A QUICK TRIP TO NEBRASKA: THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING & OMAHA’S OLD MARKET

I recently traveled on business for the first time. The destination was Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a short trip, only a total of about two days, so I didn’t have much downtime. But since I’d never been there before, I tried to see as much of the state as I could.

Lincoln is the capitol city of Nebraska. From what I observed, it’s mostly suburban with some nice and quiet neighborhoods. The first and most impressive landmark I saw while driving was Memorial Stadium.

This stadium is home to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Huskers and is nicknamed “The Sea of Red.” It can hold over 90,000 Nebraska football fans and looks like a monument or museum, from the outside. It’s huge! I learned that since there are no professional sports teams in Nebraska, this college football team is treated as such by most people. If I ever find myself back in Nebraska during football season, I’d definitely like to experience what their game day is like.

photo credit: NEBCO

The second landmark I visited was the Nebraska State Capitol. Although it has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, it is still a working building where the three branches of state government and their immediate support staff report to work everyday. Due to my schedule, I created my own self-guided tour, which really meant I explored the halls until I found some pretty amazing mosaics and paintings on the second floor.

It turns out, I found the Foyer, which according to the building’s official website, is themed “Life of Man.” “The three medallions in the ceiling represent ‘Traditions of the Past,’ ‘Life of the Present’ and ‘Ideas of the Future.'” The artistry in the foyer was truly awe-inspiring. What made the experience even nicer was that since I was in the building so early, I was practically alone.

The other area of Nebraska that I visited was Omaha. Being the girlfriend of a diehard Peyton Manning fan, I had to, just for the sake of it.

The Super Bowl MVP shouted “Omaha” at the line of scrimmage quite frequently, especially during the 2014 playoffs. It didn’t take long for it to become his signature. Since retiring, he’s explained that it was a trigger word to alert his team he changed the play and the ball needed to be snapped. While there were no initial ties to the Nebraskan city, Manning told the BroncosWire that he’s become a “big deal” in Omaha, and even received a key to the city.

photo credit: FOX NFL

Omaha is the largest city of Nebraska and has a mix of urban and suburban areas. I ate dinner at the Twisted Fork in the Old Market Historic District, also known as Omaha’s Art and Entertainment District. It was dark and quiet when I was there (after all, it was a Tuesday night), but I did get the opportunity to look through some local shops.