Nebraska Adventures

I have returned from spending several days in Lincoln, Nebraska, visiting friends. Before leaving, I shopped at Trader Joes for some wonderful holiday cookies to take along. While waiting in line to check out I overheard that the clerk was originally from Nebraska. He said he was here "because nothing happens there."

Well, things do happen. On Friday we drove to Omaha. My friend is having a ring made from the diamonds from the wedding ring of her recently deceased mother-in-law. This is being done at a very interesting shop called Goldsmith in the Old Market Area. I did not escape the store without buying something. My treasure is a new pair of earrings with three pieces of colored glass coming from sea glass. The artist who made them is Charles Albert. After the jewelry store we walked to a nearby Italian restaurant we remembered and had a wonderful late lunch.

On Saturday my friend and I went to the Homestead Museum in nearby Beatrice, Nebraska. This is a national park providing information about the homestead process that allowed many to get their financial start in the United States - at obviously the expense of the Indians who had lived on those lands for many, many years. We saw an a truly amazing exhibit of photographs takes at pow-wows. I belive the photographer is Tidwell. Our primary reason for going was a display about different cultural customs associated with Christmas. After this visit we stopped for at a Runza fast food place, something one can only do in Nebraska.

Sunday found us having brunch at the Wilderness Ridge Restaurant. Everything served was wonderful. We enjoyed the architecture of this building as well as a very talented jazz musician.

Monday found us delivering cookies for a cookied exchange at my friend's place of employment. Then we went to a new restaurant, Cup and Bread, for lunch. I had corn chowder that was very good. If in Lincoln, look for this place. It serves a limited and changing menu of very good food along with beer or wine if desired. On Monday evening my friend's son came by and we went out to a new place, a combination Chinese buffet and Mongolian grille. Sounds odd perhaps, but the food is very good. After supper, he showed me a computer program he had written that enhances student registration for classes as well as giving faculty better information about who is registering for classes. I showed him how the software works that we use for online classes. Forty years difference in our ages, but we are both into the same thing.

Tuesday found me flying home without any much difficult. I felt like a fairy princess. One perk of this apartment is that one gets airport transportation. I got delivered home right into the underground next to the elevator that is the closest one to my apartment unit.

So one can do something in Nebraska.