After capturing his party’s nomination Tuesday, Barack Obama told reporters that his historic win had not yet sunk in and that he planned on reflecting on his win over the weekend at home with his family.

So what did he discover?

“Ya know, in between the sleepover with seven seven-year-olds and a bike ride, I did reflect on it. And I am extraordinarily proud of what my team did and I think am most of all humbled and grateful to the American people for giving me this opportunity. Humbled because we’ve got a big job ahead of us and it makes me want to redouble my efforts in delivering on the promises that have been made so far in the campaign,” Obama told reporters.

Mr. Obama also shared little on his secret meeting with Senator Clinton last week, describing it as “constructive,” and noting the two did not have “detailed discussions” about her +$20 million debt.

“Our teams are now working together to figure out how we move forward on a whole variety of fronts…I think that what she’s really interested in, as she said on Saturday, is figuring out how are we going to move forward to make sure we win the White House.”

So what’s different since Tuesday on the Obama campaign?

“Not much, here I am with you guys,” Barack Obama said with a laugh to reporters on board his campaign plane.

Just two days after securing the Democratic nomination, Obama was in the semi-regular position of taking questions from his traveling press corps on a flight following a fairly standard town hall in southwest Virginia, and heading to a fairly standard rally in Northern Virginia.

But this election is far from standard as Obama is the nation’s first African American to sit atop of a major party’s ticket for president. According to the history-making man, he’s been too busy to fully appreciate the win. “It hasn’t sunk in - we’ve been going at a pretty fast clip,” he shared.

Following his rally tonight, he’ll try to take it in this weekend at home with his family — no public events, according to his schedule.

“I intend to take the weekend off and I am going to take my wife out on a date. I hope to go on a bike ride with my kids and my sense is at some point this weekend I will have the opportunity to reflect on the journey we’ve traveled - and that will I think help me chart a course for where we are going to go…over the next five months,” he told reporters, many of whom also eager to have some down time as well.

A reporter wondered if Obama would savor his victory this weekend. The candidate who often says this election isn’t about him, but the people replied, “I think this weekend is to just savor my family, think back to the hard work we’ve put in and to think that now find ourselves in a position to really change the county and I promised. The one thing I can tell you that I feel an enormous obligation to the people who I’ve met during the course of this year, year and a half. The single mom without health insurance, the guy who lost his job and lost his health care and pension. They tell you during the course of the campaign, they are counting on you, they believe in you and I take that very seriously so we’ve got a lot of work to do, and that’s why there’s not a bunch of lot of self congratulatory moments right now, we’ve got work to do.”

He may have a little help on the campaign trail this fall. When asked if Obama would utilize former President Bill Clinton on the campaign trail - despite several stumbles during the primary, despite serveral contentious moments between the two - Obama simply replied, “Yes. I think Bill Clinton is an enormous talent, and I would welcome him campaigning for me.”

In the arena that will be filled with GOP faithful in just a few months at the Republican Convention, Barack Obama will tell several thousand on hand an significantly more watching on television that after 54 contests, the primary season has come to an end. “Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States,” he is expected to say according to prepared remarks sent out to reporters.

On the hour-long flight from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota, Senior Advisor David Axelrod told the press that while the historic nomination has yet to sink in for him, Barack Obama is already thinking about what’s next. “He’s already thinking about where we go from here. But he’s obviously very happy.” Axelrod noted that while tonight’s a time to celebrate their hard-fought win, “We’re gonna wake up tomorrow and we’re gonna start all over again because we’re not in this you know simply to break a barrier, we’re in this to try and change a country.”

Staffers refused to talk about Hillary Clinton as a potential running mate - the line repeated to reporters on the campaign plane: “We don’t have a short list or a long list. We’re coming here tonight to finish the process of winning this nomination, then we’ll turn our attention to the notion of who the running mate will be,” Axelrod explained.

But Barack Obama will heap praise on his soon to be former rival at his victory rally. “Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight….You can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton,” he will say according to prepared remarks.

Party unity, after all, will be needed to beat John McCain this fall. “At the end of the day, we aren’t the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard.  You didn’t do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else.  You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing.  We owe our children a better future.  We owe our country a better future.  And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say – let us begin the work together.  Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.”

Check out Obama talking with friends and advisors on his flight to Minnesota here:

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Read Obama’s prepared remarks below the jump

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Barack Obama won Maine handily tonight - an “upset” per the Obama campaign, even though the polls going into today’s caucus favored Obama. According to his campaign manager, “Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates.”

Here’s what he told some 18,000 in Virginia Beach after he heard the results.

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And the memo sent out by the Obama Camp:

Today, Obama won an upset victory in Maine, a state where internal and external polls had Clinton leading in the days leading up to the caucuses. Obama is projected to win 15 delegates to Clinton’s 9, capping off an Obama sweep of this weekend’s contests.

Barack Obama has won nearly twice as many states as Hillary Clinton. He won a Red State, Purple State, and Blue States this weekend – showing he has broad national appeal and can win in every corner of this country. Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates.

This weekend’s net gain of 57 pledged delegates represents more than the 42 delegate net gain that Clinton won in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee and Arizona – combined.

While Obama’s victories demonstrate his broad national appeal, he still faces an uphill battle in every upcoming contest because the Clintons are far better known and have a political machine that’s been honed over two decades. But the more voters get to know Obama and his message of change, the more they support him, which bodes well for the upcoming primaries.

Obama’s victories reflect what a recent Time poll confirmed the other day – that he is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in Red States, and beat John McCain in November. As the nominee, Obama will also help down-ballot Democrats get elected to Congress across the country, especially in those Red States where Democrats haven’t fared well for decades. So Obama won’t just win an election, he’ll win a new majority for change, so we can finally solve the problems we’ve been talking about for decades.