RivCo Presidential Visit Ends As Obama Family Departs for Washington

President Barack Obama ended his Southern California visit Monday and headed back to Washington, D.C.

The president, who was accompanied to the Coachella Valley by first lady Michelle Obama and one of their two daughters, Malia, left Palm Springs International Airport on Air Force One around 10 a.m.

The president's visit began Friday night and featured a trip to Orange County to attend a fundraiser in Laguna Beach and deliver the commencement address at UC Irvine's graduation ceremony at Angel Stadium. The president returned to the Coachella Valley on Saturday afternoon.

The Obamas spent the weekend in Rancho Mirage at the hillside residence of White House decorator Michael Smith and his partner James Costos in the gated community of Thunderbird Heights.

Obama received briefings from National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the deteriorating situation in Iraq over the weekend and also indulged in one of his favorite pastimes. He played golf at the Sunnylands estate Saturday and, on Sunday, at Porcupine Creek, an estate owned by billionaire Oracle software company founder Larry Ellison.

This was the president's third trip to the region in the past year. Last June, Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sunnylands and, in February, had talks there with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Michelle Obama wasn't on those trips.

– City News Service.