Denver Photos and Omaha!

 As promised, here are some pretty pictures of Colorado:

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Exercise Room/Ampitheater

pretttyyy

Red Rocks!

ice cream and jazz!

And one funny video of Cat playing a bar game:

As we drove east towards the Prairies, the Rockies in our rear view mirror, we got a little forlorn. This was the first time out West for both of us (California excepted), and we really, really liked it. Everywhere we went, even Mars/Nevada and hickville Idaho, was something new and exciting. Denver rounded the bend, back towards home and all the changes that are about to happen.

One last new city before a brief pit stop in Ann Arbor: Omaha, Nebraska.

Now, neither of us had high hopes for the city- after all, this is where The Jungle takes place. Maybe it was our low standards,  or perhaps it was the 7 hours of mind-melting boredom that is western Nebraska, but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised.

A city of more than 400,000, Omaha is the headquarters of five huge companies- including Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet's mega-conglomerate. It's also got what perennially ranks as the country's best zoo (go figure...) The downtown, where we stayed, is a 6-8 block area full of great restaurants, bars, parks, coffee houses, shops, and converted warehouse lofts right along the Missouri river. We had our first experience with Air BnB, a service that allows you to rent a room (or an entire apartment if the owners are traveling) as if it's a hotel. Our hosts were quiet, Midwestern thirty-somethings with an INCREDIBLE apartment right in the Old Market. And since it's Omaha, this piece of heaven is in our price range, should we ever find ourselves settling in Nebraska. Air BnB is usually cheaper than a similarly-appointed hotel and you can actually stay in the parts of town where people live. Anyone want our place during Michigan home games??

We had an amazing evening taking in beer tastings, Thai food, and $2 margaritas.

Ohhhhhhmaha.

I know we were there for less than 24 hours, but Omaha- you're alright.

A 10.5 hour drive separates us from Ann Arbor, but we're not letting real life catch up to us yet. We still have Paige's wedding in Pittsburgh (another place we've never been) before the road trip is officially complete. Bring. it. on.