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My Fair Lady - Omaha, NE Part 1
Nov. 29th, 2023 06:32 pmI was up early to have breakfast and finish packing before the charter buses arrived.
I tried the hawthorn Oreos, since it's not like they'd be BAD. Not sure about you, but I've never had a bad Oreo in my life!
These are Oreo Thins, and this is a limited seasonal flavor.
Hawthorn berries are popular in Asia for their antioxidants, documented health benefits, and tart flavor (they taste very similar to cranberries.) I've had hawthorn in many forms, mostly as candies and sweets, most memorably in a freeze-dried form while suffering with Covid in Las Vegas.
These cookies were very good! Just like a regular Oreo Thin but with a fruity tart flavor, and little pieces of dried hawthorn in the cream too. Very lovely and nice; they didn't taste artificial at all (looking at you, Lemon Oreos!) I'd definitely get these again if I saw them in the store.
Anyway, the buses loaded up and left about 10 minutes late. Typical.
I dozed but couldn't sleep, and at some point we stopped for a bathroom break at a Pilot.
Onward for another two hours or so until we hit a Target, where we had an hour for lunch.
I had packed a lunch of Travel Bagel, cashews, tuna, and veggies, so used Target to get Christmas shopping ideas and stretch my legs.
Back on the bus, late again because it's a statistical requisite that at least one actor has to have terrible time management. Then on for another two or three hours, watching the flat Iowa landscape roll by, speckled with cows and farms, wind turbines looming above all.
I also saw a herd of bison, presumably farmed, but didn't have time to catch a picture.
Eventually we made it, 20 minutes late. I was annoyed but tried hard not to be. Mostly I was irritated that we got in after the sun had set and it was 24°F with windchill, so I was forced to get an Uber to the grocery instead of walking when I'd already been on my a$$ all day. Whatever, I got some nice food for the week and unpacked and had maintenance over to unclog my shower drain (gross), then slept.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I got up at the usual time and had breakfast, and before lunch decided to hit an Asian grocery I'd discovered nearby. I don't need anything but love to look, and of course you always find a FEW things to try!
( CLICK HERE for Asian Grocery Adventures )
In the evening, off to the theatre for sound check.
This is an Orpheum, and like most 1920s "palaces" it is ornate and extravagant.
(photo courtesy Operaomaha.com)
The sound check went well, I ate a packed dinner and was glad for it because the sound check had been long and everyone else had to go running around in the cold to find food, or order delivery. No thanks!
The show went well. It is so interesting to play this show without in-ears, and have to adjust your hearing and how you play so drastically for each venue based on how things are sounding. That's probably a good skill but eh, you do what you gotta do!
--------------------------------------------
Wednesday was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, so I resolved to take myself to the Omaha Zoo!
But first, since I'd be doing a lot of walking, I wanted to have a good lunch.
So I went to Kinaara because they're the top-rated Indian restaurant in Omaha, and they offer a sampler platter on Wednesdays and Thursdays!
This is called Thali. It's a traditional sort of "sampler plate", and in this case it contains seven small dishes with three proteins, two vegetables, one dal, and one dessert.
Do I know what everything was? Nope.
Was it all flavorful, delicious, and fun to eat? Yes!
I recognized tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and naan and basmati rice of course. There was also what seemed to be fried okra (found out later that this is called bhindi masala) and a sweet yellow curried chicken of some sort that were both my favorites of the day. There was a kidney bean dish that was good but I couldn't eat a lot of it because it was intensely spicy, and I DO have to play a show tonight lol. And the white stuff was dessert, a rice pudding that was super thin (I guess that's how it's done in India) but very good, I could definitely taste cardamom strongly and loved it very much.
The smaller dishes held a green relish/chutney that was tangy and refreshing, and a yogurt dip.
The crispy chips were good, I was surprised by the shell-shaped chip as it had a briny fishy taste!
Everything was incredible. I ate about half and packed the rest up for another day (YES awesome leftovers!!) then dropped it off at the hotel and headed to the Omaha Zoo!
TL;DR, here's a compilation of videos that doesn't include any of the photos that I took (CLICK HERE to watch)
The dome, which dominates the zoo landscape:
This is one of the top rated zoos in the country. Their exhibits are unlike anything I've ever seen!
The big dome is a desert habitat on top, with a nocturnal habitat and full-on swamp on the bottom levels.
Some desert animals:
On the lower level, here are the cave and swamp habitats. Incredible, and huge.
There were LOTS of bats! So cool to see! So awful to smell! Lol (see video above)
I kind of zipped through the swamp portion because it was mostly alligators and turtles, which I can see just about any time in Florida :p Next was the African area, and I didn't expect much because even 50° is cold for African mammals, but to my surprise you could still view most of the animals indoors too! So I popped in and out to catch as many as I could! (See video above the cut for the elephants and rhino)
It was incredibly empty, so I enjoyed not having to mask and watching the animals go about their business in peace, without kids banging on the glass or shrieking. This time of year must be a pleasant break for the zoo. And for me, it just felt...special.
All of the walkways were decorated for Christmas, and I could tell that at night it must be a lot of fun to see everything all lit up! I didn't take a lot of pics of the decor, but here's a news segment on the "Zoolightful" event (new this year.)
Please see the compilation video to see flying fox bats, elephants, and some REALLY great gorilla footage!
I didn't get to see the big cats (they likely weren't out anyway) or the insect building (because there WERE school groups in there) but covered a lot of ground and definitely had a very fun day of animal-watching!
Back at the hotel I rested a bit and worked out some kinks with my sub trombonist's hotel room, then got dressed and went to the theatre for work. The show went just fine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thursday I will likely mostly rest, do a little holiday planning and shopping, and go for a walk at some point if the weather is nice. Friday I'll have to do laundry, and will explore more as I can and as energy allows.
Once my sub gets here, things will be a bit stressful for me until I'm sure he'll be all right and everyone's happy with him.
A last thought to throw in: as my 40th birthday approaches, I kind of look back on all of the crazy, beautiful, stressful, expensive things that I get to do, and am amazed. Who gets to have a day, like I had today? And then look forward to MORE?
Honestly. Sometimes...it makes me feel both smaller and larger at the same time.
I tried the hawthorn Oreos, since it's not like they'd be BAD. Not sure about you, but I've never had a bad Oreo in my life!
These are Oreo Thins, and this is a limited seasonal flavor.
Hawthorn berries are popular in Asia for their antioxidants, documented health benefits, and tart flavor (they taste very similar to cranberries.) I've had hawthorn in many forms, mostly as candies and sweets, most memorably in a freeze-dried form while suffering with Covid in Las Vegas.
These cookies were very good! Just like a regular Oreo Thin but with a fruity tart flavor, and little pieces of dried hawthorn in the cream too. Very lovely and nice; they didn't taste artificial at all (looking at you, Lemon Oreos!) I'd definitely get these again if I saw them in the store.
Anyway, the buses loaded up and left about 10 minutes late. Typical.
I dozed but couldn't sleep, and at some point we stopped for a bathroom break at a Pilot.
Onward for another two hours or so until we hit a Target, where we had an hour for lunch.
I had packed a lunch of Travel Bagel, cashews, tuna, and veggies, so used Target to get Christmas shopping ideas and stretch my legs.
Back on the bus, late again because it's a statistical requisite that at least one actor has to have terrible time management. Then on for another two or three hours, watching the flat Iowa landscape roll by, speckled with cows and farms, wind turbines looming above all.
I also saw a herd of bison, presumably farmed, but didn't have time to catch a picture.
Eventually we made it, 20 minutes late. I was annoyed but tried hard not to be. Mostly I was irritated that we got in after the sun had set and it was 24°F with windchill, so I was forced to get an Uber to the grocery instead of walking when I'd already been on my a$$ all day. Whatever, I got some nice food for the week and unpacked and had maintenance over to unclog my shower drain (gross), then slept.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I got up at the usual time and had breakfast, and before lunch decided to hit an Asian grocery I'd discovered nearby. I don't need anything but love to look, and of course you always find a FEW things to try!
( CLICK HERE for Asian Grocery Adventures )
In the evening, off to the theatre for sound check.
This is an Orpheum, and like most 1920s "palaces" it is ornate and extravagant.
(photo courtesy Operaomaha.com)
The sound check went well, I ate a packed dinner and was glad for it because the sound check had been long and everyone else had to go running around in the cold to find food, or order delivery. No thanks!
The show went well. It is so interesting to play this show without in-ears, and have to adjust your hearing and how you play so drastically for each venue based on how things are sounding. That's probably a good skill but eh, you do what you gotta do!
--------------------------------------------
Wednesday was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, so I resolved to take myself to the Omaha Zoo!
But first, since I'd be doing a lot of walking, I wanted to have a good lunch.
So I went to Kinaara because they're the top-rated Indian restaurant in Omaha, and they offer a sampler platter on Wednesdays and Thursdays!
This is called Thali. It's a traditional sort of "sampler plate", and in this case it contains seven small dishes with three proteins, two vegetables, one dal, and one dessert.
Do I know what everything was? Nope.
Was it all flavorful, delicious, and fun to eat? Yes!
I recognized tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and naan and basmati rice of course. There was also what seemed to be fried okra (found out later that this is called bhindi masala) and a sweet yellow curried chicken of some sort that were both my favorites of the day. There was a kidney bean dish that was good but I couldn't eat a lot of it because it was intensely spicy, and I DO have to play a show tonight lol. And the white stuff was dessert, a rice pudding that was super thin (I guess that's how it's done in India) but very good, I could definitely taste cardamom strongly and loved it very much.
The smaller dishes held a green relish/chutney that was tangy and refreshing, and a yogurt dip.
The crispy chips were good, I was surprised by the shell-shaped chip as it had a briny fishy taste!
Everything was incredible. I ate about half and packed the rest up for another day (YES awesome leftovers!!) then dropped it off at the hotel and headed to the Omaha Zoo!
TL;DR, here's a compilation of videos that doesn't include any of the photos that I took (CLICK HERE to watch)
The dome, which dominates the zoo landscape:
This is one of the top rated zoos in the country. Their exhibits are unlike anything I've ever seen!
The big dome is a desert habitat on top, with a nocturnal habitat and full-on swamp on the bottom levels.
Some desert animals:
On the lower level, here are the cave and swamp habitats. Incredible, and huge.
There were LOTS of bats! So cool to see! So awful to smell! Lol (see video above)
I kind of zipped through the swamp portion because it was mostly alligators and turtles, which I can see just about any time in Florida :p Next was the African area, and I didn't expect much because even 50° is cold for African mammals, but to my surprise you could still view most of the animals indoors too! So I popped in and out to catch as many as I could! (See video above the cut for the elephants and rhino)
It was incredibly empty, so I enjoyed not having to mask and watching the animals go about their business in peace, without kids banging on the glass or shrieking. This time of year must be a pleasant break for the zoo. And for me, it just felt...special.
All of the walkways were decorated for Christmas, and I could tell that at night it must be a lot of fun to see everything all lit up! I didn't take a lot of pics of the decor, but here's a news segment on the "Zoolightful" event (new this year.)
Please see the compilation video to see flying fox bats, elephants, and some REALLY great gorilla footage!
I didn't get to see the big cats (they likely weren't out anyway) or the insect building (because there WERE school groups in there) but covered a lot of ground and definitely had a very fun day of animal-watching!
Back at the hotel I rested a bit and worked out some kinks with my sub trombonist's hotel room, then got dressed and went to the theatre for work. The show went just fine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thursday I will likely mostly rest, do a little holiday planning and shopping, and go for a walk at some point if the weather is nice. Friday I'll have to do laundry, and will explore more as I can and as energy allows.
Once my sub gets here, things will be a bit stressful for me until I'm sure he'll be all right and everyone's happy with him.
A last thought to throw in: as my 40th birthday approaches, I kind of look back on all of the crazy, beautiful, stressful, expensive things that I get to do, and am amazed. Who gets to have a day, like I had today? And then look forward to MORE?
Honestly. Sometimes...it makes me feel both smaller and larger at the same time.
