Marie, wrote that the people were excited for Marie's arrival mainly because of her almost mythical allure, which had been created by papers and rumour throughout her life; she observed that "the modest Queen of the Belgians had once come with her king for a brief visit and years ago the dusky Hawaiian ruler had honored us, but there had been no others. The time could not have been better set." Marie was also fairly popular within suffragette circles, where she was viewed as "a woman whose wits had devised many a coup d'état, whose brains had thought out many a difficult problem for her people, who had used the gifts given her to further every good purpose". During their time in America, Marie, Nicholas and Ileana undertook tours of several cities, including Philadelphia. They were very popular, and were greeted with equal enthusiasm in each city they visited, so much so that "[Nicholas and Ileana] seemed fairly dazed by their tremendous ovation". At the White House, the official dinner was marked by awkward moments, due to the morose attitude of President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace; Marie lingered less than two hours. Before leaving the United States, Marie was presented with a bullet-proof armored town car by Willys-Knight, which she joyfully accepted. On 24 November, Marie and her children were seen off by a delegation from Washington, D.C., as they prepared to leave by ship from New York Harbor. Morris wrote that "our last view was of Her Majesty, her children on either side, waving back with that tear-and-smile of those who pass from happy scenes." Morris accompanied the queen throughout her journey and offered a very detailed account of Marie's time in America in her book, published in 1927. Marie was delighted with the visit, and wished to return to America as soon as possible. She wrote in her diaries: "both my children and I have but one dream: to return! To return to that stupendous New World, which makes you almost guiddy because of its immencity, its noise, its striving, its fearful impetuous to get on, to do always more, always bigger, quicker, more astonishingly a restless, flaring great world, where I think everything can be realised ... I know, as long as I live, breathe and think, the love for America will beautify my life and thoughts ... Perhaps Fate will allow me one day