| Urban Expedition |
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Spend a fun-filled few days getting to know Nebraska’s urban side. Explore the state’s capital and second-largest city, Lincoln, and all the fascinating stops it offers. With world-class cultural venues and art museums, award-winning wineries, historic neighborhoods, expansive parks, the impressive Capitol building, eclectic shops, and restaurants serving mouthwatering dishes, this city has something for every taste and interest. Between Lincoln and Omaha, Ashland will delight you with its many shops, boutiques, restaurants, and world-class attractions. Afterwards, spend time sightseeing around metropolitan Omaha. Enjoy a tasty glass of wine. Walk with the animals at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. Explore your artistic side at one of the city’s galleries and art studios. Take a step back in time to Omaha’s humble beginnings. Immerse yourself in different cultures as you slowly work your way through charming residential neighborhoods into the newly developed western part of the city. Impressive city skylines, historic neighborhoods, arts and culture, architectural wonders, and picturesque suburban areas are some of the places you’ll visit throughout metropolitan Omaha. Start your exciting tour of metropolitan Nebraska in Raymond northwest of Lincoln. Sample delicious wines at WindCrest Winery, a place your palate and relaxed body will not want to leave. A short drive from there takes you to James Arthur Vineyards. The winery features a wine-tasting room, a gift shop, and peaceful hiking trails. Once you enter Lincoln, immerse yourself in the arts at the Lux Center for the Arts. The one-of-a-kind International Quilt Study Center & Museum has more than 2,300 beautiful quilts on display. The nearby University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History offers a look even further back into the area’s history with a prehistoric mammoth exhibit. Designed by internationally famous architect Philip Johnson, the Sheldon Museum of Art is an excellent modern art gallery that houses 20th century American art. The Great Plains Art Museum features changing exhibits and collections of Western art. Take a leisurely stroll through the Historic Haymarket District downtown for a glimpse into the remarkable beginnings of the prairie city. Now filled with coffee houses, restaurants, art galleries, and shops, the Haymarket was once the center of the area’s agricultural commerce. Relive the feeling each Saturday during the summer at the Haymarket Farmers’ Market, the largest in the state. Learn more about Lincoln’s political and architectural history with a tour of the State Capitol. By 1914, more than one-third of Lincoln’s population was made up of Germans from Russia and their descendants. Learn more about this hearty group of early immigrants at the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Museum. If you’re really looking to get out into the wild, try a bike ride, a horseback ride, or a trail walk at Pioneers Park, Lincoln’s most celebrated open space. Also check out the Pioneers Park Nature Center while you’re there. Take the short drive southwest of town to Denton’s Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center and explore more than 350 plant species and 170 bird species on more than 600 acres of rare, native tallgrass prairie, springs, wetlands, and ponds. Afterwards, enjoy a relaxing time sipping a variety of delicious wines at Prime Country Winery. The perfect gift awaits you at SouthPointe Pavilions shopping center in south Lincoln. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo is another worthwhile stop. Complete with a train, a petting zoo, and other fun wildlife exhibits, this is a stop your kids will go wild for! After looking at the animals, head to Westfield Gateway and look for some bargains. Don’t forget your checkbook. Not just a destination but an experience, Deer Springs Winery northeast of Lincoln is located in a quiet country setting just minutes from the city. Ashland has a charming downtown district of cool, funky shops and restaurants. It’s also the gateway to three stellar attractions: Strategic Air & Space Museum, Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari, and Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. View an indoor wonderland of nearly 30 wildlife species mounted in replicas of their natural surroundings at Willow Point Gallery and Museum. The Holy Family Shrine is a respite for the weary traveler. This impressive glass chapel is open to all. As you near Omaha and the traffic becomes heavier, why not stop for a while and enjoy the open-air atmosphere at Village Pointe shopping center on the west end of town? This premier shopping stop offers plenty of restaurants and browsing opportunities for kids of all ages. West Omaha is also home to Father Flanagan’s world-famous Boys Town, where you can take a tour of the place that Spencer Tracey made famous for portraying Father Flanagan, stroll through the garden inspired by the Bible, or see the world’s largest ball of stamps. Closer to downtown, the Joslyn Art Museum is a world-class museum of exquisite works of art from antiquity to the present and features European, American, Western American, American Indian, and Asian art. Venture north of town to learn more about Omaha’s important position for Mormon Trail emigrants at the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters. Loves Jazz & Arts Center showcases the wonderful history and culture that African Americans have achieved in the arts, music, and humanities. North of downtown, Hot Shops Art Center is a 92,000-square-foot facility that houses 44 art studios, three art galleries, exhibition spaces, and a café/coffee shop. Head back closer to downtown for a cruise up the scenic Missouri River on the River City Star Riverboat and enjoy live jazz at Rick’s Café Boatyard. Walk through The Durham Museum for a complete look at Omaha’s transformation from cow town to boomtown. Once the center of the city’s agricultural sales, today the Old Market district’s stately old buildings are the proud homes of art galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and more. Reconnect with nature at the 100-acre Lauritzen Gardens, which features an arboretum, a variety of colorful gardens, a bird sanctuary, a spring flower walk, a woodland trail, a visitor and education center, a café, and a gift shop. Drive north to the highly ranked Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. With an amazing aquarium, the world’s largest indoor jungle, and the world’s largest desert dome, the zoo offers views of animals from every corner of the globe. South Omaha has a large Hispanic population that is highlighted by El Museo Latino. Its exhibits recount the important contribution that the city’s Hispanic population has had on the history, culture, and development of Omaha. South of Omaha is Bellevue’s Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, which boasts more than 1,400 acres of woods, wetlands and waterways, deep ravines, and loess ridges and 17 miles of walking paths. Further south—and your final stop on this tour—is Springfield’s Soaring Wings Vineyard, where you can enjoy wine tastings, tours, and wine products. Route Directions • Start at WindCrest Winery (3110 W. Branched Oak Rd.) • 2 miles left on W. Branched Oak Rd., right on NW 27th St., left on W. Raymond Rd. to James Arthur Vineyards • 13 miles right on W. Raymond Rd., right on N. 14th St., left on Superior St., right on N. 48th St. to Lux Center for the Arts • 2 miles right on N. 48th St., right on Holdrege St. to the International Quilt Study Center • 3 miles right on 33rd St., right on O St., right on N. 11th St., right on Q St. to University of Nebraska–Lincoln campus (Sheldon Art Gallery, Museum of Nebraska History, State Museum of Natural History, and Great Plains Art Museum) • 3 blocks west to the Historic Haymarket District (8th and Q Sts.) for unique shops, bars, restaurants, and boutiques • Downtown Lincoln, south of the Historic Haymarket District, for enticing shops and restaurants • 5 blocks south of downtown to the State Capitol at Centennial Mall and K St. • 2 miles right (south) on S. 16th St., right on D St. to the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Museum • 4 miles left on S. 6th St., right on A St., left on S. Coddington Ave. to Pioneers Park • 12 miles left on W. Van Dorn St., left on SW 84th St. (take Spur 55A to SW 91st St.), right on W. Denton Rd., left on SW 98th St. (becomes SW 100th St.) to Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center • 4 miles north on SW 100th St., left on W. Saltillo Rd., left on SW 142nd St. to Prime Country Winery • 23 miles south on SW 142nd St., left on W. Roca Rd., north on Homestead Expressway (US-77), right on Saltillo Rd., left on S. 27th St. to SouthPointe Pavilions • 4 miles right on S. 27th St. to Lincoln Children’s Zoo • 4 miles right on S. 27th St., right on O St. to Westfield Gateway • 9 miles left on O St., left on N. 148th St., right on Adams St. to Deer Springs Winery • 21 miles north on N. 148th St. (to Waverly), right on US-6, right on NE-66 to Strategic Air & Space Museum, Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari, and Eugene T. Mahoney State Park near Ashland • 10 miles right on NE-66, east on I-80 to exit 432, right on NE-31, right on Pflug Rd. to Holy Family Shrine near Gretna • 18 miles north on NE-31, east on W. Dodge Rd. to Village Pointe • 4 miles east on W. Dodge Rd. to Boys Town • 10 miles east on W. Dodge Rd. (becomes Dodge St.) to Joslyn Art Museum • 6 miles right on Dodge St., north on North Expressway (US-75), north on N. 30th St., right on State St. to Mormon Trail Center and Historic Winter Quarters • 4 miles right on State St., right on N. 30th (US-75), south on North Expressway, left on Lake St. to Loves Jazz & Arts Center • 2 miles left on Lake St., right on N. 16th St., left on Nicholas St. to Hot Shops Art Center • 2 miles right on Nicholas St., right on N. 12th St., left on Cuming St. (turns into Abbot Dr.), right on Riverfront Dr. to River City Star Riverboat at Lewis and Clark Landing on the Missouri River • 1 mile from Riverfront Dr. to Dodge St., left on S. 8th St., right on Farnam St., left on S. 10th St. to The Durham Museum and the Old Market • 2 miles right on S. 10th St., left on Bancroft St. to Lauritzen Gardens • 2 miles left on Bancroft St., right on S. 10th St. to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo • 2 miles left on S. 13th St., right on Missouri Ave. (becomes L St.) to El Museo Latino • 3 miles right on L St., south on Kennedy Expressway (US-75) to Chandler Rd. Exit, left on Chandler Rd. W., right on Bellevue Blvd. N. to Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue • 21 miles south on Bellevue Blvd. N., right on Childs Rd., left on Fort Crook Rd. S., right on NE-370, right (south) on NE-50, left on Pflug Rd., right on S. 138th St. to Soaring Wings Vineyard in Springfield |
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