Around the World in 80 Blogs

Shannon over at Everyday Stranger came up with the beautiful idea of pulling 80 bloggers together for a virtual tour of the world. Here's the view from world.

I live in Omaha, Nebraska.

Most people think of two things when they think of Omaha: cold weather and farmland. For the record, Omaha is listed 34th on the "Top 101 cities with the largest temperature differences during a year (population 50,000+)." It gets as cold as -20 degrees and as hot as 104 or so. You won't see a lot of farmland in Omaha though. You have to go outside city limits to see that.

Omaha is nearing the half million mark in population. It's considerably larger if you include the suburbs. The typical Omahan is middle class, blue collar, and independent minded. The arts community is large enough to attract people who are bent that way. Here's a photo of me appearing to have a conversation with a statue of a sailor at the Durham Museum. The museum was built on the same ground that used to be Union Station, where many a soldier shipped out for battle:

I love this photo, also taken at the Durham Museum, that shows a man and a woman enjoying a intimate moment prior to his leaving for war:

We have plenty of outdoor attractions for those who like to hike, fish, or enjoy nature. A few of my friends and I like to rent a cabin, located just outside of town, once a year. Here's where we stayed last January:

There are certainly enough sports in Omaha for people who enjoy them. Omaha has been home to the College World Series since 1950. I'm not much of a college baseball fan (I'm a huge fan of the local minor league team and its parent club), but I'm glad the city has the event:

I enjoy going to high school sporting events with parents who have a son or daughters on the field or court. High school events always have such a community feel. Here's a photo I took at one such high school freshman football game in September:

The city is full of coffee shops and steak houses because, well, we like coffee and we like steak:

The pace of the city seems about 7 on a scale of 1-10, which is faster than I prefer, but since it doesn't move at breakneck speed, a 7 is acceptable.

From what I understand, Omaha has one of best zoos in the world. I don't frequent it all that often, but a couple of years ago, I went with a couple of friends and took this video. The zoo has a huge aquarium with a tube that runs along the bottom that patrons can walk through and examine fish, sharks, stingrays, and just about anything else that swims. That's what you see here:

Every year at Christmastime, the city lights up the Gene Leahy Mall downtown and it's just beautiful:

As you enjoy the scenery, you get a chance to hear groups from local churches and schools sing Christmas carols:

Of course, it's always cold enough for us to make a mandatory coffee run before we begin the journey through the sights and sounds of the season:

That's snapshot of Omaha, Nebraska as I see it. Hope you enjoyed the mini-tour.

For more like it, check out Shannon's blog, Everyday Stranger.