As we entered our final full day in Omaha, we decided to use our morning and early afternoon to visit Lincoln, Nebraska's capital city and home to the Cornhuskers.
Located about an hour west of Omaha, Lincoln was interesting with an antique mall to peruse and I had looked up a few interesting places to consider eating.
On the drive, I saw the Platte Valley Antique Mall which I hadn't seen while researching and since it was literally off the interstate, we decided to stop.
I was glad I did as I found a few programs (Omaha Royals and a Nebraska-Oklahoma 1980 football) and saw a cool old pinball machine that I would have loved to have purchased!
Manufactured in 1951, Hayburners used a horse racing motif and not only was it working, but it was recently cleaned and looked almost new!
It's the exact style of machine that I love with the old numbers that move plates as you score and a basic few bumpers system but reading the reviews of the game, it looks better than it would play and it was for the best that I didn't purchase (Like I was writing a three thousand dollar check and figuring out how to get it to Maryland anyway!).
The next stop was on the outskirts of Lincoln and the main reason for the drive was the Aardvark Antique Mall.
Aardvark was large and had a large supply of items but I managed to hold off the impulse to buy Pulsar the Ultimate Man of Adventure (I had him as a kid and hadn't thought of him in years but this was the first of three times I would see Pulsar this summer) and escaped without spending anything!
We continued into Lincoln for a visit to Leadbelly's.
Located in the Haymarket district near Memorial Stadium, home of the Cornhuskers, there were several places to choose from to eat and a few shops as well, one of which Cherie stopped by to purchase a few items for herself and others.
Leadbelly's had a 1930s-style speakeasy feel to it and it wasn't overly busy for a weekday lunchtime visit, which added to our enjoyment as we could talk and not have to shout over others.
We decided to have a little bit of a few things as we split a bacon cheeseburger, and ordered two appetizers to share- some delicious orange chicken poppers and some stadium nachos.
Everything was great and we certainly enjoyed our time at Leadbelly's.
After driving back to our hotel for a little downtime, it was time for the hardest part of the trip.
We met Ryan and his family at the Greek Islands, a favorite of theirs and a place that plays to the theatrical as they do things like lighting a hot plate in front of you as part of the show.
I really wasn't that hungry after Leadbelly's so I ordered a sandwich and that was all that I ate.
It was good but I wasn't up for eating too much.
After our goodbyes, which was far harder than I expected, it was quiet in the vehicle.
Surprisingly, I was thinking of my parents and events of over thirty years before.
You see, anyone who knows me well knows that I always wanted to return to raise my family in Ohio and for various reasons, that never was able to happen.
My parents never wanted us to leave and while that was understandable, I felt that they could have been more supportive, and had they done so, I might have been able to pull the move off.
Yet years later, while I'm preparing to say goodbye to my son ( and Nebraska is much farther away than Ohio for the geographically challenged), I found myself thinking of those times and perhaps empathizing a bit with their plight.
After all, they didn't want to lose their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson (most of this was before Rachel was born) either, and maybe they thought they were doing the right thing.
That's what I was thinking and I'm still torn but in the end, I don't think ( not that I could) I'd try to stand in anyone's way or guilt trip them before or after the decision.
In the end, I think everyone would like to have their family close by but life takes all of us in different directions and while I miss my son ( and my new family), I don't think it would be fair to put my wishes above what is best for either of my children.
All of that said, it's not easy leaving them behind and I'm not sure that it ever will be easy nor should it be.
If it was easy, I'd wonder how much one would really care.
We finish up the series next time with the drive home and the stops on the way!
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