As you read from the previous entry, this day had an early start. Since we’re now at a Hampton Inn the breakfast isn’t quite the level of the Embassy Suites offerings. Which means no cooked-to-order omelettes.
No omelettes at all, actually.
Since I ate heavy breakfasts the past two mornings I decide to go for the healthy stuff today. We eat, then it’s back to the room to pack the last few items then head out to the vehicle with the luggage.
The child has three appointments today and the last one is early afternoon. We figured as soon as that one was complete we get on the road back towards The Land Of Dorothy. How far will we go today? Who knows?
In the back of my mind is the recollection of our previous “let’s just drive and see where we end up for the night.” But to avoid a repeat of that day we are targeting Omaha, a city with plenty of hotel offerings.
Back to the present. Driving downtown to Mayo Clinic is a ritual with which we are well-acquainted. We know which parking garage to enter, we know where the elevators are, we know which direction to go once we egress the lift.
The womenfolk head to the child’s first appointment while I make a beeline to the blood donor center. Now lest you think I’m a callous dad who took no time to be involved in his child’s care, in my defense this was a follow-up which did not need to involve me, nor would I have been comfortable there. Wife and child were in full agreement with my choice to go give blood instead.
And besides, I’m looking forward to the juice and sweets I receive afterward.
That done, I rejoin the ladies in the main lobby of Gonda Building. It’s a while until the next appointment but I still think I made the right call in just checking out of the hotel and staying put for the time being. My only goof during this timeframe was to not bring a book.
The time passes, however. Soon it’s time for the next appointment. Then the third.
And then we all get hungry. Of course, in waiting for the third appointment to wrap up we wind up in the waiting room while the doctor dictates a letter we need for the school. And wait. And wait.
Finally, letter in hand we head out the door, then out of the parking garage.
Down highway 63 toward Interstate 90. Time to blow this taco stand!
(We stop at Burger King on the way out of town and satisfy our stomachs.)
Again, I prefer today to the last time I drove this direction, with snow on both sides of the Interstate and brief white-out time in Iowa.
Since Mayo took longer than expected we don’t reach Omaha until almost 8 in the evening. Fortunately we found a Hampton Inn (I should buy stock in that company) that is in a decent neighborhood where we could walk to a restaurant.
The hotel itself was fine. Yet people either above us or just adjacent to our room seemed to enjoy wrestling late into the evening. At least that’s what it sounded like to me. Thankfully I had my white noise app and earbuds I can use in bed.
And I look forward to spending the next night in my own home.
Next entry: The license plate game!!
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