Husker Land

Wednesday was a big day.

My hero

Not only were we leaving Omaha and heading farther west, it was the first day to (drumroll) dump the tanks! Shades of Cousin Eddy in Christmas Vacation. We got out our notes. I'm not kidding. I read the instructions while Mr. C. did the dirty work. All clear. Frankly, that was the scariest part of the trip so far. Glad to have it under our belts.

We drove to Lincoln and did a tour of the state capitol building. Nebraska is the only state with a one-house legislature. It's called a unicameral, as opposed to a bicameral, form of government. It's very efficient in terms of costs and getting things done. In my book the fewer politicians the better, so I say it's a winner.






The state capitol building was built over a period of ten years on a pay as they went basis. It may be the only state capitol that was 100% paid for when it was finished. The legislative, judicial, and executive offices are all located in this building.

The legislature where they decide stuff

Bob Kerrey third from left when
he was governor and dated Debra Winger

We basically walked around and eavesdropped on some school field trips to get the inside story. The lack of security was amazing. We had free rein of the building and all the floors. We went to the top floor where we could walk outside and see 360 degrees. Incredible view--and long!






After the state capitol we drove a few blocks to the University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. We were able to walk into the stadium for a magnificent view of the field and inside of the stadium. This is one big stadium--it seats more than 80,000! As you walk around the outside of the stadium there are life-sized statues of Coach Bob Devaney and Coach Tom Osborne with Brook Beringer (player who was killed in a small plane crash). You can also go into the hall of fame area and see all the trophies and awards and watch old game film. There's a special area where they have videos of the three Heisman Trophy winners and the actual trophies.

Even Mr. C, the embattled Northwestern fan, was duly impressed. The man in the visitor's center had told John to come back after we were done walking around and he'd give him something. We came back (hoping for a Go Big Red t-shirt or a mug or something). He gave John the game day program from last November's Nebraska vs. Northwestern game. In case you don't remember, Northwestern led the whole time until a late in the fourth quarter hail mary pass and boom! Nebraska wins. Haha. Nicely played visitor's center guy.

After Lincoln we headed west on I-80, at Grand Island we jumped onto scenic highway 2. This is truly a beautiful drive that goes from plains to rolling hills to the Nebraska National Forest. We have a book that tells interesting stories and gives historical facts about the areas we were driving through. Among lots of other things we'll be throwing out at dinner parties and family get-togethers, we learned about what used to be one of the largest sheep ranches in a five-state area, the grasshopper plagues of 1873 and 1875, Cairo--once a railroad boomtown (one of its main streets is Suez), and a rash of UFO sitings in Broken Bow in August 1965.


We stopped for the night at Victoria Springs State Recreation Area. It's out in the middle of nowhere, has lots of trees, and a pond. We had the whole place to ourselves for a nice dinner and a romantic night under the stars.

Life is good.

Kathryn