Almost Official: Obama Will Vacation on the Vineyard

It’s been confirmed . . . sort of!

Though the White House has yet to announce President Barack Obama’s summer vacation plans, owner Susan Goldstein has revealed that the traveling pool of reporters assigned to cover the president’s every move has booked accommodations this month at the Vineyard Haven inn.

This will be the second year that reporters have set up camp at the Mansion House during the president’s vacations to Martha’s Vineyard. Last year they stayed in the neighboring town of Oak Bluffs.

During vacations to the Island in 2009 and 2010, Obama remained largely hidden from view on the secluded Blue Heron Farm estate, located off South Road in Chilmark. Reporters captured only a few photos—of the president golfing, biking with his family and out to dinner with his wife, Michelle. A more common sighting: Passing motorcades and crowds of journalists filing televised reports from the Mansion House veranda.

“I don’t know his [Obama’s] exact dates, but it’s usually around the time of the fair through the end of the summer,” Goldstein told Patch.

The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair—a hallmark summer event—this year takes place August 18 through 21. Those dates jibe with long-circulating rumors that the president will arrive on the Island on or around August 17. 

Critics have been quick to pan the president’s vacation plans—and especially his choice of Martha’s Vineyard. But Goldstein doesn’t count herself among the naysayers.

“I believe he deserves a vacation,” she said. “If anyone needs to renew and recover, he does.”

Besides, the president’s return can herald a boom for business, as the already-crowded summer streets turn chaotic and local stores ply Obama souvenirs.

“The way I look at it, when people can go anywhere in the country and pick Martha’s Vineyard — that’s great,” Goldstein said. “He could really vacation anywhere, and I agree with him that the Vineyard is great and he has picked a great spot.”

“I hope he has the same great weather we’ve had this past month,” Goldstein said.