CHICAGO – Barack Obama moves to Washington on Sunday — 16 days before he is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.
But his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia will beat him to their new home city.
The three are traveling on Saturday to settle in at the luxury Hay Adams Hotel until moving into Blair House, the guest residence across Pennsylvania from the White House, on Jan. 15. They take up residence in the White House on Jan. 20, the day Obama is sworn is as president.
The early move will allow them to get settled without the glare of the media spotlight that will be on Obama as he travels to Washington on Sunday, aides said.
Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, start classes at their new school — Sidwell Friends — on Monday morning. The Obamas, who are fiercely protective of their children and who have limited their media exposure, have said they would try to give their daughters as normal as a childhood as possible even while they are living at the White House.
