OMAHA.....

Friday, June 22, 2018

Not all of my layovers with United Airlines leave me pausing at the door of my hotel room (as I rush to catch the airport shuttle) wishing there had been some actual daylight hours that I could have gone out and done some exploring--or just go for a walk.  Once in a while I hit a tiny little jackpot.  This layover was one of those that puts a little bit of happy in my life.  Clearly, a jackpot of sorts.

I'm in Omaha.  For 30 hours.  Ten hours credit for less than three hours flight time. And it eats up THREE of my six-day Reserve block of assignment.  Life at United can't get much better than that!

It was after 4 pm yesterday as I was working out in the yard that I heard "Jungle Drums"  (ringtone for the Crew Desk) as I just happened to pass by the back door into the kitchen.  I was surprised, as I had thought I was off the hook for the day.  That it was too late for me to get a call for that day's trips.

Nope.  Some Chicago crew had misconnected because of weather somewhere in the country, and I got an assignment to take the second day guts of their ID to Omaha and back to Denver--after a 32 hour layover-- Saturday morning.  

This is the kind of trip I see on the "Open Flying " list when I am on Reserve--and I NEVER get it, even though I might be the next person in line for it.  Senior people are sitting at home, constantly checking their computers to see if they can pick up little gems like these which are worth substantial time but not spending any great effort to get that time.  Two days' worth!

S W E E T !! for me!  But it almost didn't happen after all.  The plane we were to take to Omaha was delayed out of Chicago.  The crew was coming from Vancouver and actually got there BEFORE the flight to Omaha--now delayed two hours---left.  They could have taken the flight anyway.  And we would have gone home.  But for them, it meant NO round trip to Omaha, even with a 30 hour layover, instead a 40 hour layover in a downtown Denver hotel.  I'm surprised the Crew Desk  let them make their own choice.  But I was glad for their choice.

Anyway, didn't get to my hotel until after 1 a.m.  But slept this morning until my eyes opened--at 8:57!  WOW!  Then I leisurely got up, got ready for the day, and made my plans.  This is one place that has CHOICES!  And good ones!

I've had some great layovers in Omaha over the years. 

Once took the bus to Florence and went to the Winter Quarters Temple.  Though I missed the only session I could have attended before I had to be to the airport again, the workers were so impressed with my determination to go to the temple--walking while wearing my uniform in 95 degree heat-- that they let me do TWO names for Initiatory.  And even volunteered to take me back to my hotel so I wouldn't miss my flight to Denver.   I walked and rode the bus back.

Another time I rode the bus five miles out to the Tower Shopping Center and did a leisurely walk back.  Also in 95 degree weather and high humidity.  Stopped at a really great Goodwill store on the way back that day.  Wouldn't mind going again.

Saw the Sun Kings exhibit at the Jocelyn Museum once.  (Today it was Favorite English Master Painters, but I didn't stop.)  

Another time I toured the ConAgra campus.  

Another time wandered down streets I had never been to before and found a huge antique store which yielded a couple of elephants for my collection.

And, high on my list every time I can:  Taunebaum Christmas store.

Today the first stop was the Taunebaum store in Old Market Omaha.  I know.  I know.  I'm NOT going to display my Nativity collection ever again.  But today I bought this clever three piece nesting set shaped like a ball with the Wise Men hiding the Holy Family and the Holy Family hiding the Shepherds.  I'll just put it in my china cabinet for now.

Then I consulted Google and decided that a Salvation Army Store, St. Vincent de Paul store, and Lutheran Thrift Store were close enough to walk without  having to ride the bus and burn a precious 90 minutes of my daylight layover hours.

But I had forgotten how steep some of the hills are in Omaha.  So, by the time I got to the Salvation Army store and poked around, I realized that the other two stores were several blocks south on 24th.  My feet hurt.  Mesh athletic shoes are literally cool to wear, but they don't provide enough support for MY feet with that titanium implant.  So, my feet start to hurt bigtime when they are not encased in "rigid" footwear.  Still, after I had limped back to the hotel, I saw that I had walked well over seven miles.  Not too shabby.  And it had been a great day.

But it was on the way back to the hotel that was really the most important part of the day.  

When I heard the rumble of diesel train engines and a short blast of the  horn, I was overcome with nostalgia.  My eyes filled with tears and my heart swelled with emotion as I thought of my dad.  I was literally standing next to the Union Pacific Center at  14th and Dodge, an address my dad spoke of often, and almost as if it were with awe and reverence, for the corporate headquarters of his employer for 43 years.

My dad LOVED his job!  And I still feel the same pride in him as I did when I was a little girl and used to hear him talk of UPRR business.  Today it only needed those two iconic sounds for that nostalgic pride to wash over me.  My life growing up was so full of the Union Pacific Railroad.  Good memories and a great work heritage from my dad.

When we first began staying at this Hilton Hotel, the several acre property across the street was vacant except for the small park which had one of the famous Union Pacific 6900 Big Boy diesel engines on display.  My heart used to skip a beat every time the hotel van turned the corner off the freeway, and we passed by the brightly lighted showcase of Omaha's famous  product which changed the lives of literally millions of Americans.

Now, that several acres is the home of the Ameritrade College World Series of Baseball stadium.  Not the same for me.

So, yeah...Omaha is one of my favorite layovers.  And today was just another memorable experience of daylight hours in someplace I like to visit....

…..Punctuated by a brief rumble of engines and the blast of a horn.  I love the UP and its HISTORICAL home--Omaha!