Saturday in Omaha, Part 1

My Saturday in Omaha, which was now over a week ago but still doesn't seem like it, was of 2 parts. There was the day part and then there was the evening part. We'll start with the day part.

Have I mentioned that I slept like a baby in Omaha? That's important because it's been so frakking long since I slept through the night and there I was, in a bed not my own, in a place not my own, in a time zone not my own and I. Slept. Like. A. Baby. Every demmed night. It was awe.some.

We hadn't stayed up quite as late on Friday night so I believe we got up a little earlier in the morning. We took our time, drinking coffee and giggling and listening to music. I forgot to mention that we had a soundtrack for the weekend, a play list JP put together just pour moi, a list comprised of some 200 songs that he either knew I liked or knew I would like. Girls, this is the sort of thoughtfulness you look for in a man. And if it turns out he's gay, well, you keep him anyway...for those weekends when you need to get away. Trust me.

So we had our morning and then we went out because I had to get presents for everyone. Snob that I am, I joked to the home folks that I'd bring them back "something made of steak". Ha ha, very funny. 'Cept my big slap-o-the-side-o-the-head was that Omaha is, in fact, the ONLY city I've ever been in which actually doesn't do much in the way of tourism. Oh, I'm sure they'd like to..."come see our fantastic zoo!"...."wrestle wild animals in front of the Mutual of Omaha building while I stand here and talk about it"...."eat a steak!"....but it hit me, out there on the lovely streets of the Old Market, that the paucity of key rings made of steak owes to the fact that Omaha is the only major city I've ever been to that seems to exist only for the people who actually live there and not the tourists who may come to visit. That's a unique thing. They could market that.

'K. So we're shopping and I'm not buying things made of steak and it is, btw, absolutely gorgeous out. Like, 70 degrees. And how crazy is that, I'm thinking, that I had to go to Omaha to get anything remotely resembling spring?

We walked around and I took lots of pictures and then we hooked up with his mom and dad for a little lunch.

JP's folks are terrific. Mom Judy is a bubbly, talkative hugger. Dad Skip...well, let's just say that now I know the origins of JP's smartassery. They were delightful, telling us about their recent trip to Hawaii and admiring phone photos of my family. We went out for steak and it was quite delicious and beefy, although Skip kept telling me that he woulda done it better so next time he's grilling.

It was a big steak. I took half of it home. The brew pub in which the steak was got had playing cards stuck to the ceiling. That amused me.After a fine lunch, and the last of my souvenir purchases, we sauntered back to the apartment to look at video of the 'rents riding zip lines through lush Hawaiian valleys and then went up to the roof to chat in the sunshine.

Iowa, it turns out, is very close to the Omaha part of Nebraska. That's it in the background.But we didn't go there because I needed a nap and JP needed to go to the store, both in preparation for the evening part of our Saturday.