Obama Vacation Begins In Low-Key Fashion

<p>Golf, dinner out with his wife, more golf. President Obama&rsquo;s Vineyard vacation has been low key and mostly below the radar as he and his family begin a two-week-plus visit to the Vineyard. The Obamas arrived Friday night, a day earlier than planned.

Golf, dinner out with his wife, more golf. President Obama’s Vineyard vacation has been low key and mostly below the radar as he and his family begin a two-week-plus visit to the Vineyard.

The Obamas arrived Friday night, a day earlier than planned, shook a few hands at the Vineyard airport and were whisked straight to their rented home, a secluded place off North Road in Chilmark with sweeping views of Vineyard Sound and the Elizabeth islands.

On Saturday afternoon the president played 18 holes of golf at Farm Neck in Oak Bluffs, accompanied by the actor Larry David, former UBS executive Robert Wolf and friend Cyrus Walker. There was not much to report from the links except when, a little like a scene from one of his television comedies, Mr. David became briefly stuck in a sand trap and took a couple shots to get out. The First Family stayed in that night and again all day on Sunday, a cool day with onshore winds from the north-northeast. On Sunday night the President and First Lady dined at State Road restaurant, the well-known farm-to-table eatery owned by Jackson and Mary Kenworth. The restaurant is especially popular in the off season among Islanders on Thursday burger nights.

On Monday the sun came out and in the afternoon the President headed down-Island for another 18 holes, this time at the private Vineyard Golf Club. His playing partners were Glenn Hutchins, Jim Yong Kim and Cyrus Walker.

Traveling down State Road, the motorcade passed a small group of people, including some children, taking pictures and waving near the Agricultural Hall. At the turn from State Road to the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road, the resident swans were visible in Mill Pond and a man stood holding his phone out. Otherwise there were few onlookers, save for a biker giving the thumbs up as the motorcade turned into the golf club.

The Obamas are scheduled to stay on the Vineyard until August 23. The Gazette will be tracking vacation activities on its President’s Vineyard Visit blog.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 13:30

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Philip Hart Los Angeles

It seems like yesterday when Senator Obama dropped in on Charles Ogletree's annual panel discussion at the Whaling Church near my home in Edgartown. Now President Obama is in his stretch run and an annual visitor to the Vineyard.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 19:39

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Susan M West Hartford, CT

Welcome to the Obama Family -- may you have a glorious Vineyard vacation -- on this magic little island :)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 14:35

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Gee Gee Barden Oak Bluffs and Porter Ranch, CA

Back home now in California, we were happy to choose the right day (Saturday the 8th) to have lunch at the Café at the Farm Neck Golf Club. Views out the windows included President Obama zipping by on his golf cart. He waved but did not see my tee shirt, which includes a depiction of the American flag and the words "HE MAKES ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN", the letters in dark blue except for "OBAMA" (beginning in the word "PROUD", the first word in the second line) in red. How fortunate we are to have him as our President.

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