24 Hours in Omaha

You think Austin is weird? You're wrong! Omaha is weirder! Until this trip, the only things I'd ever heard about Omaha, Nebraska include jokes about corn and hometown love for the billionaire investor, Warren Buffet. And while those two endearing elements are still the pride of the Cornhusker State, I discovered that Omaha is actually the kookiest and quirkest city I've ever visited.

We traveled here for a dear friend's wedding at the Woolworth Events space in Old Market, which is a charming historic section of Downtown Omaha. Our hotel at the Hyatt Place enabled us to move easily throughout the area and was just steps from the wedding venue. And here's how I spent 24 hours in Omaha.

After settling into our room at the Hyatt Place, I wandered the neighborhood a bit. Flying Worm Vintage offered a huge selection of affordably priced vintage apparel and accessories. Unfortunately a gentleman shoplifted about 13 sweatshirts while I was in there, but I'm pretty sure they were able to get them back. I checked out the unusual signs and yard ornaments at Iron Decor and More, which has an impressive selection of garden art. I then perused the epic museum/warehouse/emporium of oddities, Hollywood Candy which has everything from a piano Lady Gaga played in a music video to a massive PEZ collection to a spooky old theatre you can rent for $200. The ceiling leaked in some parts, which added to the eeriness of this massive nostalgia shop. Curiously, this was the first of three times that a ceiling leaked on me in Omaha.

Lured in by my namesake, I visited Ashley's Vintage-Old Market, which was the first of many kooky gift shops in the Old Market area that I visited. They sell nothing you really need, but unique souvenirs and tchochkes you want to buy for your best friend or cousin. Once I worked up an appetite, I popped into Spaghetti Works which is best known as a family-friendly eatery with unlimited pasta and a massive salad bar in the back of an old car. The entire meal was easily under $20 including tax and tip. For dessert, I treated myself to a Cookies and Cream soft serve cone from Dolci Old Market, which was delicious. Before heading back to the hotel, I grabbed two Golden Books (score!) for our 3 year old son from the Little Free Library outside of one of their signature coffee shop churches.

In the morning, Josh and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast of huevos rancheros and avocado toast at Dynamite in the luxurious Farnham Hotel. We then enjoyed a long walk around town, which included a visit to the Skate Ribbon by the water and then the gorgeous Central High School at the top of the hill. After a few miles, we grabbed Red Bull infused beverages to cool us off from Scooter’s Coffee Shop, a very cool spot that even has a free conference room for patrons.

Of course, we had a few more kooky gift shops to checkout. We spent about 40 minutes wandering around the Old Market Emporium, which boasts a cavernous collection of fandom, nerd culture and nostalgia. Again, lots of Walt Disney plushes from the 1980s, thousands of Hot Wheels, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, Campbell’s Soup mugs, and more. In addition to the more upbeat fandoms, there are more elements of macabre culture around Omaha than any other town I've ever visited. Think life-size Hannibal Lectors, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, skeletons, witches, etc. There are small sections of horror or gore paraphernalia in just about every gift shop <clutches pearls>.

Time for more beverages! Josh and I bought some glass bottle root beer sodas from Ashley’s Hot Shots (they have thousands of sodas) and looked at some satirical books at City Limits, unique t-shirts at Raygun's and locally made wares from Made in Omaha. Before heading back to the hotel, we popped in for a cone of decadent Vantablack chocolate and keto blueberry from local creamery, Ted and Wally’s. They still use traditional salt rock production right there in the store. I realized I didn’t have a purse for the wedding so I popped into Punky’s (an extension of Amazing Imaginarium) and grabbed a white pumpkin purse I’d been eyeing. It was the perfect souvenir from this quirky visit to a quirky place.

The late American journalist and writer, John Gunther once said,

Until writing this piece, I had never heard the word, "pith.' But boy, Omaha has it. Totally the most unexpectedly unusual little city I've ever visited. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!