Count the Reasons to Visit Nebraska in the Spring…
In April 2024 I visited friends who have moved to Nebraska and I discovered exactly why they wanted to move to this beautiful and charming area of the states. Since they moved to a small town just outside of Lincoln, we spent a bit of time driving around in Lincoln. What a lovely city! It’s big enough to have all of the amenities, but not so large that it’s difficult to get around. And it is surrounded by small towns and farming communities. I was amazed at how clean and tidy all of the houses were-even in the poorer areas! The very best thing was Goldenrod Pastries, a gluten-free, vegan (basically EVERY allergy-free!) bakery. It’s been years since I’ve had a donut from a bakery. OH. MY. GOODNESS! Deeliousness… in every bite! They even have gluten, egg, and dairy free chocolate cupcakes that make your mouth quite happy.
As usual, I fell down the Google Maps Rabbit Hole. One of the places that I found was the Wahoo Meat Locker. It sells so much more than just meat! I left with some fun little kitchen items, gifts, and cheese.
If you ever have the opportunity, go to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium. We spent a wonderful day there. One day only gives you a good start at seeing everything that there is to see at the zoo! Even after going on the website I didn’t realize that feeding and touching the stingray was something that you could do. If I had known, it would have topped the MUST DO list! Talk about a fabulous experience! However, if you aren’t going to get to experience the entire zoo, the train is a great way to see all of the exhibits without having to walk the entire zoo. This happens to be an excellent option when you are visiting with an almost 3 year old!
We spent the night in the delightful, historic Magnolia Hotel which has an amazing restaurant. After spending the day walking around at the zoo, walking down to the hotel restaurant was as far as we wanted to go for food. And we definitely wanted dinner! We had a lovely waitress who made sure the restaurant accommodated all of our food allergies and provided coloring entertainment for the kiddo.
Before the drive back home, we enjoyed Omaha’s Riverfront and Discovery Park. If you have kids of any ages, this is a MUST GO area! There’s the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, although we didn’t take the 26 minutes to walk the 3000 foot bridge to Iowa. If you are a hiker, there are many interesting hiking trails.
Heading out of town, Baby Girl got her first pair of cowgirl boots at Cavender’s Western Wear. We also stopped at another of my Down-the-Rabbit-Hole finds: Old World Oil and Vinegar. Judging by the huge crowd of people, it’s obviously a very popular place. And, as we discovered, with good reason!
Nebraska was beautiful in the Spring with everything just beginning to flower. Now I need to visit in the Fall, with all of the changing colors, and when the Pumpkin Patch is open!
