Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Omaha Weekend
This blog posting is a little late (sorry Dad).
For the August 16th weekend, we went out to Omaha to see may Dad and his girlfriend (Mary). Despite earlier weather forecasts of dire weather, we had the perfect weekend. The three hour drive to Omaha took close to 3.5 hours -turns out there was a lot of construction on I29. But the ride went relatively quickly and painlessly.
We met for dinner at Friday's (Pierce's suggestion) then spent a few hours at my Dad's apartment catching up. Dad and Mary look great (of course) and seem to be doing well. We wound up fairly early, it was a long day and Nora and I were just as ready for bed as the kids.
Saturday started with breakfast at Dad and Mary's. Mary outdid herself serving pancakes, waffles, fruit, bagels and more. Every spring, Dad plants a variety of flower and produce plants in pots on his back balcony. This year's crop was truly a bumper one. It was like walking into a mini-jungle. Vegetables included peppers, multiple types of tomatoes, and cucumbers (I'm sure I'm forgetting others).
The morning and part of the afternoon were spent at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Its one of the mid-west's largest zoos and draws patrons from all over the country. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time or energy to do the whole zoo. We spent most of our time in the rainforest (Anna's pet interest)
and at the aquarium (which has to be seen to be believed).
After a quick, but expensive lunch, we headed back to Dad's place to do some swimming at their apartment pool. Dad and Mary came out to watch Pierce and Anna swim. Both kids were in their usual top form and really showed off (we're so proud). We ended the day by going to our favorite family-friendly restaurant, The Amazing Pizza Machine.
A bit like a Chuckie Cheese's on steroids (to quote Nora), the Pizza Machine features a decent buffet, arcade games, ticket games, bowling, go carts, bumper cars and more. After we allpigged out ate, Nora took Anna to play ticket games (and boy did she win tickets), and Pierce and I hit the go-carts. The track has cars that accommodate a driver and passenger. Pierce isn't quite tall enough to drive yet, but unlike last time we were there, Pierce was egging me on to go faster. It was a blast. Mary is also a huge fan of the ticket games, and used our visit as an excuse to go crazy. Between her ticket wins, Anna's massive ticket acquisitions, and Pierce's token wins, Pierce and Anna were able to cash out their tickets for the nicest crap we've ever gotten from one of those ticket redemption stores.
Sunday was a shortened day. In the morning, after a quick Burger King breakfast, we headed to the local air force base for an air show. None of us had ever been to one before and this one was massive. It featured planes from almost every era, from bi-planes to stealth fighters. The sky was constantly full of some sort of activity: parachutists, stunt fliers, WWII mustangs, modern-day cargo and surveillance planes. It was definitely a feast for the eyes.
We ended our visit with lunch at Dad and Mary's. Then, with a grocery bag full of tomatoes, we got on the road for home, with a detour to Nora's parents house for a belated birthday dinner for Nora. One of her presents, was an electronic version of Monopoly. Nora, her nephews, her sister-in-law, and Pierce and Anna all played. It was hilarious. I think Pierce was the big winner before we had to wrap up and head for home.
-Eric (Dad)
For the August 16th weekend, we went out to Omaha to see may Dad and his girlfriend (Mary). Despite earlier weather forecasts of dire weather, we had the perfect weekend. The three hour drive to Omaha took close to 3.5 hours -turns out there was a lot of construction on I29. But the ride went relatively quickly and painlessly.
We met for dinner at Friday's (Pierce's suggestion) then spent a few hours at my Dad's apartment catching up. Dad and Mary look great (of course) and seem to be doing well. We wound up fairly early, it was a long day and Nora and I were just as ready for bed as the kids.
Saturday started with breakfast at Dad and Mary's. Mary outdid herself serving pancakes, waffles, fruit, bagels and more. Every spring, Dad plants a variety of flower and produce plants in pots on his back balcony. This year's crop was truly a bumper one. It was like walking into a mini-jungle. Vegetables included peppers, multiple types of tomatoes, and cucumbers (I'm sure I'm forgetting others).
The morning and part of the afternoon were spent at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Its one of the mid-west's largest zoos and draws patrons from all over the country. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time or energy to do the whole zoo. We spent most of our time in the rainforest (Anna's pet interest)
and at the aquarium (which has to be seen to be believed).
After a quick, but expensive lunch, we headed back to Dad's place to do some swimming at their apartment pool. Dad and Mary came out to watch Pierce and Anna swim. Both kids were in their usual top form and really showed off (we're so proud). We ended the day by going to our favorite family-friendly restaurant, The Amazing Pizza Machine.
A bit like a Chuckie Cheese's on steroids (to quote Nora), the Pizza Machine features a decent buffet, arcade games, ticket games, bowling, go carts, bumper cars and more. After we all
Sunday was a shortened day. In the morning, after a quick Burger King breakfast, we headed to the local air force base for an air show. None of us had ever been to one before and this one was massive. It featured planes from almost every era, from bi-planes to stealth fighters. The sky was constantly full of some sort of activity: parachutists, stunt fliers, WWII mustangs, modern-day cargo and surveillance planes. It was definitely a feast for the eyes.
We ended our visit with lunch at Dad and Mary's. Then, with a grocery bag full of tomatoes, we got on the road for home, with a detour to Nora's parents house for a belated birthday dinner for Nora. One of her presents, was an electronic version of Monopoly. Nora, her nephews, her sister-in-law, and Pierce and Anna all played. It was hilarious. I think Pierce was the big winner before we had to wrap up and head for home.
-Eric (Dad)
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