First ohana arrives home for holidays

President Barack Obama ended his traditional year-end press conference Friday by telling reporters, "And now I’m going to go on vacation. Mele Kali­ki­maka, everybody. Mahalo."

Obama and his family arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam a few minutes before 11 p.m. Friday for their annual two-week Christmas vacation.

The president, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha boarded Air Force One at a chilly Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland just before 6 p.m. EST (1 p.m. in Hawaii) for the roughly 10-hour flight.

According to a media pool report, first dogs Bo and Sunny were boarded on the plane just before the Obamas arrived at the base.

The Obamas are expected to stay in Kai­lua, with no public events planned.

Christmas in Hawaii has been a family tradition for the Obamas since before he took office. However, since being elected, the visits now bring occasional road closures for the president’s motorcade and intensive security in the Kai­lua beachfront neighborhood where the Obamas stay.

The Coast Guard is again enforcing a temporary security zone in waters off Kai­lua Bay during the visit. The security zone is in effect until Jan. 5. It includes a portion of Kai­lua Bay, beginning at Kapoho Point and extending westward to the shoreline near Kai­luana Loop. The zone also includes the adjacent canal beginning near Kapoho Point to a point extending the canal way to about 150 yards south of the North Kala­heo Avenue Road Bridge.

A marker will be placed on Kai­lua Beach, a yellow buoy will be placed on the water and an orange marker will be placed in the canal for visual references of the zone.

No person or vessel may enter the restricted zone without authorization. Violators are subject to penalties of up to $40,000 in fines and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The Coast Guard’s security efforts are being coordinating with the Hono­lulu Police Department, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and other federal, state and county law enforcement agencies on patrols of the area under the direction of the Secret Service.