Omaha Recruiting Trip

Ernie had to go to Omaha to watch a goal keeper that has decided to come to UW, so we all packed up into the rental mini van and departed. I had just seen on Good Morning America that Demoine, Iowa had a BBQ place that was rated very well. It also was named Woody's, so we decided to stop for lunch on our way. My phone has GPS, so we located it and it was only about 10 minutes off of the highway. It is basically on Drake's campus, which was new to me. It was VERY GOOD if you are ever in Iowa and looking for some good BBQ. It really is the size of a shack, but it was delicious! It ranks in my top two after living in Birmingham. Woody had a good time, even though he didn't eat any of the BBQ. He enjoyed the corn bread, and Samantha ate some of the sides. Here he is just being happy.

Samantha had to get up on the bike, and Woody was not quite sure what was happening.

We will stop there again on a road trip, because I am sure we will be visiting Iowa more than I had ever imagined.

Ernie went and watched the recruit when we arrived, and then we were leaving the next morning. We decided to go to the Omaha Zoo in the morning before our drive home. Samantha and Woody were very excited!

Samantha enjoyed seeing how her hand print matched the different animals. She fit in the tiger mold at the moment, which could say a lot about her personality.

The Zoo was very cool, and we would go back there again if we are in Omaha. They had a lot if Indoor Exhibits that were very interesting. This is the Rain Forest Exhibit, and it felt like we were really there. Ernie and Samantha walked across the suspension bridge which was by a water fall.

Here Samantha is walking through the roots of a tree. There was a little path that went around the middle of them.

We are now in the aquarium, which I enjoyed a lot. She is right between the size of an Emperor and King Penguin.

Woody enjoyed it all in his stroller. He liked watching the fish swim around the tanks.

Samantha gave the octopus statue a great big kiss! Maybe she will be a sushi fan when she gets older.

You never can get them both to look at the camera, and this time neither one of them would cooperate. The Butterfly Exhibit was the next area to conquer.

Samantha had a visitor on her head, and was not sure if she liked it. It was neat to see all of the butterflies, and they landed wherever they wanted.

Now she is a Hippo, and her mouth can be as big as one at times.

Ernie and Samantha rode the Sky lift that goes from one end of the Zoo to the other. Woody was too small, so I ran below with the stroller. I want to ride it next time! They are up there if you look closely.

This is the Desert Dome, another indoor exhibit which was rather neat. They had outdoor animals, but I figured most of you had been to those.

This was towards the end of our visit, and it was a little hot in there. I have never been to a desert, but it sure made me think we were there.

It was a great trip and we highly recommend it to all ages!

It shares it's parking lot with where they play the College World Series. Ernie enjoyed seeing this, since he was a baseball player before he played soccer.