I flew from London to Warren Buffett's hometown of Omaha to cover Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. I wasn't expecting the biggest business story in the world to break while I was there.Buffett's revelation that he plans to resign as Berkshire's CEO at the end of this year was the headline of my trip. But I also saw rare treasures, spoke to people from all walks of life, visited storied locations, and discovered how Buffett and his businesses pervade almost every part of Omaha. I had a dream start to my reporting journey. My seatmate showed me a Berkshire Hathaway Class B share certificate. Theron Mohamed/BI My nine-hour flight from London to Chicago became far more interesting after I learned my seatmate was making the same pilgrimage.The value investor in his 30s, who asked not to be named, showed me a Berkshire Class B share certificate — signed by Buffett in 2005 — that his firm had given him as the proof of ownership he needed to get a meeting pass.He told me that when his wife asked why he was so excited to go to Omaha, he replied, "Imagine you're a Christian and you have a chance to see Jesus Christ."When he nodded off a few hours later, Buffett's face looked up at me from the Kindle on his lap, as he'd been reading "Tap Dancing to Work." Arriving in Omaha, it was clear this was Berkshire turf. A winking ad on the wall in Omaha's Eppley Airfield. Theron Mohamed/BI I took a connecting flight from Chicago to Omaha and arrived late on Thursday night.One of the welcome ads on the airport's wall requested visitors to "check your SPACs, Crypto, and EBITDA at the gate" — a nod to Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger's disdain for risky, speculative, and volatile assets.Munger called the proliferation of special-purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, a "moral failing," dismissed bitcoin as "stupid" and "evil" as well as "rat poison." He also described earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization as "bullshit earnings." Omaha businesses were ready for Berkshire weekend. The airport's Hudson News store had a variety of Berkshire-related titles on display. Theron Mohamed/BI The influx of thousands of Berkshire shareholders to Omaha each year spells opportunity for many local companies.The Hudson News store in the airport had several areas dedicated to Berkshire books and other financial titles, including "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and "Buffett & Munger Unscripted."Another airport eatery had a See's Candies stall and a sign from Berkshire welcoming its shareholders.I took a taxi to the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Omaha. There was a banner in front of the hotel welcoming Berkshire shareholders, and a similar display outside the elevators on my floor. Berkshire's big bash evolves with every acquisition. Berkshire-owned Pilot was serving coffees outside the CHI Health Center. Theron Mohamed/BI This was my third annual meeting, and I'm always interested to see how it changes to reflect the deals that Buffett makes.The conglomerate added Squishmallows-owner Jazwares to its exhibitors after acquiring the toy company's parent, Alleghany, in 2022.Squishmallows was one of the biggest exhibitors at Berkshire's shareholder shopping day this year, with myriad displays and interactive activities.Berkshire took full ownership of Pilot Travel Centers at the start of 2024. Pilot employees were selling coffee outside the meeting venue, the CHI Health Center. Inside, the company offered everything from Berkshire Blend coffee to T-shirts with Buffett quotes. Buffett superfans were out in force. Wan Xue and a friend were first in line to get their shareholder passes on Friday. Theron Mohamed/BI Wan Xue, or "Cathy," 33, from China, was first in line to get her shareholder pass on Friday. She told me she'd purchased 11 books on this trip already, and planned to buy more.She planned to see everything related to Buffett that she could, and had already visited his birthplace and school as well as Berkshire headquarters, she said. Plenty of Buffett experts were in town. Investors John Rogers, Chris Marangi, and Mario Gabelli spoke at the Gabelli Funds conference. Theron Mohamed/BI Veteran investors including billionaire Mario Gabelli and Buffett's former financial assistant, Tracy Britt Cool, spoke at conferences on Friday, the day before Buffett's Q&A.Fund manager Chris Bloomstran said at the Gabelli Funds conference that tariffs, trade wars, recessions, depressions, and other crises were "net good for Berkshire" as they created buying opportunities. "Bring on a little pain," he added.I asked Gabelli straight after the conference how he felt about owning Berkshire stock given the current market turmoil.He shrugged off any concerns, saying he first met Buffett more than 50 years ago at Columbia Business School, and has only ever sold Berkshire to stop his portfolio becoming too concentrated.At her company Kanbrick's conference, Britt Cool shared a memorable piece of advice from Buffett about long-term, responsible management: "Think about this business as if it's your family's only asset and you cannot sell it for 50 years." Shareholders took the news of Buffett's exit in good spirits. Sam McColgan and classmate Vipara Rasphone at the NFM picnic. Theron Mohamed/BI At the picnic in NFM's parking lot, there was live music, bocce, barbecue, drinks, and lots of people laughing, taking photos, playing games, or dancing.Sam McColgan, 31, a Stanford graduate student, told me he was "somewhat relieved" that Buffett had announced his resignation, as "it would have been a shock to the world" if he'd died while still CEO. I even went on a shareholder fun run I joined the droves of Berkshire shareholders taking part in the Brooks 5K run. Theron Mohamed/BI On Sunday morning I donned an official shirt and racing bib and took part in Brooks' 5K run. I loved the branded team shirts for See's Candies and Oriental Trading employees, and the announcer's wordplay about "investing in yourself" to garner "healthy returns."I enjoyed traversing the center of the city, but the run wasn't long enough as I was interviewing people along the way and had to keep retracing my steps to avoid finishing. The finishers' medals were satisfyingly heavy. The finishers' medal from the race. Theron Mohamed/BI I liked the look, feel, and weight of my finishers' medal.The rest area after the race was well set up with breakfast burritos, Dairy Queen ice cream, and energy drinks at the Berkshire Hathaway Energy booth for runners.It was fun to tear off a tab from my race bib and exchange it for a Pilot hot chocolate too. Buffett's retirement was front-page news on Sunday. Warren Buffett made the front page after breaking the news of his resignation plan. Theron Mohamed/BI The magnitude of what I'd witnessed became clearer after I saw Buffett on the front page of his hometown paper in my hotel's lobby on Sunday.Buffett bought the Omaha World-Herald for $150 million (and took on its $50 million of debt) in late 2011. He sold his newspapers, which also included The Buffalo News, to Lee Enterprises for $140 million in 2020. People were still processing Buffett's bombshell. Calvin Sowah was one of many shareholders surprised by Buffett stepping down. Theron Mohamed/BI After a shower back at the hotel, I took a Lime scooter to Markel's brunch at the Omaha Marriott, down the road from where Buffett held his Q&A.Much of the second floor was packed with people wearing Berkshire merch they'd purchased over the previous two days, from hats and windbreakers to polo shirts and shoes.Calvin Sowah, 30, a venture capitalist from New York City, told me that Buffett's casual manner caught him off guard."I wasn't expecting it," he said. "And he just said it so nonchalantly that it was like, 'Oh, wait, what? You're retiring.'" There was time for one final story from Omaha on my trip home. College students John Di Bella and Aidan Sims on the flight back to New York City. Theron Mohamed/BI I thought my Berkshire experience was over when I boarded a flight to New York City early Monday morning.But my seatmates, Aidan Sims and John Di Bella, were two finance majors from NYC who'd also made the trip to see Buffett speak.Sims said he had a date to a formal on Friday night, but managed to make it to Omaha in time to watch Buffett's bombshell announcement.Di Bella told me how he spent the night outside to get good seats for the Q&A. He played poker on the street, vaulted up the arena's steps once the doors opened, and scored selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.The chance encounter cemented Omaha in my memory as a magical place to meet fascinating people, hear wild stories, visit historic locations, and, just maybe, have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.