It's strange, I get claustrophobic staying in Fort Worth sometimes and get the urge to go visit somewhere new every once in a while. I flew to Omaha yesterday. I like traveling for three reasons. First it relieves the claustrophobia, which is a good thing. Secondly part of me wants to understand America (to this day I feel out of place here and I can't understand why) and visiting places might help me fit in more. Finally, there's something exciting about going somewhere. The getting to the airport, the checking in, even the waiting at the airport all builds inside to make me happy. It's irrational and I can't come up with a good reason why, but I get happy all the same.

The only problem is that Omaha is a dump. I've been to a variety of places in America, and Omaha has the worst downtown area I have ever seen. Half the stores are closed and the remained look as if they are generally uncared for.

Having said all this I drove to see the state capitol building (something I always do) in Lincoln and on to the town of Beatrice and the Homestead National and Rock Station State Park (where "Wild Bill" Hickock had his first "confirmed kill") and those where a lot more interesting. There is a sense of drabness about Nebraskan towns though, which kinds of depresses me. The worst thing is I can't work out quite why the drabness is there.