On the holy day of the Sabbath, otherwise known as Game Day, life in Lincoln stands still as people focus their attention on the Cornhuskers. You’ve never seen so much red in your life. After attending games as a student for four years, I returned…Read More

On the holy day of the Sabbath, otherwise known as Game Day, life in Lincoln stands still as people focus their attention on the Cornhuskers. You’ve never seen so much red in your life. After attending games as a student for four years, I returned as an alum last fall and discovered not much has changed.

The wooden benches for seats still hurt your bottom, they always run out of hot chocolate by fourth quarter, and the lines for the women’s restrooms are agonizing, but I still get chills when they play "Sirus" as players walk through the tunnel to the field (they stole this from the Bulls, but it’s still cool). I still enjoy singing "There Is No Place Like Nebraska" and "Hail to the Team" after touchdowns and I still know all the words. Last, but not least, there is no better treat than eating a hot Runza. Oh, yeah, the games are good too. Go Big Red!

Make it a point to walk through the tunnels in the south stadium and get a high five from one of the players after the game. Bricks with the names of Husker supporters line the path to the locker rooms and we always make a visit the brick we bought for our grandmother, a huge Husker fan. If the volleyball team has a home match on game day, just walk to the colliseum next door to the stadium. Sometimes fans with football tickets get in for free. The two-time national championship volleyball team is spectacular and if it’s a Big Twelve match, you’ll be treated to some exciting volleyball.

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For you bar hopping fanatics looking for some action, this little college town has plenty to offer. Here are my favorites: Woody’s Pub – 104 N. 14th St. #6. Don’t know why they have this street address because they have an entrance on O Street. This…Read More

For you bar hopping fanatics looking for some action, this little college town has plenty to offer. Here are my favorites:

Woody’s Pub – 104 N. 14th St. #6. Don’t know why they have this street address because they have an entrance on O Street. This is where a lot of athletes hang out. Great place for bar Olympics, pool, darts, and foos ball.

Matt’s Bar – 100 N. 8th St. on the south end of the Haymarket District near the O Street overpass. Casual bar with lots of history. Grab a booth and get a beer after the game.

Zoo Bar – 136 N. 14th St. A nationally know blues bar where the famous and infamous play. I was fortunate enough to have had several theater classes here when I was in college. Someone in the class worked there on weekends and he convinced the owner we could perform our one-acts on their stage. After watching each others plays all afternoon, we’d hang out for the blues show at night. Not much to look at, just sit back and enjoy the music.

Barry’s – 235 N. 9th St. This is THE place to be Husker game day. Another bar on the outskirts of the Haymarket, it’s also the closest to Memorial Stadium. The place is huge and full of TV’s, so if it’s too cold to sit outside at the game, sell your tickets and stay here.

Sidetracks – 935 O St. Uniquely Nebraskan, it’s the one place that people from out of town remember long after their visit. Let Joyce and Paul entertain you with their off-color songs. There is no décor, only folding chairs to sit on and the waitresses may spill beer on you, but it’s so much fun, who cares!

Iguana’s – 1426 O Street. Your basic singles bar, however, it has the best foos ball competition in town. Bring some quarters and see how long you can keep the table.

Barrymore’s – 124 N. 13th St. between O and P Streets down the alley. It’s hard to find, but worth the journey. A small lounge that used to be the back stage of Stuart Theater, the ceiling goes up to infinity and there are still stage lights and curtain ropes on the walls. For more sophisticated tastes, this upscale bar is quite a change from meat market college bars along O Street. Sip a White Russian and gossip with your friends before you begin your night on the town, or show up after a night at the opera for a night cap.

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Located at 701 N. 40th St., this is a landmark that is hard to miss, as the beautiful twin towers dominate the skyline as you drive out of Omaha on Dodge Street. The cathedral was built in the Spanish Renaissance style, which is much more common…Read More

Located at 701 N. 40th St., this is a landmark that is hard to miss, as the beautiful twin towers dominate the skyline

as you drive out of Omaha on Dodge Street. The cathedral was built in the Spanish Renaissance style, which is much more common in the southwestern United States and Mexico than in the Midwest.

Among the cathedral's outstanding features are the carara marble altar and beautiful carved pulpit of mahogany.

In the chapel there is a 16th-century stained glass window from Spain.

In 1901, plans began to construct a cathedral in Omaha. Prominent Omaha architect Thomas Rogers Kimball took on the task. Construction began in 1905 and continued through 1958. In 1916, enough had been completed to allow services to begin being performed.

St Cecelia's was added to the National Historic Register in 1979. Beyond just being a Catholic cathedral, they have become an active part in the community. Every year they host the Annual Flower Show and other community activities. Docents from the parish conduct guided tours for over 60,000 tourists a year.

If you are Catholic, this is a lovely place to go to Mass on Sunday, and they have a 5:30pm Mass. Even if you're not Catholic, it is architecturally exciting.

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The first hanger houses a number of the aircraft. There is a catwalk on the north side of the room that gives you an overall view of the room and allows you to get a closeup of the aircraft that are suspended from the…Read More

The first hanger houses a number of the aircraft. There is a catwalk on the north side of the room that gives you an overall view of the room and allows you to get a closeup of the aircraft that are suspended from the ceiling. Though this is an impressive sight, there's nothing like getting on the ground floor and walking among the planes. There is plenty of space between the planes, and because of the size of the area, it does not seem crowded with visitors even though many people might be there at one time. I guess enormous is the best word to describe this hanger.Close

The atrium of the museum is a magnificent structure. According to the literature available at the museum there are 525 glass panels. It really is awesome. And the display that it contains is awesome also. A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is suspended…Read More

The atrium of the museum is a magnificent structure. According to the literature available at the museum there are 525 glass panels. It really is awesome. And the display that it contains is awesome also. A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is suspended in the center of the atrium. It can be viewed from a catwalk that runs around the atrium.

There is a lot of glass in the main section of the museum. Just off the atrium you can see a large conference room/theater.Close

When I first visited SAC museum, it was located in Bellevue, Nebraska, not too far distant from Offut Airforce Base. The planes were at that time displayed outside on a paved surface. Though it was fun to wander around and examine the planes,…Read More

When I first visited SAC museum, it was located in Bellevue, Nebraska, not too far distant from Offut Airforce Base. The planes were at that time displayed outside on a paved surface. Though it was fun to wander around and examine the planes, there seemed not to be much design in their arrangement. There was also one building with airforce related displays at that time.

On occasion, airshows were held at the museum during it's tenure in Bellevue. These usually drew large crowds.Close

Second to the Lied Jungle I enjoyed visiting Primate Valley. Henry Doorly has a wonderful outdoor sloping enclosure for their gorillas. There is also an indoor viewing area for the primates. Their orangutans were always indoors when I visited and I'm not…Read More

Second to the Lied Jungle I enjoyed visiting Primate Valley. Henry Doorly has a wonderful outdoor sloping enclosure for their gorillas. There is also an indoor viewing area for the primates.

Their orangutans were always indoors when I visited and I'm not sure if they have outside facilities for these beautiful creatures. As much as I admire Henry Doorly Zoo, there is more they could do for their orangutans.

The orangs were always more shy than the gorillas. I could stand for hours by the gorilla fence watching for the big silverback to run across the compound beating his chest. What a thrilling sight.

As Henry Doorly is always updaing and improving its exhibits, much of this may have changed since the last time I visited, which was in 1998.

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Just off the road leading to Schramm Park is the Platte River. We often would stop beside the river, climb down the bank and sit among the exposed tree roots. My husband loves sitting by the water, while I love to explore and…Read More

Just off the road leading to Schramm Park is the Platte River. We often would stop beside the river, climb down the bank and sit among the exposed tree roots.

My husband loves sitting by the water, while I love to explore and so both of our whims are satisfied when we visit Schramm. I collect shells for making jewelry and there is an abundance of small snail-type shells beside the river at this point.Close

This aquarium is rather small as aquariums go, but well worth a visit. The fish featured are those mainly found in the Platte and Missouri Rivers, which both flow nearby. Besides fish, the aquarium also serves as a museum for wildlife and area photos.…Read More

This aquarium is rather small as aquariums go, but well worth a visit. The fish featured are those mainly found in the Platte and Missouri Rivers, which both flow nearby.

Besides fish, the aquarium also serves as a museum for wildlife and area photos. One of the rooms contained taxidermied birds, fish, and other wildlife.

Depending on the time spent lingering at each exhibit, a trip through the aquarium usually ranges from one to two hours.Close

When I was a little boy I would go home after school and do one of two things. I would either watch ESPN or WGN. I would watch WGN if the Cubs game was on and otherwise I would watch whatever ESPN had to offer.…Read More

When I was a little boy I would go home after school and do one of two things. I would either watch ESPN or WGN. I would watch WGN if the Cubs game was on and otherwise I would watch whatever ESPN had to offer. For a couple week span each year when school was out ESPN would show my favorite thing, The College World Series. They would show Rosenblatt Stadium at the start of the broadcast and would often say, “The Road to Omaha ends here.” Eight teams who were the best in college baseball would battle each other until only one team remained.

I was the minority, because college baseball is not a popular sport by any means and it was lucky to get that little bit of air time during the summer. I would watch games all day and night long and back then dream of playing in the CWS one year. Well as time went along it became more of a dream to go to the CWS and not to play in it. I would often have friends say this year we are going and we never would. Then I got married and had a son and thought it would be many years down the line when my son was older that I actually got to go. Well last year a friend brought it up again, but this time I said, “we are going.” At that point there was no looking back and I was on my own “Road to Omaha.” Let’s just say it was a road I hope to repeat many times in my life. Baseball does not get any better than this.Close