Omaha... who knew?
So, a week and a half ago I made a sojorn to Omaha, only the second time I've been there. Previous trip lasted less than 24 hours, as this one was supposed to. I got trapped there by the very nasty storms that swept over the plains, but that's neither here nor there. I was pleasantly surprised by the city. You fly in, quick taxi to the gate and then by the time you get in the rental car you are practically in the city proper. The east side of the city has a bunch of new buildings, including the Qwest Center which they're hoping will lure a hockey or basketball team to the city. It's very nice, not at all what I expected. They have an area on the east side called the Old Market that has a bunch of pubs and restaurants with outside seating and cobblestone streets and it was relatively bustling for a Wednesday night in Nebraska. Pretty cool. The building I had my meetings in was definately an extension of the Mies van der Rohe school of design, which impressed me. The city was much more expansive than I thought, with clusters of buildings in three areas across the expanse of the city itself, spread over about 15 miles across. I couldn't help but think to myself that this wouldn't be a bad city to kick around in for a few days.