Onto Nebraska and Kansas

This morning we woke up to rain. It was a steady rain and we weren't looking forward to driving in that weather but we needed to head out and get closer to home. So we left Sioux Falls and took I29 south which took us into Iowa as we followed the Missouri River along the Nebraska border. We eventually left I29 and made our way into Omaha. It rained the entire drive and at times it was a torrential downpour. But not long after arriving in Omaha the rain stopped and the sky cleared a little.

So we decided to take a break from driving and stretch our legs. And what better way to do that than by letterboxing. We made our way to Forest Lawn Cemetery to look for two boxes. It took some searching but we eventually found both boxes - Birds of a Feather Omaha by Yaateeh and The Three Fates by rvr112. The cemetery was really beautiful and we enjoyed the peacefulness of the place. Once we had found both boxes and then gotten them back in place it was time to continue on.

From Omaha we were headed southwest on I80 to Lincoln to visit the Capitol But before we got to Lincoln we made a couple of stops. Both were in Gretna. The first was at Holy Family Shrine. We took the exit and followed the GPS and ended up at a road closed sign. We had to detour about 3 miles to get to the shrine. When we arrived I first looked for a letterbox - Holy Family by The Queen and Me. This was an easy find and when I was done stamping in and the box was back in place we went to see the shrine. We walked through a Visitor Center and read a little about the shrine and then we walked over to the actual shrine and looked around. I took a few pictures, we admired the view and then it was time for us to leave and continue on our drive. So we made our way back to I80 and then stopped just a few miles down the road at a rest area. Here we looked for and found NEed to Stop in NE by wandaandpete. After stamping in and resting for a bit we continued on to Lincoln.

In Lincoln we headed directly to the Capitol and found a place to park. We walked around the outside of the building and took some pictures. The tour office was closed for lunch, so we just started walking around. There was no security area. Down the hall we ran into a security guard and he sent us down to the basement where we found an information desk. Here we got a self guided tour brochure and then I went into the gift shop for a couple of postcards. And while there we asked the woman for a recommendation for lunch. Then we headed back up and started exploring the building. We saw the Legislature Chamber (West Chamber), the Governors Office, the Rotunda, the Supreme Court and the Memorial Chamber (which is on the 14th floor) along with the observation deck. The deck gave us great views of Lincoln. When we finished our tour we went back down to the tour office to see if they were there (even though it wasn't 1:00pm yet) and thankfully they were there and I could get my Capitol Collection stamp. So after that we left the Capitol and went for lunch. The woman in the gift shop recommended a place called Billy's just around the corner from where we were at. The food was really good. I had shrimp and sausage jambalaya on pasta (which was the special for the day) and Thomas had a tuna salad. And for dessert we shared a cheesecake (it was a regular cheesecake with a layer of sweet potato puree and whip cream) - it was so delicious. When we finished lunch we headed to our next destination.

Not far from Lincoln (in Beatrice) we made our way to Homestead National Monument of America. We went to the Visitor Center and I got my cancellation stamps and while I was doing that Thomas looked up his grandparents. Our property and home are part of a homestead act that his grandparents had gotten when they were first married. After that we watched a short film and the explored the museum. Then we did a little walking around the outside and checked out a typical cabin that most people would have lived in. This was an interesting place and time in our history. But it was time to move on. We needed to get to Topeka for the night and the drive was about three hours. But we decided to look for a letterbox. The clue said US136 and 10th St. - no cemetery there. But I had done a little research and I found a cemetery at US136 and 33rd St. - Evergreen Cemetery. So we followed the rest of the clues and since they were making sense we figured we were in the right place. And I found the box - yeah!!! I stamped in to Life Twists Us Together by S and D quickly and replaced the box so we could get back on the road.

The drive to Topeka was pretty uneventful and I was thankful that there was no rain. We did stop for a quick bite to eat along the way but we didn't stop for long. Also, as we were driving into Nebraska my oil life alert came on saying my that it was at 0% and need to be changed asap. So I searched for a GMC dealership in Topeka and called them. They said I could bring the car in at 10:00am tomorrow. I am glad I got that appointment. We still have a couple of days of driving and I don't want to take any chances. So, tomorrow part of our day will be sitting and waiting. Anyway, it was around 7:00pm when we arrived at the hotel. After showers and getting settled I am working of a plan for tomorrow.