Omaha is Hilly!

Who knew? Omaha, Nebraska is hilly; I mean really rolling hills, not just wimpy little ones. I would seriously have to map out a route if I were going to bicycle in this city. So much for assumptions - I thought all of the MidWest was flat - especially the southern portion. I arrived on Monday evening and have been having fun exploring neighborhoods with my friend, Anda, who has lived in Omaha for 30 years and Nebraska for 50! We've seen the renovated downtown factory districts with its charming restaurants and boutiques, the Joslin Art Museum and I even saw the "Mutual of Omaha" building today. Crossed the Missouri River again on my approach and seen alot of neighborhood parks and schools. Today we sat in St. Cecelia's Cathedral for 45 minutes to meditate - what a beautiful building! We haven't gone to a famous steak restaurant yet but I'm sure that after my return from Chicago of 5 days, we'll fit that in.

Anda has one cat, Isabella, one peacock and 20 raccoons. Let me explain. A peacock showed up in her yard one day and with her baby. She began feeding it and they both stayed - one day however, the baby wandered off but the mom has stayed and makes her backyard home. The raccoons, well, they come out at dusk because she has started putting food out for them (kibble and bits) and pretty soon after dark she has counted up to 20! Mostly adults but 4 or 5 babies, too. They'll eat bird seed but what they really like is the dog food and table scraps.... It is a strange sight. Of course being nocturnal animals they sleep during the day; last night it was cool enough to open windows but I soon discovered that that was a mistake. Shortly after retiring I began hearing the raccoons, squabbling over the choicest morsels of food, playing and running around! Had to close the window and put on the fan.... And stop imagining Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds" - I could just picture the raccoons finding a way in to the cupboards for even more gourmet food!