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Crowds bid a silent, fond farewell Thursday to Edward Kennedy as his funeral procession slipped down the narrow roads of this seaside resort at the start of his final journey.
Dressed in holiday shorts and sandals, or even just barefoot, hundreds lined the leafy, winding roads of Hyannis Port on a balmy summer's day to pay their last respects to the Democratic giant.
Minutes earlier, the coffin bearing Kennedy's body, draped with a huge Stars and Stripes flag, was placed in a black hearse parked in the manicured driveway of the political dynasty's Atlantic coast compound.
His widow, Vicki, watched sadly, surrounded by family and friends so numerous they overflowed from the large Cape Cod home and over its wooden, colonnaded porch, as a uniformed honor guard carried the coffin to the car.
Next to her stood Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving sibling of the Kennedy brothers, who helped shape the nation's history during the tumultuous second half of the 20th century.
One young grandson tugged uncomfortably at his too-big blue blazer, which was nearly as long as his shorts, pushing up the sleeves and shuffling in the gravel in his flip-flops.
On the ocean beach a huge flag had been lowered to half-mast, flapping in the gathering breeze heralding the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Danny at the weekend.
The crowds of Hyannis Port locals and tourists stood in silence as the motorcade rolled slowly from the house.
This is a laid-back, but exclusive neighborhood and the huge convoy -- six police motorcycles, two squad cars, five black limos, four SUVs and six other cars, as well as a coach incongruously operated by the Peter Pan tourist company -- made an arresting sight.
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Some recorded the moment on mobile phones and video cameras. Although they were dressed in flip-flops and summer clothing the mood was somber.
"It was very moving when the hearse came by. It was observed in total silence. You felt you were part of history. It's the end of an era," said John Celentano, 62, business consultant.
Through the tinted windows some of the Irish-American Kennedy clan, which has dominated the nation's political life for five decades, could be seen waving back at the crowds.
Children in bathing suits and towels around their necks craned their necks from the porches for a glimpse of the procession as it filed past. Some even climbed a tree for a better look.
"We're very aware of the input he had to bring the men of violence around the table," said Gary McHenry, a 49-year-old dairy farmer from Northern Ireland who was on holiday in Boston, but came to follow the procession from the start.
"He played no small part in bringing Ireland to where it is today. It was probably pivotal. He was a man of peace.
As an Irishman with a young family, to live in peaceful times -- it's something we're very grateful for."
Kennedy's niece, Caroline, the last surviving child of assassinated president John F. Kennedy, bravely managed a smile, before the motorcade rumbled onto Route 3, the main highway off Cape Cod towards Boston.
Even on the highway, and on the overpasses, crowds had gathered, some applauding as Kennedy, who died aged 77, left his beloved home for the last time heading for the family's political fiefdom of Boston.
Barricades have been erected at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, which Ted Kennedy had worked to build in honor of his brother's memory and where he will now lie in repose for two days ahead of a Catholic funeral mass on Saturday.
President Barack Obama is to give a eulogy at the mass at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica but will not attend the private service later Saturday when Kennedy will be buried in Arlington cemetery, Virginia.
His final resting place will be alongside his slain brothers, John F. Kennedy gunned down in 1963, and Robert Kennedy, assassinated in 1968 on the campaign trail.
