Nebraska: Capitol, History Museum, SAC, the Durham, and More

Fortunately, the random midwestern storms didn't affect us much for the rest of our Nebraska trip. We had beautiful blue skies for our day in Lincoln. We started our day (bright and early) at the Capitol, which is the second tallest among the 50 states. 

We took an excellent guided tour, then went to the observation deck on the 14th floor (the highest level open to the public). The views were spectacular. 

  

The inside was gorgeous, too. And interesting. Did you know that Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral legislature?

  

Our next destination was the Nebraska History Museum. It was interesting and we learned a lot about Nebraska. Trevor enjoyed the hands-on activities.

    

I had to take a photo of this "Hazardous Weather Conditions" sign. You don't see this in California. As it turns out, there was a tornado just south of Omaha a few hours after we flew home. Suffice it to say, that is one Nebraska experience I am VERY glad to have missed. 

We had lunch at C. Berry's. It was outstanding. 

We were delighted to learn that Lincoln has a public art display going on right now called Nebraska By Heart, celebrating 150 years of statehood. You may remember how much we enjoyed our local Vacaville Jacks. Lincoln's hearts will be on display until October 6. 

   

Our next stop was at Lincoln's Sunken Gardens. It's a small (1.5 acre) public park and simply beautiful.

  

As we headed back toward Omaha, we stopped at Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum. This was something Steve REALLY wanted to do and not necessarily something Trevor or I would have chosen, but it turned out to be pretty awesome.

  

They had an outstanding exploration area that was a lot of fun.

  

Our final destination for the day was the Durham Museum, located in Omaha's Union Station. The building is absolutely gorgeous and a great example of Art Deco. The lobby has statues with sound effects that bring you right back to the heyday of train travel. There's a soda fountain too. Yum!

     

The permanent exhibits were great, but the 'Top Secret: License to Spy' temporary exhibit was incredible. Check it out:

We were completely exhausted at the end of the day, but with so many amazing places to visit in Nebraska, how could we do anything but go, go, go?! I know that Nebraska is not on most people's radar as a vacation spot, but I can't emphasize enough how great it was. The Omaha area is packed with wonderful, family-friendly museums and more. Tomorrow I'll tell you about their most popular destination.