Joe Biden bid farewell to the Senate this morning with a speech that was as much a tribute to the "august body" as it was a thoughtful recollection of his 36 years there.

Or was it more than that?

During his 40-minute speech, the vice president-elect shared a story about his first trip to the Senate chamber - not as one of the 100 members, but as 20-year-old interloper who wandered in during a visit to Washington.

"I was awestruck. Literally, awestruck," he said.

Not only did he walk into the empty chamber, but he climbed up the rostrum and sat in the presiding officer's chair.

"I was mesmerized," he said. "And the next thing I know, I feel this hand on my shoulder, and a Capitol police officer picks me up and says, 'What are you doing?' After a few moments he realized I was just a dumbstruck kid and didn't arrest me or anything."

Ten years later he returned as a duly-elected senator, the second-youngest ever to take a seat. And in his seventh term, he said he's still awestruck.

"I think it brings my career full cycle to know that while I was once detained for sitting in the presiding officer's chair, I will now occasionally be detained in the presiding officer's chair as vice president of the United States of America," he said.

He closed by noting his stated intention for coming to the Senate years ago: civil rights.

"And I leave here today to begin my service to our nation's first African-American president," he said. "The arc of the universe is long, but it does indeed bend toward justice. And the United States Senate has been an incredible instrument in ensuring that justice."

Biden officially will resign his seat at 5 pm today. Former chief-of-staff Ted Kaufman will be sworn in tomorrow and serve for two years, until a special election can be held.