If yesterday was the day of many things to do, today was the exact opposite. We slept in and said goodbye to Kansas City, and headed west. Hello Kansas, State #35!

We decided to go through Lawrence, Kansas to see the University of Kansas, but before we did that, it was time to stock up and resupply Mom’s Cafe! We headed to the nearest Walmart and then the stocking crew took over.

We loaded the car with our supplies and lastest addition to our cooler family, and off we went.

The University of Kansas was nice, definitely more hilly that we expected, but the buildings were beautiful.

We continued west – checking in at the capital building in Topeka, Kansas

Then we turned north and made our way toward Nebraska. The topography made some drastic changes as we made our way away from the cities and into more “prairie land”. Plenty of wide-open “vastness.”

We continued staying off the interstates as much as possible so we could see little towns like Home, Kansas. They may not be a large city but their 4th of July Spirit is ready to go! And their town slogan is the best: “There’s no place like Home (Kansas)” 👠👠

And of all places, we found a Mom’s Cafe just outside Home!

BUT WAIT – HANG ON… is that a plaque! YES, it is – although wooden… still counts. Since we stopped and made the boys read yet another random, roadside plaque, they now know that the state highway we are traveling on is part of the original California-Oregon trail. We didn’t find any original wagon ruts, but still cool.

And there it is, State #36 – Nebraska

Now I have to admit that sometimes my “avoid highway” criteria is a bit much for Apple Maps, who occasionally send us down cut-throughs that lead us down random dirt roads…

Finally, we made it to our destination The Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice, Nebraska. (*Remember it is Be-A-tris. They are very proud of they city name and its proper pronunciation.)

For a little background, the Homestead Act would give 160 acres of land to any man or woman, regardless of color or nationality, IF:

• they took possession of the land;
• cleared, maintained, and resided there for 5 years; and
• built a home and cultivate crops.

We stopped here because I am absolutely fascinated by Homesteaders. Imagine leaving everything you knew and every bit of family and support you had, and going to a whole new world – sometimes when you didn’t even know the language of the population. If this parking lot (from the 4 yellow circles) is an acre, imagine getting 160 of these and being solely responsible for turning it into a working farm!

And this wasn’t forever ago, the last homesteader was Ken Deardorff who acquired a 50-acre homestead claim in 1974. He submitted his paperwork in 1979, and in true government style, he received the title to his land in 1988… 9 years later 🤦🏼‍♀️

Outside the museum was a replica of a family homestead. Imagine living here with a whole family and traveling by wagon?

And again with these three ♥️

We left the Homestead and headed for Lincoln. Other than being the capital of Nebraska and home to the University of Nebraska, we really didn’t know what we were going to do in Lincoln. But it turns out that the downtown area is really cool. We checked into the hotel, and found a brazillian steakhouse, Rodizio Grill, with great reviews online. We also appreciated that we called to check and see if there was a dresscode, the guy asked if we were wearing socks and shoes? Um yes. Then you’re good enough for us 😆

Rodizio was fantastic. We paid per person – sort of an all you can eat buffet style – except that after you fix your plate of sides like salads, side dishes, fruit and soups, servers walk around with skewers of meat. You put this little knocker on Green if you want them to come cut meat at your table, red if your taking a break and laying on its side when ready for dessert.

With these two, we definitely came out ahead on this cost per person thing 🤣

After dinner, we explored downtown Lincoln a bit. It is definitely a college town city – a little artsy and eclectic, but with a conservative undertone? Like a “let’s get crazy, but I still gotta go to work tomorrow” mentality 😉

Pretty great day to have had very little planned. Tomorrow, we start the day at the Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum at the University of Nebraska! Can you guess who is the most excited of the Browns? 🚜♥️🚜♥️