WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama rejoined his family in Washington on Sunday evening after bidding a poignant farewell to his Chicago home as he begins final preparations for his Jan. 20 inauguration.

“I’ve got to tell you, I choked up a little bit leaving my house today,” Obama told reporters aboard a government 757 plane typically used by vice presidents and first ladies. It was his first trip on a government aircraft since winning election Nov. 4.

Obama said pictures of his daughter, 10-year-old Malia, and her friends triggered the emotion as he left his Hyde Park home in Chicago.

“Malia’s friend had dropped off an album of the two of them. They’ve been friends since preschool. I just looked through the pages, the house was empty. It was a little tough,” Obama said.

Asked if he was looking forward to arriving in Washington, Obama smiled and said yes, “although living in a hotel for two weeks? We did that for two years.”

The president-elect is staying at the Hay-Adams Hotel across from the White House. His wife and two young daughters made the same trip from Chicago on Saturday.