Hello Readers,

As you may recall, the last time I posted to this blog I was feeling like my Oregon travels were cursed. So I was looking forward to breaking the curse and enjoying life a bit during my trip to Nebraska to see my family. Did I succeed!? Well…I’ll leave that up to you to decide, although I must say the trip was a pleasant break from the 115 degree temperatures and wildfires gripping my hometown in Northern California. Even with the insanity that Nebraska threw my way…

Last Thursday I flew into Omaha, and after a long day of travel (airports are packed this year), my family picked me up and took me to dinner at Brother Sebastian’s Steakhouse. My Uncle Dan also made a cameo appearance because he was in town taking care of my grandma (she is still recovering from her fall last April). It’s always good to see him, and my next post to the blog will probably be during my next visit to him and my aunt in San Luis Obispo in a month or so. Anyways, this restaurant has really good (heck, even amazing) food, and I really like the restaurant’s interior design, but the restaurant is also the weirdest place on Earth in that it has this over-the-top and unabashed monastery theme. There are literally Gregorian chants being played over loudspeakers, and waiters and waitresses dressed as monks at the place. It. Is. So. Bizarre. Here, check out these random photos of the restaurant if you do not believe me:

Following a filling steak meal and the first restful night of sleep that I have had in forever, it was Friday, and there were really only two things on the agenda: (1) go boating on the Missouri River; and (2) go have margaritas and Mexican food at this place called Roja’s in West Omaha. My family and I accomplished both objectives during the extremely humid day, although the boat sadly suffered vapor lock and couldn’t start for a while, leaving us stranded on the Missouri River (it eventually started..). I got to bond with my sister’s dog Riku, though, and he’s pretty cool. Anyways, here are some photos from the boating adventure (doesn’t that muddy Missouri River water look inviting? That’s right, my family swims in that for fun):

Then night came. The curse returned in full (I am sorry Omaha people. Yes, you may blame the travel curse over my head for the terrifying events that transpired), and Omaha at random and out of the blue suffered its worst storm in recent history, which included wind at up to 100 mph, rain, and lightning! Power was out for days. Tree limbs and fences were down everywhere. People did not know what to do! And I (maybe kind of cruelly)…really didn’t think it was all that bad. Like…at all. I mean, I’ve watched entire towns around me get burned to the ground and decimated over the past few years. I have witnessed literally thousands upon thousands of people losing their homes and being displaced in California. I have gone without electricity for weeks on end in hot, windy weather. The wildfire smoke I have had to breathe over the past few years has probably subtracted decades from my life. So this? This was nothing!

Anyways, here are some photos of the chaos from the next day, together with Riku assessing the damage (and boy were Nebraskans complaining about this storm and its damage for pretty much the rest of my trip):

So because of the storms, we were playing catchup on Sunday and had to fit in getting out to the country to see my dad’s horse, and touring a bunch of Nebraska wineries. Yes, Nebraska has its own wineries which are quite beautiful and worth a visit, but I’m not sure you can call what they make ‘wine’ if I am being honest. I mean, if I am being really honest what they make can be described as “bracing” and “terrible.” But the day made for good photos:

Finally, on my last day in Nebraska, I told my parents that I did not care what we did for the day, so long as it wasn’t a Stations of the Cross. So, what did my parents decide to do? They took me to a Stations of the Cross at the Cloisters on the Platte. The Stations were not my favorite (really wasn’t in the mood for it), but the scenery and place were freaking amazing. It was clearly financed by some very deep pockets and is literally on my top 10 list of excellent architecture, grounds, art, etc. Here’s the weird thing: you’re not allowed to photograph the site, so I don’t have any photos of my own to share. However the chapel we went to AFTER the stations did allow for photos and was also quite stunning. Here are some photos from that visit (as well as some cows that we saw):

Finally, we finished the day at a nice wine shop (which I’m wondering if my hometown of Red Bluff needs a wine shop like this in its town…maybe I should open one) and at a pretty good Italian restaurant:

Which brings me to today and my trip home. Pretty uneventful trip…but for the fact that my flight was an early one and the stupid scanner at the airport said that I had metal on my person (I didn’t), which triggered a very personal search of my person; and when I got back to town I realized just how hot, dry, and smoky it is here in Northern California right now. Could be a rough month-or-two before the next getaway… But what do you think? Was it a good vacation, or a bad vacation? At this point, I’m not really sure I care so long as it’s a break from the routine.

Cheers,

-Rob