TAKE away the Secret Service, the 10-bedroom home rental, the staff and the $2,300-a-plate fundraiser, and Barack Obama's vacation in Hawaii included a lot of what anyone can do in paradise for surprisingly little money. It was more the stuff of home videos than an exotic getaway. Obama waited in line at food counters, took in the view from the Pali overlook, picnicked at Ala Moana Beach Park, paid homage to the dead at Pearl Harbor, bodysurfed the waves at Sandy Beach and watched the latest Batman flick at a multiplex. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and his entourage left the islands Friday, flying to Chicago to drop off his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, before resuming his presidential campaign Saturday with his first joint appearance with Republican rival John McCain at a church in California. During the week on the island where he was born, Obama ate at a couple of fancy restaurants, but also enjoyed some favorite local spots with family and friends like anyone coming home for vacation. Many island attractions available to Hawaii's 7 million annual tourists and 1.2 million residents are free — most notably the beaches, the tropical backdrops and the near perfect weather. Other activities are no more expensive than they would be at any mainland tourist destination. Right off the plane, with wife and daughters in tow, Obama was talking about shave ice, beaches and bodysurfing — all of which he savored as a kid who lived in a 10th floor apartment with his grandparents. While many wealthy people and celebrities have second homes in Hawaii, the Obamas have no luxury compound or ranch that could someday become a summer (or winter) White House. What they have are friends, relatives and roots. The week in Hawaii gave Obama time with his wife and daughters, and he hung out almost every day with his grandmother in the same apartment where he had lived. He also was able to golf, swim and play basketball with old friends who still live in the islands. For many Americans, though, the distance from other states and the rising air fares can put even a modest Hawaiian vacation out of reach. Mainland plane tickets are usually the biggest expense, with round-trip flights often topping $1,000. Tourism promoters are constantly battling the impression that Hawaii is only for the rich. A survey by AAA released in May estimated it costs two adults nearly $800 a day for food and lodging alone, making Hawaii the most expensive state to vacation in by far. But state tourism officials claim those figures are grossly exaggerated, and daily expenditures for a visiting couple average $358. If you can get here and you don't have to rent a hotel room for an average $207 per night, it's not hard to enjoy paradise for much less than that. Obama chose one of the state's popular public parks, Ala Moana Beach Park, for a family picnic and swim, avoiding crowded Waikiki with its high-rise hotels and luxury stores that cater mostly to big-spending tourists from Asia. There were also poignant and nostalgic moments as he spread petals from a lei at a rocky outcrop from which his mother's ashes were strewn in 1995, and stood by his World War II veteran grandfather's grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in the crater of an extinct volcano overlooking Honolulu. He took his family to the Aloha Tropical Farm, which gives out free macadamia nut samples, and Valley of the Temples, where he often visited when he was younger. Valley of the Temples charges $2 per person admission. He went snorkeling with his daughters at Hanauma Bay, a nature reserve with so many fish that some compare it to swimming in an aquarium. It's one of the only Hawaii beaches with an entry fee — $5 per person for nonresidents, but free to locals. The most costly pleasures Obama enjoyed during his weeklong trip were rounds of golf and dinners with his entourage at some of Hawaii's nicer restaurants. He teed off for 18 holes at Luana Hills Country Club in Kailua, where it costs about $120 per person for a round, according to the club's Web site. He also played at Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo, one of Hawaii's many public courses, with fees ranging from $33. Dinners at Alan Wong's Restaurant, where Obama ate earlier in the week, cost $65 for a plate that includes barbecue roast duck, smoked salmon, shrimp and marinated beef. At another stop, Indigo restaurant in Chinatown, entrees cost from $22 for a salmon filet to $34 for grilled lamb chops. Hamburgers Obama ordered and personally carried out the door for the beach picnic cost about $8 each. After taking in an expansive view of Oahu and the ocean from the Pali Lookout (no admission fee), he and his daughters slurped the icy dessert of shave ice at Island Snow Hawaii
