No Rest For The Weary

CBS News Reporter Steve Chaggaris is traveling with the Kerry campaign.

"After a long primary fight, it's good to recharge the batteries," Kerry spokesman David Wade said at the base of Bald Mountain in Ketchum, Idaho, where the candidate has been skiing and snowboarding since Thursday.

However, for Kerry's staff and the traveling press corps that has been on the road with him since September, the six-day vacation has wound up being just another campaign trip. Although Kerry senior adviser David Morehouse tells CBS News it's not as grueling as most campaign trips.

"It's not the same intensity if I were in the office in Washington or if I were on the road traveling with him," Morehouse pointed out. "In the evening we have a little down time, which we don't normally have."

Morehouse added that the Idaho locale is also a nice perk compared to his regular working conditions.

"I'm sitting at the bottom of a beautiful mountain, with the sunshine, on my cell phone, on my Blackberry... Sitting here rather than sitting in an office or in the back of some event site somewhere in some kitchen," said Morehouse.

But for Boston Globe reporter Patrick Healy, who's covering Kerry's vacation along with about 15 other journalists, the trip has turned out to be a bit more hectic than he originally imagined, even though it isn't a typical 18-hour campaign day,

"I personally didn't think it would be this busy," Healy said. "I didn't think there would be 8 a.m. calls."

New York Times reporter David Halbfinger agrees, adding, "Obviously, I haven't gotten to do much, so there hasn't been a whole lot of down time."

It's been busy, Healy explains partly because his newspaper expects more than just keeping abreast of Kerry's movements.

"A lot of Americans don't know John Kerry yet ... they don't know what he's like at play," Healy said. "They (the Globe editors) said, 'Don't just babysit him. Actually see how he interacts with people, how he is, how carefree he is.'"

On the days when Kerry and his wife Teresa venture from their Ketchum home, the press is corralled, swept by Secret Service, and stands watch for his public movements. Kerry has hit the slopes every day from Thursday through Sunday, with journalists hanging out at the base of the mountain and some even skiing alongside to get close-up video.

In fact, Kerry has spent a lot of time relaxing, according to his adviser Morehouse, and that has been completely by design.

"Most of what I'm trying to do is keep the serious things away from him, basically let him have a chance to enjoy himself on vacation," Morehouse says.

And, he adds, Kerry isn't letting the press get in his way.

"He's basically just gone out and done what he would have done... with or without a press corps. He's been skiing, he's gone mountain climbing, gone to church, to dinner, things you do on vacation."

Kerry made his decision to go to Idaho last Monday, exactly two days before taking off on his retreat. The announcement stunned some of the reporters following him, especially since Kerry had previously hinted that his vacation would be "somewhere warm."

"Well, I packed for Florida," the Times' Halbfinger said, adding, "Now that I've learned how to ski a little bit, I actually like (Idaho)."

The Globe's Healy concurred that Idaho was fine since he "grew up skiing," but a tropical climate would have suited him better.

"It's not so bad," Healy said. "But relaxing on a beach and watching him is kind of nicer than sitting in a lodge."

Morehouse seemed more pleased with the choice of Idaho.

"If you're going to have to work, it's not a bad place to have to punch your time clock."

By Steve Chaggaris