Day Trip Adventure: Lincoln, Nebraska

Last Thursday, I took the kids to Lincoln, NE- our state capital- about an hour's drive from our home. I packed up a lunch and chose four free activities, in keeping with my mantra that adventure & fun doesn't have to cost money.

We started at the Sheldon Museum located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While not large, it was very impressive. We started at a Henri exhibit, saw modern art, including the Mickey Mouse Warhol, and ended with a Willa Cather special exhibit.

This next one looks like it was taken down the stairs at the museum, but it's actually a painting. I thought it was great in its detail.

After the museum, we went to the Sunken Gardens. It was absolutely gorgeous! Many kinds and colors of flowers and foliage abounded, all surrounded by fountains, waterfalls, statues, lily ponds, and Koi fish.

We ate our lunch at the gardens and then headed to the Nebraska State Capitol building. It's an impressive structure filled with beautiful mosaics, marble, and murals.

We got a good view of this church as we walked to the entrance, and I thought it was a cool mixture of creepy and interesting.

It's called St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Last, we visited Pioneer Park. It has a regular park with shelters, picnic tables, grills, and playground equipment, but there's more. Within you will find two nature centers, beautiful forested walking trails, an outdoor play area, three wetland marshes, and an area to see bison, elk, & deer. Impressive indeed!

We had a fun day. I was pleasantly surprised by the free things there were to do that were truly momentous. I recommend stopping in Lincoln for the day or a longer visit. It's definitely worth the trip!