What happens in Omaha...

Mama, Anna, Arayna and I made a whirlwind trip to Omaha this past weekend.  It was quick but filled to the brim.  Saturday evening we checked in to our hotel in the midst of a town filled with conventioneers and families of graduates.  We felt lucky to get a hotel room!

Anna and Arayna immediately took advantage of the pool while Mama and I enjoyed a cup of cocoa and a newspaper in the lobby.  Imagine our surprise to read the following headline... "Magruder clan's specialty: Dr. Toms".  Turns out there is a Magruder family there in Omaha, of which Thomas V just graduated from medical school, as his father and grandfather did before him.  But, the most interesting part of the article was the genealogical history mentioned that linked their branch of the family to ours; from Scotland to America via Alexander Magruder.  Pretty neat coincidence...

We then met our friend, Deborah, and headed out to dinner at The Indian Oven in the Old Market District.

We had a true stroke of luck when a parking place came open literally right in front of the restaurant.  Amazing.  We chose to be seated on the patio and settled in to enjoy some tasty indian food.  We were not disappointed. Yum!  Sadly, I can't remember the name of anything except what Mama and I ordered (Coconut Chicken Curry) but it was all amazing!

our appetizer

Coconut Chicken Curry

Anna's choice - eggplant curry?

Arayna's and Deborah's dishes.

We sampled each others dishes and everything was truly tasty.  The weather was lovely and we enjoyed relaxing and visiting on the patio.

Anna, Arayna and Deborah

Mama and Laura

Anna and Arayna

After dinner we strolled around the Old Market area window shopping and just enjoying the ambience of the area.  They have horse drawn carriages carting tourists up and down the cobbled streets.  (nice on atmosphere, but it makes me a little sad for the horses...)  Since it was Saturday night there were street musicians playing on just about every corner.  It certainly is a vibrant area filled with unique restaurants and shops.  I think our favorite was a store called Old Market Niche.  What fun to browse around.

We wandered in to a tea shop where Mama decided to purchase tea for Julie.  Good thing, too, because she discovered, when she was to pay for the tea, that she had left her credit card at the restaurant .  We rushed back to The Indian Oven and they did have her card.  Whew!  We were thankful to discover that before we left Omaha!

After a bit more wandering (and an espresso chiller to counter the spicy indian food!) we called it a night and returned to the hotel.  All was well until a little after midnight when I distinctly heard a man's voice seemingly in my room.  I also heard the door rattle and was immediately awake and at the door.  Sure enough, there was a young man outside our door trying to get his key card to open the door.  His buddy was in the room across the hall and I think he ended up being in the room directly below ours (based on the sounds I heard minutes later)  He truly didn't appear to be a threat at all, I think he was just on the wrong floor.  I am quite sure that he would have been more frightened by me if I had chosen that moment to open the door, but it was still unnerving.  I called the front desk and alerted them that someone had mistakenly attempted to get in our room and then went back to bed.  All was well for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning we had a relaxing breakfast then packed up to head home, planning to spend the morning at the Omaha Zoo.  But, when I started the car in the hotel parking lot I saw the 'low tire' alert in my dashboard.  We were nowhere near a gas station to put air in the tire and I ended up having to drive several miles with a measly 19 pounds of pressure in that tire... nerve-wracking!  When we finally found an air pump I saw the problem up close... an old rusty nail.  Turns out one of those lovely horse drawn carriages in Old Market must have thrown a horseshoe nail.  ugh.

I knew that we weren't going to make it home with that tire so decided to drop Mama, Anna and Arayna off at the zoo while I tried to find a place to repair the tire.  Calling on my trusty OnStar I located a Sam's Club with a tire center just a few miles away.  I spoke with the young man at the desk and he told me to drive around back and they would take care of it.  Until he saw the tire in person and declared that it was in the sidewall (even though it was in the tread, it was the side of the tread) and therefore unfixable.  Oh my.  I asked if he had a new tire I could purchase.  He checked and told me that he had NO tire of any brand that would fit our car.  He even called around to other shops in the metro area and could not find a single tire that would work for us.  (apparently Enclaves use 19 inch tires and they are very rare... WHY??!!??)  I was feeling pretty defeated at this point, wondering what on earth we were going to do.  He offered to put my spare on for me, then saw that the spare was a 'donut' type and couldn't be driven beyond 50 miles or at highway speeds.  Considering we had 6 hours to go, that wasn't going to work.  I asked him what I could do and he said he didn't know and was sorry.  That was the end of that.

Feeling totally sunk and, frankly, like crying right there in the parking lot, I called Mama and told her that, unfortunately, the girls visit to the zoo would have to be cut short.  We had to try to get home and needed to leave immediately.  I was on my way to pick them up.  After getting them in the car we stopped for gas at about the last exit in the area.  I was praying like crazy and feeling the weight of getting everyone home safely.  Dear Arayna got out and heard a hissing sound... air escaping the tire.  (rationally, I knew that had to happen, but I still felt totally defeated.)  She put her finger up to the hole in the tire as if to plug it and we all felt the futility of her gallant effort.

BUT, that motion by Arayna got the attention of an incredibly kind trucker who was sitting in front of the gas station enjoying the sunny morning, since he had a day's wait before he could drop his load in Sioux Falls.  He told me later, chuckling slightly, that he just knew we were a group in need of help when he saw Arayna plugging the hole with her finger.  Something told him we were in need.  :) This angelic man offered to plug the hole with a tire plugger kit if we could get one.  Well, you can bet that I could get one (even if I had never before HEARD of one!)!  There was a Walmart across the street and Mama and I went running.  We even purchased the deluxe version, just to be sure!  When we returned, the man was still there and graciously fixed our tire.  He even took the time to make sure the plug was sealed tightly and then refilled the tire with the proper amount of air.  He refused to take any money, but did accept our humble gift of a blueberry scone that we had purchased the evening before.  (we even gave him the un-smushed one...)    :)

Feeling thankful and already quite worn out, we got on the road with an eye to storms brewing.  But, except for one brief downpour, we had an uneventful drive home.  What a welcome thing.  I have to admit that when we turned on our gravel road I felt the stress of the day hit me.  I was instantly exhausted and oh so happy to be home.

It was a very quick trip to Omaha and we didn't even get to spend much time at the zoo.  But, I have to tell you that I can't wait to return.  There is much more to see and do there than I had imagined; like the Joslyn Art Museum, the Mormon Trail Historic Center, and the Western Historic Trails Center (which reminds me of my favorite museum, the National Historic Trails Center.  It even looks similar.)

And you meet the nicest folks.... sometimes as an answer to prayer.