President-elect Barack Obama's chartered United Airlines jet touched down in Chicago early today, greeted by cold, windy weather that will serve as a stark reminder that his 12-day vacation in his native Hawai'i is over.

Obama bid aloha to Honolulu at about 1 p.m. yesterday, scrambling up the stairs of the Boeing 767 after posing for pictures with airport workers with his wife, Michelle.

Obama, his wife, and their daughters, 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia, arrived at their home in the Hyde Park neighborhood at 1:28 a.m. Chicago time. The motorcade stopped a few blocks from the Obamas' home to drop off friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett and her daughter, who returned from Hawai'i aboard the president-elect's charter.

During the flight, Obama visited the press cabin where he wished the journalists a happy new year and briefly chatted about shave ice and basketball.

On arrival at O'Hare International Airport, the Obamas exited the airplane in winter coats.

Obama is scheduled to spend two days in Chicago, during which time he will prepare for a Sunday move to Washington, D.C., where his daughters start classes at Sidwell Friends School on Monday. The Obama family will live at a Washington hotel and at the Blair House, the presidential guest house, until the inauguration on Jan. 20.

His visit to the Islands began Dec. 20 and was spent in a mix of private family time, relaxation, fitness work and preparations for his presidency. He paid tribute to his late grandmother in a private service and was low-key in public. But he also received intelligence briefings and kept abreast of developments in the Middle East.

Obama started his final day in Hawai'i with a familiar routine, leaving a rented $9 million beachfront vacation home on Kailuana Place in Kailua early in the morning for a workout at the Semper Fit Center at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Obama visited the gym seven times during his stay, and yesterday, as he did other days, he stopped after the workout to chat with well-wishers who had gathered outside at about 8:30 a.m.

One woman in the crowd reflected what some residents felt during the visit, yelling out "We love having you with us!" Obama won a landslide victory in Hawai'i during the November election, taking 72 percent of the Island vote. It was the biggest margin of victory for him in any state.

Obama replied with a "Happy New Year" and "thank you, guys." He also autographed the back of a woman's Obama campaign T-shirt with a red felt-tip pen, and perhaps in a tip to the weather awaiting him in Illinois, said, "I wish I could hang out with you, but I've got to go home."

Residents also got to glimpse Obama during his departure from the vacation home on the Aikahi end of Kailua Beach. Obama waved from a black SUV as his 19-vehicle motorcade departed, some residents waving U.S. flags and flashing him "shaka" gestures. Some waved ti leaves, apparently wanting to wish the 44th U.S. president good luck.

A MORE PRIVATE VISIT

As was the case during most of his visit here, Obama was cordial with the public, though his interactions with people were markedly less than they were during his weeklong visit in August.

This time, the visit was more private and started with a mid-afternoon landing on Dec. 20. A motorcade to Kailua on H-3 Freeway included Secret Service agents, 30 Honolulu police officers and an ambulance. At the outset, Obama spokesmen said there would be no public appearances.

The security belied his supposed mission of a relaxed vacation. His pending Oval Office duties and the daunting economic and global problems he will face intruded into his time off as his staff dealt with a controversy over embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's efforts to fill Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat and other issues. During his stay, Obama spoke with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about Israel's bombings in Gaza and was confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters outside his vacation home.

Obama's visit included a memorial service for his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, at First Unitarian Church in Honolulu and then the scattering of her ashes at Lana'i Lookout, the same spot where he scattered his mother's ashes in 1995.

He also spent time with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, a teacher at La Pietra-Hawai'i School for Girls, and her family, and saw friends.

The visit also served as an opportunity to demonstrate support for the military, including a Christmas visit to a mess hall on the Kane'ohe Marine base.

Obama also got in some golf — once at Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo, and twice at Mid-Pacific Country Club in Lanikai — and some basketball with former Punahou teammates.

The visit also proved to be a chance to showcase Hawai'i's warm winter weather as the White House press corps did reports from Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head in the background. More than one correspondent remarked that spending Christmas vacation in Hawai'i beat doing the same with President Bush in Crawford, Texas.