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Wow! What great energy surrounds this trip...

I arrived at O'Hare last night and went through a very well executed check-in process in the terminal. I arrived about the same time as many of the members of the television media who will be covering the events here in Copenhagen.

It was scheduled as United Airlines flight 9890 but they apparently had the call number changed to United 2016 for this special trip.

We arrived at the gate and were greeted by at least 20 TV cameras and lots of other reporters and photographers. There were several past Olympic and Paralympic champions chatting with the reporters and the supporters.

There was a stage with a live band playing - right at the gate! Jake and Elwood Blues made an appearance. A very nice bar and passed hors d'oeuvres made for a very comfortable reception.

Just prior to departure, Olympian Bart Conner took the stage and introduced the athletes who would be traveling with us on the aircraft. At that point, I thought I'd snap a few photos... so I was out in front with my little camera and this really nice guy (also snapping photos) says "You just need to act like the media and get right in there for your shots."

He kind of moved around and we laughed a bit... then Bart Conner introduced him... it was Edwin Moses. So, I have now received photography advice from one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time.

The athletes were all so nice to us. Bart Conner shared a video on his phone of his 3 year old son on a trampoline. This trip is the first time he and wife Nadia Comaneci have been away more than a couple nights. Typical parents. Extremely down to earth. Very refreshing.

We boarded the plane and I was pleased to learn a couple of things. United was providing Business Class service throughout the entire plane and the service was wonderful. Beautiful meals with polished silverware and linen napkins, They really did this right.

I was also pleased to find there was nobody in the center seat of my row. My neighbor was a tremendously nice guy named Timothy Smithe and we hit it off right away. Tim has a business on Route 30 in Hobart and 12 other stores in Chicagoland called Walter E. Smithe Custom Furniture. And yes, as it shows in their commercials, he is a very creative guy.

Not a great deal of sleep was had on this "red-eye" but we arrived full of enthusiam none-the-less. The folks on the charter flight received blue jackets (very nice) that we will wear around Copenhagen to show our support for Chicago's bid.

I'm off on a canal tour of the city in a few minutes to get a quick look around. Tomorrow's agenda includes a castle tour and then the welcome dinner with all of the delegates.

Having fun.