vineyard for a two-week vacation, their seventh and final summer visit during President Obama's time in office.
The vacation began with familiar patterns: Golf for the President and dinner out for Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
On Sunday and Monday the President hit the links at Farm Neck. On Sunday night, the Obamas ate out at Down Island, the trendy new eatery on Kennebec avenue in Oak Bluffs.
On Saturday Marine One touched down at the Martha's Vineyard Airport at 2:37 p.m. on a breezy, muggy day. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by to greet people gathered in a viewing area on the airport tarmac while their daughters Malia and Sasha headed to the motorcade. About 10 minutes later the motorcade left the airport, traveling through West Tisbury to their rental home in Chilmark, where they would stay for the rest of the day.
There were small crowds of people at driveways and crossroads along Edgartown-West Tisbury Road,
About 60 people were gathered by the short term parking lot outside the airport, taking pictures and hoping for a glimpse of the activity. Children were perched on their parents' shoulders.
Before the arrival, the crowd perked up with each approaching plane and peered through a chain-link fence. Secret Service officers were seen driving by in a golf cart. A state police car and several black cars could be seen lining up near a large gray cargo plane on the tarmac.
"I feel like that's the last plane going out," one man observed as a plane prepared for takeoff.
Linda Thompson and Laurent Hubert, West Tisbury summer residents, said they came to see President's arrival for what could be his last visit as President, their first time watching the First Family's arrival.
Ms. Thompson sported white pants, a blue shirt, and a red hat: a coincidentally patriotic ensemble, she said.
As the crowd waited around 2:10 p.m., a helicopter circled overhead and some onlookers got impatient. "We'll give him three minutes," one woman said. Soon a flurry of helicopters and Osprey landed, and the crowd dispersed at around 2:40 p.m.
A short time earlier, Air Force One arrived just before 2 p.m. at Coast Guard Station Cape Cod, met by greeters including U.S. Rep. Bill Keating and Tobias Vanderhoop, chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
Mr. Keating, a Democrat who represents the 9th Congressional District, gave the President a Pro V golf ball made in New Bedford. "He said he'd use it for his best shot," Mr. Keating said.
The Obamas had left the White House at 12:40 p.m. to to board Marine One on the south lawn for the quick trip to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. There the family boarded Air Force One for the flight to Cape Cod and the Vineyard. Air Force One departed at 1:03 p.m.
Sisters Sasha and Malia, the President and Mrs. Obama were all aboard. The President was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt, and the First Lady wore a blue dress with red piping.
Joining the Obamas on the flight were Valerie Jarrett and Chynna Clayton.
The family dogs, Bo and Sunny, also made the trip to the Vineyard.
For the third straight year, the First Family will be staying at a family home owned by Joanne Hubschman off North Road in Chilmark.
The family has vacationed on the Vineyard every year during the Obama presidency, except 2012, when the President was in the middle of a re-election campaign.
According to the White House, there are no public events scheduled during the visit.
The Gazette's Presidential visit blog.
Heather Hamacek contributed reporting.
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