Omaha, A Wild Kingdom

Like Pioneers conquering the wild frontier, exploring Omaha the last few days has been quite the experience.  Friday was the first day without anything on the schedule, so we took a little road trip.  Our first destination was the Holy Family Shrine located in the middle of cornfields, literally!  The chapel structure was made of wood and steel with walls of glass.  Although these are simplistic materials, they were constructed together in a very modern design.  Walking into the chapel just made me relax and smile.  No matter what direction I turned, the beauty of land emanated back through the chapel walls.  The chapel purposely does not have a congregation because it is meant to be used by all, especially those traveling to reflect, be inspired, and find comfort. It does on occasion host baptisms, weddings, and other special services.

Later Friday, we walked to Iowa and back!  Perhaps I am not sharing the full story here, but we did walk to Iowa.  There is a walking suspension bridge, that we drove to, the allows individuals to walk across the two states.  It is suspended over the Missouri river, which is the actual boundary line.  I was expecting border patrol or a huge sign welcoming us to Iowa, but alas, there was simply a line to jump over.

       
On Saturday, we were back on schedule with a rather important trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo.  It is know world wide, and offers so much to do that it can't truly be done in one day.  We traversed the park starting with the Desert Dome, not a favorite of mine, due to the amount of snakes, but still a great place to start.  Leaving the desert, we walked into the Monkey House, where a gorilla ran full force into the window at us, simply for it's enjoyment seeing us flinch.  It worked we flinched.  Out of the jungle, and into an INDOOR swamp, where crocs and gators reside.  On to more exhibits, we saw lions, tigers, and bears, not in that order, but I couldn't help but use that line.  We rested for a bit of lunch, we headed off next to the aquarium to see the feeding of the sharks.  We finally ended our Zoo trip with sea lion training.  I also made friends with a goat, but the relationship didn't last very long after he began eating my shirt, how forward!

The city is pretty easy to maneuver, so each destination has been easy to get to, but the definition of close in Omaha, is a completely different story.  Unfortunately, walking and public transportation are not the best in this city, therefore we have to drive everywhere.  For me close used to mean five to ten minutes away, here close is more like 20 minutes away.  It is simply an observation, no judgement, but unlike the pioneers, I have a car.  So after a long day's trek, I can still feel my feet.