Teardrop Trail Log: June 11, 2017

I moved to Austin in 1984 and have been back to Omaha, where I grew up, many times. It’s about a two-day drive, with a convenient stop in the Oklahoma City area. Marilyn and I have gotten used to staying in Edmond, on the northern end of Oklahoma City. It puts us a little closer to our goal, and has reasonable accommodations and restaurants. After a great dinner at Othello’s and a good night’s rest, we were off.

Edmond, OK to Omaha, NE

The drive between Edmond and Omaha is mostly Interstate or four-lane roads, with plenty of stops along the way. It’s flat or low, rolling hills, and the miles tick by rapidly. The landscape is pleasant, but not remarkable, so an audio book or podcast is helpful in passing the time.

Between the Oklahoma/Kansas border and Wichita is the Kansas Turnpike, and it is a toll road. It continues to Kansas City, but we usually switch to Highway 135/81 in Wichita. This is a great north/south road that takes us via Salina, Concordia, Hebron and Geneva to York, Nebraska where we turn right onto Interstate 80 for the last leg of the trip into Omaha. The whole trip takes about seven hours without stops.

The locals

We were planning to stay a couple of days with my friend Bob and his family in Ft. Calhoun, just north of Omaha. He has a beautiful home in a sea of cornfields and it’s always great to spend time there. Danna, his wife, keeps chickens, miniature donkeys and goats, so there’s local entertainment as well.

Bob and I have known each other since high school, and were briefly in business together about 40 years ago. He still has that business, and I was looking forward to his latest exploits — the adventure for tomorrow.

The View from the house