Monday, April 22, 2024, Overnight in Omaha, Nebraska

I wanted to visit Omaha, NE, on our way north to see where my family lived when I was a child. It worked out well to overnight at the Cabela's on the south side of Omaha to break up our trip into more manageable drives. Today was only 199 miles but the wind made it more tiring than usual. Still, we arrived early enough that we could get in a Costco fix and have a leisurely meal at Cracker Barrel before hunting down my old digs.

First up was our apartments on Frederick Street. We lived here from when I was 2 years old until I was about 9. The place had a facelift but was easily recognizable. The door second from the right was a two-bedroom we rented until my sister was born. We then moved into the three-bedroom which was the second door from the left.

The in-ground trash receptacles I remembered were gone and the A/C units were certainly not there way back when. The swings and the sandbox I fondly remembered were gone and, of course, everything seemed so much smaller.

I have several photos of us kids and the grandparents sitting on the porch steps whenever they visited. It's hard to believe how little they have changed in 60 years.

I followed my memory of walking to school and found Jefferson Elementary exactly where I remembered. It had a facelift too, but still looked pretty good for a building that must be close to, if not more than 70 years old.

My parents bought their first house when I started the fourth grade. That house was also still standing and looked much better than I remember it. Dad was transferred to Tennessee within a year and the house buying/selling left some rather unpleasant memories for my mom.

Again, I tried to remember walking to school from the house and this time found Belvedere Elementary. If it changed at all I could not say - it looked the same as I remembered.

The weather forecast indicated a possibility of rain so we hooked up the car and settled in for the night. As it turned out, we were the only RV overnighting in the parking lot (there were many semi trucks parked for the night) so we were able to get an early start the next morning without bothering anyone.