“Oma-HA!! Oma-HA!!”
Moon did not get the Eli Manning reference. I did it again for good measure:
“Oma-HA!!”
Moon blinked repeatedly. No dice. Like a tree falling in the forest, a famous quarterback’s famed line-call means nothing if a person has never watched football. Regardless, I find it impossible to say the city name of Omaha normally– I keep putting the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble.
We were hungry for a big meal when we got there, but the land of Omaha Steaks, I wasn’t sure that I’d find much by way of vegetarian options.
Enter Moon.
Moon’s ability to find healthy, delicious food by sifting through mountains of paid ads on Google is unmatched– this time, carefully searching turned up Modern Love, a vegan restaurant that was among the best I ever tried– and I’ve been a vegetarian for over 20 years.
The food was incredible– from seitan “wings” as an appetizer to Mac-and-Cashew-Cheese for a main (complete with kale and crispy tofu), Modern Love was not just an oasis in Nebraska, but also one we vowed to return to.
We also went to a board game cafe called Spielbound– this cafe was exceptionally well-organized, with shelves neatly organized by style of game. And unlike other board game cafes where games are stowed behind a counter, the games were out and accessible– one could read the synopsis, look through the contents, and decide which to play. Spielbound also took unique care to package their library of games with individual, labeled bags for cards and pieces, stating exactly what was contained within each to provide an easy ramp-up to start, as well as an easy guide for re-packaging once complete.
A small flat fee of $7 got us access to any game, and we settled in to try Tuki, a puzzle or building game, which was silly and got us wailing when our pieces inevitably tumbled to the table. It was goofy fun.
When traveling the country, it becomes clear (if it was not already known) that America is totally obsessed with its Presidents– so many landmarks are devoted to them: birthplaces, libraries and museums, sites of speeches, even burial sites, and so on. As someone who enjoys history, they make for easy stops with a dual benefit– stretching legs and learning at the same time.
President Gerald Ford was born in Omaha– and while the original home is gone, the outline of the original building is marked out with stones, and beautiful gardens surround a few displays. It never takes long when reading about history to realize that world events generally play on shuffle and repeat– in this case, a Time magazine cover led with Ford battling inflation and gas prices, two topics which sounded quite familiar in the current environment.
When visiting these monuments, we try to pay extra attention to the overshadowed First Ladies, who might only get a single panel in an entire collection– here, Betty Ford was featured prominently. Her fierce advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment and strong feminist point-of-view were considered outspoken at the time, but her popularity remained stellar through the few years of her husband’s Accidental Presidency (Ford, you’ll remember, ascended to the Oval after Nixon and Agnew resigned).
Betty Ford also advanced the empathy and understanding Americans had for addiction, talking openly of her own struggles with prescription addiction, and overconsumption of alcohol. Her Betty Ford Centers are still running today.
Don’t make the mistake of sleeping on Omaha– it was a charming place.
Posted by Sun
