bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

One day in Omaha, NE–Big Trip #2

We were in Omaha in October 2018 as part of Big Trip #2.

Two feet in Nebraska and two feet in Iowa

We were in Kansas City, headed for Denver, so it seemed the logical next stop was Omaha. Neither of us knew much about the city, other than the College World Series is held there (because we come from a school that won the College World Series in 2015). It seemed to us to be a clean, pretty, not terribly exciting city and we enjoyed our day in Omaha. But we were okay with only having one day to spend there.

Campground

Omaha KOA

We stayed at what seemed to be the closest campground to downtown Omaha, the KOA West Omaha in Gretna. It was a long drive into downtown (like 25 minutes), so long that we scuttled our plans to go back into town for dinner after a day of exploring and instead picked up carryout to eat at home.

Food

picnic in Iowa

After dropping the Airstream at the distant KOA, we zoomed into Omaha and grabbed lunch to take on a little picnic. Block 16 specializes in local, seasonal food, including the Croque Garçon that is Alton Brown’s all-time favorite burger. J got that burger, of course, and agreed that it’s phenomenal. My salmon and veggie wrap was delicious too, and the sweet potato fries were top-notch.

For dinner, we planned to come back into Omaha, but after a long day we didn’t want to do the loooong Uber back in. Had we returned, our first choice for dinner was The Grey Plume, a highly-rated locavore and eco-friendly restaurant. They were all booked up, so we had a reservation at The Boiler Room, another impressive farm-to-table place with craft cocktails. Alas, instead, we got carryout from a very average sushi place in the suburbs on the way home.

Beer

Bugsy on the patio at Kros Strain
Vis Major brewery

J did a ton of beer research, as he does. We had one at Vis Major (I liked the mango passion fruit mint gose) and the beertender recommended Kros Strain Brewing, so that’s where we went next. Their IPA was really tasty, and the patio is dog-friendly. Bugsy the recluse even made a friend there!

Exploring Omaha

Bob the bridge

My favorite thing about Omaha is Bob! Bob is a 3000 ft work of art masquerading as a pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River, connecting Omaha to Council Bluffs, Iowa. We took our Block 16 sandwiches across to Iowa and picnicked in the park overlooking downtown Omaha. Delightful!

downtown Omaha
Old Market Omaha

Near Bob on the Omaha side is a gorgeous dancing fountain in the Heartland of America Park, from which we started a stroll along the lagoon in the Gene Leahy Pedestrian Mall, snaking between downtown buildings up to the Old Market district. We vaguely followed this walking tour around the neat Old Market cobblestoned area. If you’re roaming the Old Market with your dog and need coffee, Scooter Coffee welcomes dogs inside the cafe.

Comments

6 responses to “One day in Omaha, NE–Big Trip #2”

  1. elizabeth sheeran Avatar
    elizabeth sheeran

    Where is the beautiful fountain you described?

    1. bugsy Avatar

      My phone camera was busted so the pictures I took of the fountain were sad! Trust me, it was lovely 😀

  2. Cheenius Avatar
    Cheenius

    Umm . . . I’m going to need photographic proof that Bugsy made a “friend.”

    1. bugsy Avatar

      😀 I didn’t get a picture, but look at her and her new friend Trey at the dog park in the Denver post!

  3. […] Omaha to Denver is a long haul, and we wanted to get to Denver early in the day to avoid Friday afternoon traffic, so we needed an overnight stop. In the interest of getting Bugsy a new state (me too, actually!), I googled for interesting things in northwest Kansas. That’s how we ended up in tiny St Francis for a night. […]

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