US President-elect Barack Obama returned with his family to his hometown Chicago early on Friday after a 12-day Hawaii vacation and prepared to travel on to Washington this weekend ahead of his inauguration.
Mr Obama’s chartered jet touched down at 12:33 am after an eight-hour flight from the Pacific island state and nearly an hour later the family arrived at their Hyde Park home. The President-elect, wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia stepped off the plane clad in winter jackets to face temperatures just below freezing, a harsh change from the balmy weather they enjoyed on holiday.
The Obama family will bid farewell to Chicago on Sunday, moving to the US capital 16 days before he is sworn in as the 44th US President. They will be housed at the luxury Hay-Adams Hotel, a stone’s throw from the White House.
Mr Obama had requested to stay at Blair House, the government’s official guest residence just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, but the Bush administration said it was booked solid through January 15. The Obama daughters are to start school in Washington on Monday. The new Congress, stacked with a greater Democratic majority, will be sworn in Tuesday. President George W. Bush has invited Mr Obama to a White House lunch on Wednesday, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.
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