The first weekend Mac was in Kansas, we headed up to Omaha. I wanted to make sure we experienced the College World Series while we live in Kansas. Omaha is normally about a 2.5 hour drive north of Leavenworth. Major flooding on the Missouri River closed I-29, so we took a scenic tour of rural Kansas and Nebraska.
Where we stayed in Omaha
We opted to stay a bit out of downtown Omaha at the Holiday Inn Omaha Southwest. If you go for the College World Series, be prepared for higher priced hotel rooms. Rooms in downtown or walking distance to the stadium are $400-$500 a night. This hotel was about a 20 minute drive from downtown and still ran over $200 a night during the CWS.
Where we ate in Omaha
We grabbed lunch at Guaca Maya, a Mexican restaurant with a dance hall. We ordered queso with tomatillos, I had a quesadilla, and Mac tried enchiladas. The queso was the best food by far, and the service was pretty quick. We ate dinner at the stadium. For brunch, we headed over to Wheatfields, a bakery, restaurant, and prepared foods shop. Absolutely go here. I tried an amazing quiche, Mac opted for a baked egg strata, and we split an order of the cinnamon roll sampler. Excellent food and service.
One of my friends from college worked for ConAgra for about seven years, so I reached out to her for food recommendations during our weekend in Omaha. She also suggested Blue Sushi, Early Bird Brunch, and Lisa’s Radial Cafe.
What we did in Omaha
We drove straight to the Henry Doorly Zoo. Omaha’s zoo is considered to be one of the best in the country, and it lived up to the hype. Everyone I talked to who lived in Omaha (including my parents) recommended the zoo, and I will, too.
Our next stop was the National Park Service Midwest Headquarters. You can get the Missouri River National River stamp here, but you may have to ask for it. The headquarters have some interesting information about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. You can also walk across a pedestrian bridge into Iowa.
We parked in a garage and walked a few blocks downtown to TD Ameritrade Park for the game. We bought tickets for the second day of the game. Since the first game ran a little long, we decided to hang out in the plaza next to the stadium. Tom Glavine was at the game, and I was about 20 feet away from him during a pre-game interview. Life made. The weather was perfect, and the game was a pitcher’s duel. I’m a huge baseball fan, so I really loved the game. We headed back to the hotel after the game. Sunday morning, we woke up, grabbed brunch, and got back on the road to go home.
Have you ever visited Omaha?
We’ve heard so many fantastic things about the zoo! We’ll make it up there before we leave! Maybe in conjunction with baseball, like you did, since I think John would love that!
We really enjoyed the College World Series. Omaha seems like a pretty family-friendly town, and I think the girls would love the zoo.