Obamas pay tribute to family history in Hawaii

President Obama and the First Family spent the first day of the new year paying tribute to the president's past in Hawaii.

Far from the hustle of Republican candidates vying for votes on one of the last days before the first GOP primary vote in Iowa taking place this Tuesday, the Obamas enjoyed the second week of their Hawaiian vacation.

Following a visit to the gym, Obama joined his family on a drive across the island of Oahu on a partly-cloudy but warm Sunday morning to visit the grave of the president's grandfather, Stanley Dunham, at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.

Obama visited the grave site during the family's Hawaiian Christmas vacation last year as well.

The Obamas spent about 11 minutes at the grave, then proceeded to Honolulu's East-West Center. The East-West Arts Program is hosting an exhibition until Jan. 8 honoring the anthropological work of Obama's late mother, S. Ann Dunham. 

The exhibit is titled, "Through Her Eyes: Ann Dunham's Field Work in Indonesia." They were joined there by the president's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her family.

The family avoided the press for the most part during both visits, although the White House confirmed that the Obamas visited both locations as a family.

Obama plans to return to Washington, D.C. early this week. According to CNN, he will address supporters in Iowa through an online forum on Tuesday even as the caucus results are being counted by Iowa's Republican Party.

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