On the road, Kerry is still close to home

NEW YORK -- Even when he's away from Boston, Senator John F. Kerry is never far from a familiar bed.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who by virtue of his marriage to Teresa Heinz Kerry has five homes dotted across the country, and who through a network of friends from college, the military, and politics has ready access to an array of private residences no matter where he goes, has been able over the past weeks to skip many of the Holiday Inns that presidential contenders often stay in during long stints on the campaign trail.

For example, after securing the delegates necessary to win the Democratic presidential nomination in early March, Kerry repaired to his vacation home in Ketchum, Idaho, for nearly a week of rest and relaxation. The senator had yearned for a warm-weather destination, but his huge traveling entourage prevented him from getting rooms in Florida. Instead, he and his wife opted for the comfort of their own home hard by the Big Wood River in the Sawtooth Mountains.

In subsequent weeks, Kerry has shuttled between his townhouses in Washington and Boston, transitioning his campaign from primary to general election mode.

During that time, he spent four days on Beacon Hill after shoulder surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, his recuperation interlaced with economic and national security policy meetings. Most recently, Kerry was back at home Friday evening in advance of the Easter holiday. He did not leave until yesterday morning, after sleeping off a record-breaking fund-raiser Tuesday evening at the Sheraton Boston.

While in Boston, Kerry shot background footage for future political ads, discussed plans for the Democratic convention in July, weighed possible running mates, and made day trips to the University of New Hampshire and the University of Rhode Island as part of a college tour. Yesterday, Kerry continued the tour at the City College of New York and held another fund-raiser in midtown Manhattan, but even then, he eschewed the Sheraton New York, which housed his traveling press corps. Instead, he headed off to a home owned by friends of his wife.

Today Kerry arrives in Washington to visit the dentist and stop at Howard University before heading to a fund-raiser in Newark. Tonight, he will fly to Pittsburgh, where he will head not to the downtown Westin, but the borough of Fox Chapel and Heinz Kerry's farm there.

Throughout the past month, Kerry has also popped in and out of battleground states, visiting Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, but during the lull between locking up the nomination and announcing his vice presidential pick, which will touch off the march to the Democratic convention, aides say Kerry is focused on restoring his health and completing the groundwork for the fall campaign.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.