Monday, June 9, 2014

The Lincoln Log

We spent our first Friday of summer traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska so we could attend my cousin's wedding. I spend three years attending college in Nebraska, so it felt like a bit of a homecoming when I spotted a Runza. I know, "Runza" sounds like a bad time in the bathroom, but it's restaurant chain that is fairly exclusive to Nebraska. I had to pull over and grab a sandwich.


I ordered a Cheese Runza sandwich. According to wikipedia, this sandwich "...is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings... In Nebraska, the runza is usually baked in a rectangular shape." I also ordered "Frings!" which is a combination of fries and onion rings. Char got the chicken strips.



Let's peek inside after a couple of bites.


The taste of a Runza was hard to explain to Daphne, but after eating one, she had to agree that they were pretty darn good. Great stop.

Up next was our hotel.


Before we had Charlotte, Daphne and I spent a few weekends visiting different Bed and Breakfast establishments in Iowa. The very first B and B that we stayed in had a Mexican restaurant just a few blocks from the house, and we had a really fun dinner there. So, that became a bit of an in-joke for us. If the B and B had a Mexican restaurant nearby, then we knew we'd have a good time.

Look what was on the other side of our hotel's parking lot.


And to make things even better:


Yep, we knew Daphne had picked the right hotel. And yes, our dinner at la Paz (peace) was great. But before dinner, we stopped at a Goodwill so I could poke around. I bought the first thing I saw, an old Craftsman tap and die set. I have a vintage, metric set that I use on my VW Bug, but it cost a lot more than $19.99. This was a good deal. I'll take an old, American made tool over a new Chinese produced tool any day and everyday. There's no comparison between the two.


The other item I picked up was half of an old desk. The previous owner had painted it brown in some spots, and had fastened a poorly cut piece of plexiglass to the top with screws, but I thought it could make a cool side table if I cleaned it up Might as well take a chance for $9.99. Here's a picture of it in the parking lot. We'll see how it comes out.


I also picked up a vintage Bears t-shirt. I'm guessing this is from the 80's.


The goal on Saturday was to tire Char out as much as possible so we had the best shot of her taking a needed nap before the 4 o'clock wedding. We spend over an hour in the pool, and then we headed to Lincoln's Children Museum. The museum has three levels of activities to explore, and Char had a blast.

Char got to try being a cheerleader and a football player in the Husker activity section. Although it hurt a little to dress her up in Nebraska Red (go Hawks!), she looked pretty cute.



When Char's ready to put on a show for you, she wants a big introduction. That's my fault... we spent a long winter indoors...


Then Char flew a plane.



She spent some time in space.


And some time as a kitty.


She let Mom paint a star and a heart (on the other cheek) on her face.


And then took mom out for a ride.


Char got dressed up in the Johnny Carson Theater to delivered the weather report and to perform a song.



We got back to the hotel room around one, and Char was out. Success!

after the wedding, we headed over to the reception, where it took over an hour for the wedding party to arrive. Char couldn't help herself, and she had to hit the deserted dance floor.



Within ten minutes, ten other kids dragged their parents out to dance, too. Quite a trend setter, that Charlotte.

I think I'll end this post with a few pictures Char took of our hotel room.




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