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., to begin his final journey to Boston on a route lined with mourners who gathered early in the morning to wish him farewell.

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.

Shortly after noon, a line of more than 40 people accumulated at the library to offer their condolences.

In the glass-wall, pavilion room at the library, below a quote from President Kennedy's inaugural address, people in line broke off between two tables, each with a white flower arrangement, framed photos of Kennedy and two books where they could write their last regards to the senator.

Richard Rivard, a retired teacher from Revere, Mass., said he came to pay his respects and also came to honor his late mother, Ida Rivard, who was a strong Kennedy supporter.

"I remember years ago, my mother had gone to some kind of fundraising breakfast and Sen. Edward Kennedy was the main speaker," he said. "He very graciously was autographing napkins and things like that at the end of the breakfast, and my mother went up and got his autograph.