Hawaii Rolls Out Red Carpet for Obamas

Hawaii bid aloha to the Obamas as they arrived yesterday for a holiday break in a beach-side estate about half an hour from Honolulu, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. Residents of the quiet neighborhood lined the block with beach chairs and waved as Obama’s motorcade rolled by yesterday. “We want him to have a good, restful vacation because he has a big job ahead of him in Washington, DC,” a neighbor said.

The soon-to-be first family is renting a $9 million, five-bedroom home on Kailua Beach, a public beach that attracts plenty of windsurfers, kayakers and dogwalkers. This is Obama’s third trip to Hawaii this year; he last visited Oahu in October to see his grandmother “Toot,” who died two days before he was elected president. The Obamas plan a private service for her during this trip.
(More Michelle Obama stories.)