Vacation, part 1

We hit the road for our annual family vacation and Lucas says, "Finally!  I've been waiting for this ALL summer!"  Love it that family vacation is such highlight of his little life.  I hope he still loves it ten years from now. :-)

We started in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Bob Kearney Pedestrian Bridge.  

The bridge spans across the Missouri River and connects the two states.  

We straddled the state line to stand in two states at once.  

You'll notice a theme for our family -- vacation equals treats!  We stopped at a local favorite - Ted and Wally's Ice Cream Shop in the Old Market.  We waited in line for 20 minutes for this fresh churned ice cream and it was yummy! 

We spent the next day at the Henry Doorly Zoo.  

Cockroaches.  

Blech!!!!

As we were standing in front of the viewing window, this adult male lion starting ROARING.  Not a little growl, ROARING.  Many times!  It was neat to hear it, but Hannah was scared so we moved along quickly.  

We watched a movie in the IMAX theatre.  

Ryan had different priorities.  

Tonight's sweet treats were yummy cupcakes from Jones Bros. Cupcakes in Aksarben Village.  

The next day was l-o-n-g.  Ten plus hours in the car kind of l-o-n-g.  Brent and I like to take the path not most traveled on our vacations.  We drove across northern Nebraska and saw some beautiful farm countryside.  We stopped for a break in Valentine, Nebraska and found a school playground to burn some energy.  

On our way out of town there was a western store {Young's Western Wearhouse} that we thought we'd browse through.  Brent remembered stopping at this exact same western store 25+ years ago with on family vacation.   It was a good stop for Lucas and Hannah - they both got new boots!   

We finally arrived at our hotel in Custer, South Dakota, in time for pizza from a local joint and a swim.