To Lincoln, Nebraska

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All things considered, I think we both slept well last night. It helped that we each had our own double bed. Clay was up before 7 am though so we got an early start. Hot breakfast was waffles, scrambled eggs and link sausages. We both had a waffle again. They are irresistible. We were on the road north by 8:30 am.

We had a repeat of landscapes with an increase in the number of trees. It was cooler but only because it was morning while we drove. (By the time we out for dinner after 5:30 pm, it was 102!) About 9:30am we crossed the state line into Nebraska and left Kansas behind.

We reached Lincoln about 11:30am and saw their 2nd tallest US state capitol building in the distance. We had lunch at Runza. We ate Runzas. They are a local tradition of ground beef, cabbage, onions and spices wrapped in a long flat roll. I got cheese on mine and I liked it.

Our objective today was a guided tour of the Nebraska state capitol building and we were shooting for the one at 1pm. Mission accomplished but we shared it with a class of 30 6 & 7 year olds! They were very quiet and patient. We learned there is a reason the building looked to us like either the LA public library or LA's Baton Rouge capitol. All 3 had the same design team. We learned the state fossil is the woolly mammoth. We learned when the settlers arrived in Nebraska there no trees at all. Everything we see now was planted after the settlers arrived. Nebraska invented Arbor Day. We learned that NE has America's only unicameral legislature and the 50 members are called Senators. They serve 4 year terms with half being elected every 2 years. The building was built when they were still bicameral. Now they only use the house side for special big events. There is a 14th floor observation deck but it was closed as they are doing renovation work this summer. It was a big, beautiful building.

We are staying tonight in our 3rd most expensive room ($81) so far at the Comfort Suites.  As you might guess from the name, it is our largest room of the trip so far. Well, I've just looked ahead since tomorrow is our last night on this trip and the Omaha Airport Sleep Inn is $92. So that will be our most expensive night of the trip.

Dinner tonight must be Clay's concession to me. Thursday night, pizza. We're going to Yia Yia's. Hopefully, we'll save room for dessert. Clay found ice cream at the UNL Dairy Store. Clay had sweet corn ice cream! I didn't taste corn, he said he did. I had butter brickle because it looked like hokey pokey but it tasted like vanilla with English toffee bits.

Photos