Lincoln

Our company has a terminal in Lincoln, Nebraska that Ben and I like to frequent for many reasons: it is hardly used by any other drivers, there is a workout room and showers, free wifi and laundry, a courtesy van is available for checkout for 1-2 hour increments, and Lincoln seems like a fun, laid-back city. A lot of our loads have us traveling on I-80, so stopping in for a break here works out really well.

Last time we were in Lincoln, we were working on a 34-hour restart (one of these days I'll write a blog on all the ins and outs of trucker laws and regulations) and had the opportunity to attend daily Mass. We found the "old" cathedral and participated in the 8am liturgy with the Catholic elementary school students. This prompted me to contact our Bishop in Oregon, who hails from Lincoln. He gave me directions to the new cathedral, as well as his former parish; we plan to attend the vigil Mass there this evening!

Using the courtesy van is great too--we've enjoyed a few great meals in this city, and this afternoon was no exception. I had noticed the last time we were here that there was a "Buzzard Billy's Armadillo Bar and Flying Carp Cafe" somewhere near the university district. That restaurant has a personal tie; when my dad used to travel throughout the country working for Tigereye, he would try to find fun places to visit or eat at off the clock. A trip to LaCrosse, WI provided him the opportunity to visit Buzzard Billy's Flying Carp Cafe. When he came home, I remember him telling us about his meal--the Jamaican Jerk Rub seasoning was so spicy he got a nosebleed!

I made special requests that he pick up fun t-shirts at his various travel locations (Idaho Six-Pack, Forrest Gump, G.R.I.T.S., and others made the cut), so he obliged in bringing home a t-shirt from this restaurant. After he passed away, I thought it would be neat to visit some of those places he had been; LaCrosse, WI unfortunately is not often a stopping point. When I saw that Lincoln had this restaurant, I knew we had to go!

We enjoyed a wonderful meal of shrimp, gumbo, hushpuppies, red beans and rice, armadillo eggs and bread pudding, all while watching college football. It's definitely a stop we will be making again!