After turbulent year, Obama aims for quiet Hawaii getaway

KAILUA, Hawaii — A tumultuous year all but behind him, President Barack Obama set off for his annual winter getaway in Hawaii hoping for one thing: Quiet.

Air Force One touched down late in the evening at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, with the president, first lady Michelle Obama, their daughters and two dogs on board. On Saturday, the family was to begin their roughly two-week retreat from the hubbub in Washington on the lush island of Oahu.

Vacationing in Hawaii, where the president was born and spent much of his childhood, has been a tradition every year that Obama has been in the White House. This year, the trip comes as Obama closes out a chaotic sixth year in office on something of a high note.

Lofty aspirations to overhaul immigration laws, early childhood education and U.S. wages were scuttled by stubborn opposition to Obama’s agenda in Congress, and on his watch, Democrats took a drubbing in the midterm elections that will relegate them to the minority in Congress for Obama’s last two years. Crises erupted in Ukraine, the Middle East and West Africa, diverting Obama’s attention time and again.

Yet as Obama packed his bags for Hawaii, he appeared buoyed by what he had managed to accomplish on other fronts, including the resumption of relations with Cuba last week after a half-century of antagonism. In his yearend news conference Friday, Obama said he felt energized, citing signs of major progress in the economic recovery and his recent executive actions on immigration and climate change.

“Going into the fourth quarter, you usually get a time-out,” Obama said. “I am now looking forward to a quiet time-out, Christmas with my family.”

He also wished reporters a “mele kalikimaka” — Hawaiian for merry Christmas.

Typically, Obama spends much of his vacation playing golf on Hawaii’s lush courses, joined on the green by longtime friends and occasionally a celebrity or professional athlete. A gym at a nearby Marine Corps base allows the president to get in an early-morning workout. He and Mrs. Obama also dine out at landmark restaurants in Honolulu, and join daughters Sasha and Malia for hikes, beach time and trips for shave ice — a Hawaiian treat similar to a snow cone.

Eugene Tanner/Associated Press President Barack Obama, right, with his daughter Sasha, bottom left, the first lady Michelle Obama, top left center, and their other daughter Malia top right, disembark Air Force One after arriving at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for their annual...