A Weekend in Omaha

If you’re looking for a great family-friendly place to go for a long weekend or break, Omaha is definitely a place to highly consider! Before I went to college here, I was one of those people who thought Omaha was just a city in the middle of cornfields. While there are a lot of cornfields in Nebraska, Omaha truly is a gem of a spot and offers something for everyone there. Only a mere six hours from the Twin Cities, it is a fairly simple drive with limited traffic.

For this trip, we drove down on a Thursday afternoon and got into Omaha around 5:45 pm. That night for dinner, we headed to Zio’s Pizzeria. They have great pizza and it has provided a mid-way spot for all family members to meet. There are several locations of Zio’s throughout Omaha and we have frequented most of them. If you like pizza, this is a great spot! After dinner, we headed to a friend’s house, where we were staying this trip.

On Friday morning, we headed to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. I wrote an entire blog about just the zoo, as it truly does make the trip! People often visit Omaha just for the zoo, and that is a completely valid thing to do. There is plenty to keep your family busy at the zoo for at least one full day, if not two days. We do always try to get to the zoo right around opening, as it does get busy. This allows you to get past that rush of people and not get stuck in as many of the crowds. Despite what the forecast said, this particular day had many downpours of rain. Yet, all of the kids and adults still enjoyed themselves and there is plenty to do, both inside and outside at this zoo. As noted in my other blog, don’t forget to bring comfortable walking shoes and appropriate walking gear for your kids (stroller, carrier, wagon, etc). There is a lot of land to cover at this zoo. We all know there is nothing worse than an exhausted parent or kid with a long ways to go to get to the parking lot.

Before leaving, we made a quick stop at the old Rosenblatt baseball stadium. It’s located just north of the zoo parking lot. For anyone that loves baseball, this is a must see! It’s set up as a perfect size for kids and is just the right nostalgic feeling that adults can’t help, but smile while in this area. Since the adults had logged around 11,000 steps at this point and the kids even more, we ate dinner with our friends this night and got the kids to bed for the next day’s adventure.

On Saturday morning, we woke up for our next jam-packed day. We headed to Ashland, which is about a 30 minute drive from Omaha to the Wildlife Safari Park. This did not disappoint! A current exhibit at the Safari Park is dinosaurs and this was right up our kid’s alley. Sprinkled throughout the park were a wide assortment of dinosaurs of all sizes and some even moved to replicate what a real dinosaur would look like. Admission is decently priced at $12 for adults 12 and over, $10 for kids 3 to 11, $11 for seniors (65 and over), and free for kids 2 and under. To begin our time at the Safari, we headed onto the drive first. Along the drive, there are pull-off areas where you can walk to see certain animal exhibits closer, have picture opportunities, and learn more information about the animals. There also, was a hands-on corral, which allowed goats to be pet and brushed and see them up close.

Another part my kids loved was the education building. In the education building, there were a few animals in tanks, some games about nature, some exhibits about animals, and a touching table. Each of our kids seemed to enjoy different parts of the education building. All of the employees inside the education building were knowledgeable and kind, making it a great experience for all. Outside of the education building were two large sand boxes where kids could sift through rocks and sand to discover different treasures. They definitely could have sat here for a while and been happy.

After the education building, we did a one mile hike to see the wolves, coyotes, and bears. The hike was beautiful and everyone was able to do it, although there was one steeper climb up stairs. It was a nice mix to have both a drive-through part of the experience and some hiking parts. Once we got back into the car after this part, we headed to the bison. In the bison area, there was a large sand box to brush away a dinosaur fossil, some more picture opportunities, a boardwalk above where the bison are, and a small nature playground. While driving through the safari, it is a unique experience to have animals right next to your car. At one point, we had two sandhill cranes probably within 10 feet of our car. What a great opportunity!

We ended our time at the Safari with a picnic lunch near the bird aviaries. Our kids quickly finished eating, so they could watch the birds. There also, was a playground in this area, a gift shop, concession stands, and an exhibit of prairie dogs. Overall, the Safari was definitely a unique, fun experience for everyone involved. It truly had something for all age groups.

After the safari, we headed back into Omaha for a Creighton volleyball scrimmage. Both my husband and I were collegiate athletes at Creighton University, so we are very biased. We feel that it’s worth it to take a visit there to see some athletics, if it works with your schedule. Creighton has a beautiful campus in the heart of downtown. Their athletics have state-of-the-art stunning facilities that offer a small-town feel with a competitive environment.

When the scrimmage ended, we hopped into the car and drove to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. It was a stunning day for a walk across the bridge and the opportunity for all of us to be in two states at once (Iowa and Nebraska). This is a beautiful site that’s free and a fun adventure for all. The view of the city line is also, breath-taking from the bridge. Before heading back to Creighton, we drove through downtown Omaha, taking in some of the other fun spots. There’s a lot to see and things have definitely changed within the last few years!

Next, we headed back to Creighton for a soccer game. Soccer is one of their well-known sports at Creighton and they have an amazing stadium with pretty views of the city all around. In nice weather, this stadium is a great location to spend a game. We had dinner at the game and everyone loved the pretzels, hot dogs, and water.

Before heading to crash for the night, we stopped for one last adventure in Elkhorn. Dairy Chef is the place to be in Elkhorn for ice cream, so naturally, we had to try it! Despite having a line, it was fast moving and efficient. We ordered two cookie ice cream sandwiches, both a mini and a regular. A mini definitely would have sufficed! They were delicious! Also, we got a vanilla cone dipped in cherry topping. Another one that we could have gotten kid-sized! I got the special of the week with a mix of raspberry and lemon. Surprisingly, all the kids liked this one and continued to beg me for bites. We hit a fun night there as they were showing Clifford on a projector screen at the back of the shop. Our kids were pumped to enjoy the beginning of the movie as they ate their ice cream.

Sunday morning consisted of church and brunch before we headed home. For the second time, we had brunch at the Good Life. They were able to seat our large group with no wait and provided excellent service. The food was absolutely delicious and I don’t think any plates had left-overs. It has a fun atmosphere here with lots of sporting events on the televisions and fun art on the walls, highlighting all of the Nebraska sports. Prices were good and the waiters/waitresses were awesome. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a great brunch location out west!

Overall, the trip was a success! Every family member had fun and we all left with a wish list of places to visit for our next Omaha trip. If you’re looking for a fairly close location from Minnesota for a long weekend or break, Omaha is the place.