WASHINGTON — George W. Bush departed Washington yesterday, closing out a presidency that spanned the height of popularity and the depths of public disdain, and flew home to Texas surrounded by family and friends who stood with him even after most of the country stepped away.

Bush returned to being a private citizen shortly after seeing President Obama sworn in at the U.S. Capitol. He blew a kiss out the window of the presidential limousine as he left the White House.

On the drive to Capitol Hill, the once and future presidents passed protesters carrying signs reading, "Arrest Bush." When Bush made his entrance onto the grandstand with the orchestra playing "Hail to the Chief" for the last time, the crowd below began singing a different refrain: "Hey, Hey, Hey — Good-bye." One man waved his shoe.

And, finally, when Bush's helicopter lifted off from the east front of the Capitol, cheers rose from the crowd below and from the throng stretched down the Mall.

Following the inauguration, Bush and his wife, Laura, boarded a Marine helicopter for Andrews Air Force Base, where they attended a private 20-minute going-away rally in one of the cavernous hangars used to store presidential airplanes.

Finally, far from the masses who thronged the Mall to celebrate Obama's taking office, the Bushes headed for Texas on one of the blue-and-gold Boeing 747s that carried him all over the world. This time, however, the plane was no longer designated Air Force One.

Bush was headed for his boyhood home town of Midland, Texas, the site of a welcome-home rally intended as an echo of a goodbye celebration held there in January 2001. After that, the Bushes planned to fly to the family ranch in Crawford, Texas, for their first night as a former president and first lady.

Bush's last press secretary, Dana Perino, said before the handover of government that Bush was in a jovial mood, "the way he always is."

"He hasn't changed," Perino said. "He gave me a big kiss on the forehead."

Yesterday morning, Bush welcomed Obama to the White House with a few hearty pats on the arm, then the men posed for the cameras with Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. The two couples proceeded to the Blue Room for coffee with soon-to-be vice president Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, and members of Congress.

"I thank President Bush for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition," Obama said during his inaugural address.

Bush offered relatively few regrets at the end and spent much of the past two months forcefully defending his administration's performance, including the decision to invade Iraq and the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

His departure ceremony at Andrews was marred by one detail: The red carpet laid out in his honor refused to stay in place amid gusts of frigid wind. In the end, the carpet was removed, leaving empty tarmac instead.