Community Corner
Obamas Arrive on Martha's Vineyard
The president and first lady have arrived at their Chilmark vacation home, where they are scheduled to stay until Aug. 18. What unusual baggage did they bring? Pool reporter Sara Brown of the Vineyard Gazette fills us in.
Pool report written by Sara Brown of the Vineyard Gazette, provided to Martha's Vineyard Patch by the White House:
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at Martha's Vineyard Airport just after 3:50 p.m. Saturday, with 2 Osprey v-22 helicopters landed ahead of time with staff and press. The president and First Lady left Marine One and boarded a black car.
Two white mesh bags full of basketballs were unloaded from one of the Ospreys, and first dog Bo also traveled on an Osprey. He waited patiently on the Tarmac with a handler.
At 4 p.m. the roughly 20 car-motorcade headed up-island, passing bystanders taking pictures on Edgartown-West Tisbury road and a large crowd waiting outside Alley's General Store.
Passing a sign that said "Sasha and Malia 2016," the motorcade arrived in Chilmark at about 4:11 p.m.
One of the press vans Saturday was driven by Warren Gosson, a retired Oak Bluffs police officer who is with Martha's Vineyard Transport.
MV Transport will be providing the two press vans all week, as they have during past visits by President Obama and when President Clinton visited the Island.
"We're number one on Trip Advisor," he said. "We do weddings, we do high end tours and we do press motorcades."
The presidential motorcade traveled from the helicopter landing at the Martha's Vineyard Airport to Chilmark. People stood in their driveways and lined the street along the way.
The largest crowd was in front of Alley's General Store in the heart of West Tisbury's town center, where crowds lined both sides of the road.
Alley's was built in 1858 and is now owned by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust. The store is crammed full of toys, beach gear, household items, food and penny candy, and is a popular spot in the morning for newspapers and coffee. There are also old-fashioned post office boxes where residents still get their mail delivered by postmaster John Alley. The Obama girls got treats there during past visits.
The motorcade then traveled down South Road to Chilmark, passing old stone walls and several American flags. Signs along the way warned that the part of South Road immediately surrounding the Obamas' rental house is closed — not a popular decision among some local residents and a Chilmark selectman, who told residents to call the White House if they were aggrieved.
By 4:40 p.m., the crowd outside of Alley's was gone.
Check back with Martha's Vineyard Patch for more about the presidential visit. To receive email updates, follow our Government & Politics group.
Other stories:
South Road Closed for Obama Visit: Buses Rerouted
Obama's Chilmark Neighbors to Face Checkpoints
Obama Visits Martha's Vineyard: 9-Day Road Closure Planned
Mysterious Mr. President: Obama on the Vineyard, by Holly Nadler
How To Meet President Obama: A Vineyard Confidential Classic by Holly Nadler
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