Things to do in the Omaha area!

If you decide to make a long weekend of it, there is plenty to do here in September.

1. ZOO; The Omaha Henry Doorley Zoo is the BEST in the nation! Great walking, beautiful natural habitat for the animals, a cable car gives you a bird’s eye view of the African Safari exhibit. The train gets you across the expansive acreage.

2. GARDENS; The Lauritzen Botanical Gardens in Omaha are a wonderful place to just walk or sit and be in nature.

3. Restaurants; There are (we counted) 1000 excellent ones, serving a wide variety of dishes from all countries. Of course, STEAK is what we are famous for, rightly so.

a. STEAK; go to Sullivans, 801 Chop House, Johnny’s Café, Brother Sebastian’s, Flemings or the Boiler Room.

b. THAI; go to Siam Cuisine on 25th Street in Bellevue

c. KOREAN; go to Korea Grill, Korea House, Korea Garden. All are very different presentations, and all are tasty.

d. BURGER; The BEST burger in town is at Stella’s in Bellevue. Fresh, big, served on a napkin with great homemade fries.

e. SEAFOOD; Plank or Shucks, both in downtown Omaha’s Old Market. A great nightlife area with fun shops and carriage rides!

f. FRENCH food; La Bouvette in the Old Market, downtown Omaha

4. Fontanelle Forest (near Wedding venue) has a nature center, wonderful boardwalks, hiking trails to wander through the forest, AND try the ZIP LINE at Tree Rush Adventures!

5. The Omaha Old Market has restaurants, a great ICE CREAM shop, artisan shops, crafts, leather goods (you cannot afford but will love to smell), a Christmas Shop, and more.

6. AIRCRAFT Museum: 30 min down the road is the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland NE. See historically significant aircraft all around you. It is celebrating its 25th Anniversary preserving the legacy of the Strategic Air Command (from Offutt Airforce Base). Get Michael Petry to take you. He’ll share info about aircraft he worked on. You’ll learn a lot!

7. Vala’s Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard; Great for all ages! On 9/20 they have funny pig races, a Pumpkin eating Dragon show, and Peter’s One-man Danger Circus! Oh my. Great fun, snacks, all the fall fun activities! Kids of all ages (adults too) love it here!

8. Bellevue Berry Farm, like Valas but closer, cheaper, smaller. Great for small kids to run and play, do the maze, bounce on trampolines, eat fall snacks! Pumpkin season begins Sep 14th!

9. Nebraska City Applejack Festival is Sep 20 & 21; Pumpkin everything…pumpkin donuts…orchards apple picking, carnival, parade, car show, tons of food booths, music, crafters, pumpkin honey, pies, preserves, and did I say pumpkin donuts? (40 min south on Hwy 75)