Sen and I spent 5 days road-tripping through Omaha, Nebraska City, and Lincoln, Nebraska, from September 11 - 15, 2020, with Visit Nebraska. Here are the highlights of what we enjoyed during the trip.

Where to Stay & Explore - Omaha

We stayed at the Omaha Marriott Downtown for two nights. The hotel, especially the lobby and the conference area, is beautifully decorated. The chair in the image below is my favorite piece of furniture in the lobby, and they have a bunch of them laid out in different sections. Sen had to stop me from wanting to sit on each one of them!

One side of the hotel has a fantastic view of an OMAHA sign on the building across the street. So if you missed the Omaha sign while driving into the city as we did, then know you can get another chance at this hotel.

We also checked out the Burdock + Bitters in the lobby. Sen and I each got a drink and some wings. The way the wings were cooked brought me back to when I worked graveyard shifts at a hotel in LA.

You also can’t forget about its downtown location. There are many stores and restaurants, including The Old Market, within walking distance. I added a vintage camera to my collection from one of the vintage stores in the Old Market!

There is even a Speakeasy across the street, at the very end of the Karaoke bar called “H&F,” definitely check that out too!

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We checked in, settled down, changed, and started our exploration.

Hot Shops Art Center, is a living museum, home to over 80 artist members in 50 studios. You can tell you have arrived by all the different sculptures living right outside the shop. Visitors get to see artists at work and take different art classes from the artists themselves.

Sen and I visited around closing hours and many of the studios were already empty. I had a great time walking through the almost empty hallways and taking photos of the studio setups left behind by the artists.

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Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is gigantic! I don’t believe I have visited an attraction where it’s both zoo and aquarium before.

You will see their giant Desert Dome right when you enter the park, and it is a very worthy first stop. Sen and I got on their Skyfari ($6/person roundtrip), it was a much-needed break from walking around. You can see lots of different animals from a birds eye view.

Sen and I could have spent a whole day there just looking at and taking photos of the animals.

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Lauritzen Gardens - Omaha Botanical Center in Omaha, Nebraska is located almost right next to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and is such a great place to visit. I especially loved their conservatory.

The conservatory is a bit hot and humid (to accommodate the type of plants living in it), but definitely check it out! Pay attention to when the water starts to spray, it is interesting to experience and happens regularly. The grounds is huge and you can definitely spend a good portion of your day here if you wanted to.

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Last but not least The Durham Museum, it is housed in the old Omaha Union Station. It offers a fascinating look into the history of the region and offers different traveling exhibits. Sen and I saw the Pulitzer Prize Photographs exhibit during our time there and it resonated so much with us. The museum also offers tours on older trains (first come first serve), we didn’t explore the trains due to the amount of people waiting at the time. There was also a huge display of “toy” trains and town (image below).

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Where to Eat & Drink - Omaha

Dante Omaha was our first dinner in Nebraska. It serves Italian cuisine with an extended wine list. The chef was really nice and prepared a full tasting menu for us, some of the items are off his new menu and we enjoyed every bite. I was actually stuffed and took the dessert to-go.

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The front desk agent at the Omaha Marriott Downtown told us about Annie’s Irish Pub and we had to check it out.

We of course had to head to The Old Market neighborhood during our visit. It is not only a great place when looking for grubs, but also a great place to shop. Sen and I stopped at the M Pub and got some drinks and lunch. I got their Blacken Shrimp Salad, it was very good.

Farine + Four’s Egg Breakfast Sandwich and Latte was great!

Where to Stay & Explore - Nebraska City

The Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast was relaxing and a fun experience in Nebraska City. It is just a stone throw away from the Arbor Day Farm and is managed by Jeanna. This was my first time staying in a Bed & Breakfast in the US and had a great time! Jeanna was very hospitable and checked in with us often. She also recommended several places we can see and do, including the Whispering Bench in the Arbor Day Farm.

The home is actually 130 years old and sits on six and a half acres of land, a lot to explore I know! Pictured below is a 200 years old award-winning oak tree, the B&B also have a barn fire pit, waterfall, and a hot tub.

Jeanna’s Stuffed French Toast (breakfast) was amazing! That plus the nice conversations with Jeanna and watching and catching (on camera) the hummingbirds made this breakfast one of the BEST I’ve ever had.

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Not an official stop BUT we just had to stop at one of the corn fields for a photo.

Arbor Lodge Mansion, the Morton Salt Mansion, is part of the Arbor Day Farm. This was the home to J. Sterling Morton and his wife, who founded Arbor Day. It was then passed down to Joy Morton who founded Morton Salt and expanded the mansion to what we see today.

I was attracted by the exterior of the Mansion when I first saw it online. However, the interior is much more interesting. 95% of the furniture in the mansion is actually from the original Morton Family, and I’ve been in love taking photos of these type of museums!

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Where to Eat & Drink - Nebraska City

The Keeping Room is located in downtown Nebraska City. It is a Café, Décor store, and clothing boutique all in one. Sen and I spent most of our time in the café and really loved its decoration. I got their Apple Walnut Salad (Apple Season!) and It was pretty yummy!

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I mentioned this above but worth mentioning it again, the homemade breakfast at the Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast was AMAZING! Sen & I don’t normally eat breakfast at the places we stay, but make sure you join Jeanna for breakfast when you stay here!

Dinner at the Timbers at Lied Lodge, Nebraska City was delicious. Sen and I met Chef Iliana during our dinner there. She officially joined the Timbers team over a month ago, a former Food Network Chef, and is creating seasonal farm to table menu items. She even has her own garden where she grows a lot of her ingredients.

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Where to Stay & Explore - Lincoln

Graduate Lincoln is located within walking distance to the Historic Haymarket. I love the retro décor of the hotel and how they use old school ID as their room key design as well!

Robber’s Cave Tours is a must visit when you are in Lincoln. It is Lincoln’s oldest AND one-and-only underground attraction. The cave was established in 1864 and was used as an event venue, day care, by Lincoln’s first brewery, a college “secret society”, just to name a few.

The tour is led by Joel Green, who wrote a book on the cave and won an award for it! He tracked down the past owner of the cave and told its story. So you know you are led by someone who is both passionate and knowledgeable of the cave. During the tour, Joel will show you historical photos of how the locals used the cave, and if you are lucky, he will even show you a video of his personal eerie encounter!

Sen & I are obviously not children, but we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Lincoln Children's Zoo! The zoo now only allows visitors to go in one direction due to the pandemic but I feel like it actually made the experience more enjoyable. The babies and the animals (minus the snakes and spiders) were all soooo cute!!

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Might not be everyone’s cup of tea but we also visited the Nebraska State Capitol building, especially loved the look and feel of this hallway. Be sure to head to the top floor for the city view and also head out to the West side of the building to see the Lincoln statue that’s done by Daniel Chester French, the same sculpture who did the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.

Where to Eat & Drink - Lincoln

Rutabagas Comfort Food is a very nicely decorated restaurant that serves comfort food that we are all familiar but with plant based ingredients. The image below is their Chick’N Sandwich made with Cauliflower steak.

Dinner at SturFast Caribbean & African Grill was fast and easy. You get to create your own bowl by picking the starch, protein, sauce, and toppings, you get the concept. My bowl consisted of Jollof Rice, Blacken Shrimp, Pineapple Mango Sauce, AND Pineapple Mango Slaw, and it was very yummy.

We met the owner and he mentioned that this is their brand new location. Definitely check them out when you are in Lincoln!

Which of these places would you add to your next road trip?

I'm a travel blogger, and photographer, recently moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma from Los Angeles, California with my husband Sen, our cat Shadow, and dog Lumi.

Our current mission is to road trip and eat around the USA.