April 30, 2009 Lincoln and Omaha, NE

Today was a "take care of business" day. We went shopping in Lincoln, NE and downtown was a street vendor. Haven't seen one of them for years in Detroit. We took a cue from our MOC friends, Steve and Vicki, and took or sandwich lunch to alongside the road, near a farm. Some goats were having their salad next to us. In Greenwood, NE, we took the advice of our MOC friends that we met last night, Ron and Mary, and discovered Baker's Candies. This is a chocolate factory that sends their treats worldwide. They have a store in front of their factory and, of course, we had to buy some sugar free chocolate. Oh my gosh - it is delicious. Even better than the Russell Stover candy factory we went to in Florida. When we came home, we decided that we could take a quick driving tour of Omaha so off we went. First stop was Boys' Town. It sure looks different than it did in the movie. Father Flannigan's dream had really evolved into a huge venture. We also found that President Gerald Ford was born in Omaha. We went by the location that he was in when born. Nearby in Old Omaha were some huge homes that are called castles, because that is how big they are. We then went to the east side of Omaha which is the Missouri River. Across the river is Council Bluff, IA. Along the river is a sculpture entitled "Labor", which commemorates the people who build Omaha. Behind the sculpture is the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge, the only pedestrian bridge to link two states. The bridge is about 3000 feet long and in the center is about 60 feet above the Missouri River. This was supposed to be a slow, catch-up day and became long but very interesting.