Kennedy procession begins, Arlington burial planned

— -- Under a clear blue sky Thursday Sen. Edward Kennedy's flag-draped casket was carried out of his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., and began its final journey to Boston on a route lined with mourners who began gathering early in the morning.

The motorcade left shortly after 2 p.m. for the 70-mile trip to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

Family members had arrived at the compound before noon for a private Mass.

Children in bathing suits and towels around their necks watched from the porches of neighboring houses as they arrived. A handful of neighbors watched quietly from behind a white picket fence.

A flag flew at half-staff in the center of the circular driveway of the house. Uniformed members of an honor guard gathered at the side of the house and then moved to the front porch, where a seagull flew around and landed on the driveway.

The casket was carried out of the house and around the outside porch by members of the guard. As it was carried to the hearse family members gathered outside, with Kennedy's wife, Vicki, standing in front with a gang of children behind her.

The motorcade was scheduled to make a number of stops significant to Kennedy before arriving at the library, where Kennedy's body will lie in repose until Friday.

Crowds started forming at the library early in the morning before its doors opened.

"He is someone who made a difference," said Austin Howe, 15, who came from Laurel, Md., with his father, Scott Howe, 46. "This is a person who served the people of Massachusetts and served the people of the United States."

The final act of Kennedy's half-century in the spotlight concludes Saturday when the patriarch of America's best-known political dynasty is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery next to his slain brothers.

Kennedy lost a battle with brain cancer Tuesday at the age of 77. The motorcade is expected to arrive at the library late afternoon. Public visitation will continue until Friday afternoon. Invitations are required for other observances, beginning with a private memorial service at the library that night.