There is no place like Nebraska...OMAHA

When one leaves Denver for a week in Nebraska the question that enters many people's minds is

"What are you going to do for a week in Nebraska?!" 

This was the question I asked myself on the second day we were here!  We made plans to go to the Madison County Fair at the end of the week, but what about the beginning?  Well, I jumped on Facebook and sent my cousin a message that said something to this effect:  we're going to be in NE for a WEEK.  We'll need something to do...we're thinking Omaha and visiting you!

My original thought for Omaha was the Henry Doorly Zoo!  If you find yourself in Nebraska for a week, make a trip to Omaha for this place!  The last time I was there was in 6th grade and it was pretty great then and I know they've made many changes since then!  They have an indoor rain forest!  Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the zoo:

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. Evolving from the public Riverview Park Zoo established in 1894, today the Zoo includes several notable exhibits. It features the largest cat complex in  "Kingdoms of the Night" is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforest, and the "Desert Dome" is the world's largest indoor desert,as well as the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world The Zoo is Nebraska’s number one paid attendance attraction and has welcomed more than 25 million visitors over the past 40 years.

Pretty cool, right?  Well here's what I didn't think about...in July, in Nebraska, during the day, it's HOT!  My husband, he does not really like being hot.  The fact was simply this:  If we go to the zoo, we're going to sweat and be hot and probably border on being miserable.  So the zoo didn't seem like the best idea.

So here's what we did.  We left my parents about noon (I thought it was earlier because my computer was (and is) still on MST).  We got to Omaha about 2 PM and still didn't have a plan.  I had suggested the SAC Museum--a place I had been on my senior class trip.  Ryan decided that the museum would be great.  Ryan got out his phone and checked Google Maps for directions.  It's actually located in Ashland, NE, a suburb outside of Omaha.  I want to say it's on the South, maybe Southwest side?  It's on I-80 between Lincoln & Omaha.

The SAC Museum focuses on USAF paraphernalia as well as educational information about the planes, missiles and spacecraft.  It includes two large hangars and a traveling display.  It has one of the top collections of strategic aircrafts.  Not a lot has changed since I was last there, ahem 11 years ago, but it was fun to see again.

Outside the SAC Museum (which I know has been renamed since I was there my Senior year, but Strategic Air and Space Museum doesn't have a cool acronym like Strategic Air Command Museum does...) there are three rockets.  Above is the largest of the three.  Upon entering you are greeted by this:

Ryan knew right away what it was--SR-71A built by Lockheed.  I thought it was an airplane.  Turns out it's really a spy plane.  The admission to get into the Museum was $12 per person.  We paid our fee and headed over to Hangar A.

Hangar A featured many plans that were flown during the WWII era.  There was a section of the hangar that discussed Nebraskans involvement in the Doolittle Raid (not sure what that is, watch Pearl Harbor, it's not 100% historically accurate, but they talk about the Doolittle Raid-- it was the first air raid by the US after the attack on Pearl Harbor.)  Below are some pictures of Ryan with various planes and parts of planes.

As you can see they had a few child friendly areas that you could sit in and push buttons and be cool.  Ryan took full advantage of that.  After Hangar A we headed to Hangar B.  Hangar B is where they have more of the space stuff.  They have a few more planes but also some rocket stuff and information about the various spaceships that have headed into outer space. 

*As a side note, I'm a little sad that the space exploration program is ending*

Ryan continued to wander and look much longer than I did.  We skipped the traveling exhibit--John Wayne.  Not sure that he really fits into Air and Space, but whatever.

After our time at the SAC Museum we headed to the Old Market--another place I went on my Senior Class Trip.  The Old Market is only a block and a half long.  We stumbled into a junk antique shop.  This shop had ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you could imagine.  My favorite part of the shop was the area with stuff from my childhood.  Remember when Pizza Hut used to give away glasses?  Well this shop had them all, including Popple AND Care Bear ones!  I wanted to get the Popple one that matches the Popple that I still have...

but I didn't get it.  Now I kind of wish I had.  Oh well, I least I have the real Popple!  They also had Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, Ninja Turtles, and CALIFORNIA RAISINS!  They also had a section dedicated to toys you got in kids meals from various restaurants--you know, when the toys were good!

After a walk through the Old Market and Ryan being uncomfortable because he was hot (good thing we didn't go to the zoo), we headed to meet Kayla and Andrew for supper at Andrew's house.  They made grilled burgers, pasta salad, beans, and french fries.  Kayla even went all out and brought strawberries, sugar, and cookies for dessert. :-)  We sat around the table and chatted with them for about 3 hours before we packed it up and headed back to the big MG!

Tomorrow's Agenda:  Madison County Fair!