Obama keeps unusually late hours on Vineyard vacation

The stunner came late Sunday when the president assembled his security and press entourage to go out at nearly 11 p.m. It was a move all but impossible to imagine happening in Washington, where Obama's occasional social outings tend to begin much earlier.

The White House says Obama is just trying to get the most out of the time he's spending here with family and friends before a busy fall packed with foreign and domestic travel, including an aggressive schedule of campaign appearances on behalf of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other Democrats.

On Sunday, after Obama had already played golf for about five hours, the small group of reporters that accompanies the president in public was released for dinner, but told to reassemble at 8:15 p.m. After a two-and-a-half-hour wait, Obama's motorcade rolled down the dirt driveway of his secluded rental in Chilmark, on the island's western tip.

The White House said the First Family, a description signifying the inclusion of Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, had joined friends for a "social event" at the Southern seafood restaurant.

On Saturday, Obama and his wife stopped first at the home of Glenn Hutchins, an Obama golf partner from earlier in the week, before joining their daughters for dinner at another Oak Bluffs restaurant that stretched about 90 minutes.