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A quiet day at the beach for a big birthday.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden, in rare midweek move, had whisked away his wife, first lady Jill Biden, from Washington to her favorite place — their vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to celebrate her 70th birthday on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The couple marked the occasion with a quiet bike ride down Gordon’s Pond Trail, which was not closed to the public according to Secret Service, so onlookers who passed the Bidens by wished her well.<\/p>\n
When the Bidens returned, a rendition of “Happy Birthday” broke out, drawing a laugh and a “Thank you!” from the first lady.<\/p>\n
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At age 70, Jill Biden is the oldest sitting first lady in modern history but remains an active senior citizen.<\/p>\n
She is also the first first lady to hold a paid job outside of the White House, continuing her longtime career as a community college English teacher. She’s currently off for summer break.<\/p>\n
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Earlier, the president, 78, at multiple points, took a hand off the handlebars to salute, wave and point to those gathered.<\/p>\n
One reporter shouted, “Did you enjoy your bike ride Mister President?” to which he simply responded, “Yes,” with a slight smile.<\/p>\n
The pair was surrounded by Secret Service agents, on and off bikes.<\/p>\n
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The president ignored shouted questions about what he got his wife for her birthday. She at least got decent — if not perfect — birthday weather, with temperatures in the 70s and partly cloudy skies in the beach town, still suitable for a bike ride in short sleeve shirts.<\/p>\n
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Michael LaRosa, a spokesperson for the first lady, said no family or friends were joining the Bidens on Thursday.<\/p>\n
It’s their first trip back to Rehoboth Beach since moving into the White House — and the town seemed ready to welcome them back. A sign outside a local store wished her a\u00a0“Happy Birthday” and a boardwalk ice cream shop named a flavor in honor of “Biden’s Summer White House Cherry.”<\/p>\n
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It’s no surprise that the first lady would choose Rehoboth to spend her birthday. She’s been candid that she pushed Biden to buy the $2.7 million home in 2017, after leaving the vice presidency and their signing an $8 million book deal.<\/p>\n
She told Vogue Magazine last year that Biden promised her, “when I write my book, I\u2019ll buy you a beach house.”<\/p>\n
“I wanted it to be the kind of place where you can come in in your wet bathing suit and bare feet and I can just take the broom and brush out the sand,” she said in the March 2020 article. “And that\u2019s what this is. Everything\u2019s easy.”<\/p>\n
Above the front door, the article said, is a plaque reading, “PROMISE KEPT.”<\/p>\n
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Their vacation home is just blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and comes with a swimming pool overlooking Cape Henlopen State Park, where Biden’s helicopter landed on Wednesday evening so he could join his wife for her birthday getaway.<\/p>\n
But since all good things must come to an end, the Bidens are scheduled to return to Washington on Friday.<\/p>\n