Family Time in Lincoln, NE

We spent the 29^th, Julian’s birthday, on the road to St. Joseph, MO. It turned out to be a long (and beautiful) day of driving, so we had dinner in and went to bed early.

We added extra days to our stay there so that we could go to the local casino – sort of a birthday present to Julian. So Thursday morning we were off to Terrible’s St. Jo Frontier Casino. We got all sorts of perks when we signed up for their players club. Everyone gets a t-shirt or a baseball cap just for signing up. But Julian got a whole bunch of points as well as a coupon for a free meal at the buffet – just because it was his birthday month! Pretty cool! We had a good time and the buffet was good, but we went home empty handed (yet again).

It was time for a real Birthday Dinner. It seemed like we just hadn’t had time to really stop and celebrate his big day. So after looking through all the dining info we could find, we decided to go to The Old Hoof and Horn Steakhouse, the oldest restaurant in St. Joseph. What a good decision that turned out to be. The combo appetizer that we had was to-die-for good. Julian had fried whole catfish (one of his favorites) and a small cut of prime rib. He was in heaven! And that’s how it should be for a birthday dinner.

On Friday, we did the mundane stuff. We cleaned the coach, Julian bought the groceries, I did the laundry, and Heidi lay around on the couch. All this before noon, too! Then we went for a drive. They touted the Parkway that runs through the city. So we took the maps and went for a drive. It wasn’t what I expected, but we did see more of St. Joe. At the far end was a city park that was really cool. They had it all: a pond with a water fountain, an open air amphitheater, lots and lots of grassy areas, a playground and a building that we guessed was used for parties, weddings, etc. It was very cool to drive through there.

Saturday morning found us on the road again. It was only about 150 miles to Lincoln, NE. Arriving in Lincoln was quite a sight. As we neared the downtown area, we could see little that wasn’t red. Everyone was dressed in red. All the banners and flags were red. It was opening day for Nebraska University football. In truth, it was great fun to see all the fans heading towards the stadium. This town is crazy for its football team.

After getting set up and organized and cleaned up, we were off to my younger sister’s house for dinner and a few games of pool. What fun to see family!

My other sister lives in Norfolk, NE – you know, of Johnny Carson fame. We drove up to see her on Sunday. We took her out to lunch and had a great visit with her. It was a pretty quick trip, but we sure enjoyed spending time with her.

On Labor Day it was our turn to entertain. We invited my brother and his wife (who also live in Lincoln) and my younger sister and her husband to the campground for a cook-out. We had a great time. The weather cooperated; the temperature stayed under 90°. We had shade and a slight breeze from time to time, making it totally enjoyable to sit outside the coach all afternoon. And then we got this picture before everyone left.
That’s Doris, my brother Jim, my sister Karen, her hubby Bill, Julian & Heidi and me.

Julian and Bill went fishing in Bill’s boat on Tuesday afternoon. This proved to be a very successful outing. Julian caught a 7-pound channel catfish which became dinner for the four of us. It was pretty darned good – and you can’t get a fresher meal.
We had a great weekend with my family. It just went way too fast.