Family Vacation - Omaha, Nebraska

Woke up this morning fired up and ready to begin our adventure. We had all packed our bags (for the most part) the night before. All our electronic gadgets such as cell phones, iPods, laptops and GPS units were all charged up and ready to go. Nik and I had put our Thule roof box on the car and all our food and other gear was boxed, bagged or otherwise ready to go. So, in theory all we had to do was get up, eat breakfast, load the car and be on our way. Just as we where about to start loading the car, a thunderstorm came through, dumping over 2 inches of rain in about 30 minutes. So, after the rain subsided, we where able to pack the car and be on our way.

The drive to Omaha is one that I'm very familiar with. Nebraska is part of my territory at work so I'm down there 4 times per year. We ran into several traffic delays on I-35 as we headed south. I figure about 30 minutes worth in total. The weather was over cast with a few brief showers along the way. Our destination was our Friend Dan McMaster's house in western Omaha. Alex and I shared the driving with me taking the first stretch and Alex driving the final 2 hours. It was nice to be a passenger for a while. Alex did a nice job in his first opportunity to really spend some time on the open road.

Upon arriving at Dan's house, we headed off to dinner at Olive Garden. We were all pretty hungry from a day on the road. Then we were off to the small town (and I mean SMALL town!) of Wahoo Nebraska for the annual Rodeo. This is small town Americana at its finest. There where probably 1,000 people in attendance, from what Dan said probably the entire population of the town! It's the biggest thing to happen in Wahoo all year. I know that the kids were a bit underwhelmed but I know that Chris and I enjoyed it. For me, the Bronco and Bull riding where the best. The amount abuse the riders endure is pretty amazing.

Our friend Dan was a great host, opening up his home to us. We really enjoyed the time we had to re-connect with him. Thank you Dan, we had a great time.