Not NoDo Anymore

At her show at the Slowdown a few months ago, Ingrid Michaelson commented on how great the area was and how you could find anything you need right there - "Like Urban Outfitters, which is a really great place to shop for clothes!" 

Really?  Hmm.  I hadn't given it much thought.  So the next day, I drove back to the Slowdown with my camera to see what she was talking about.  I should have worn sunscreen, because when I started walking around the area, I found a lot more to explore than I'd expected.  

 "Old Things New" is a theme I keep coming back to, and I found that phrase coming to mind again.  North Downtown used to be a booming business district, but things dried up after the Hilton Hotel was built on top of 16th street in 1966, cutting off the major traffic artery that connected north downtown with the rest of the central business district.  (The DoubleTree Hotel is in that location now.)  The move was probably motivated by racial and religious tension; the majority of the businesses impacted were owned by members of the African American and Jewish communities.

The area picked up the unfortunate nickname of "NoDo," a moniker that was sadly accurate.  But after several decades, things are starting to change.   North Downtown is becoming a cool hub for shopping, dining, and entertainment again.

 

As I wandered around in full tourist mode, shamelessly taking photo after photo of things most "natives" walk by without a second glance, I ran into one of the friendly employees of Greenstreet Cycles.  I thought I should explain myself after he walked by me twice, probably wondering why this weirdo was taking pictures of the building, so I gave him a Hometown Tourist card and explained the blog.  Like me, he's an Omaha native who had to move away for awhile to really appreciate what's here.  We had a nice chat about Greenstreet and the North Downtown area in general.   

 

I think this would be a fun date night.  Dinner on the patio at Goodnight's Pizza Bar...

 

...followed by a movie at Film Streams...

 

...or a concert at the Slowdown or the Qwest Center.  They're all in easy walking distance of each other. 

The T.D. Ameritrade Stadium is going up next to the Qwest Center, so we'll have another entertainment option soon.  

Notice the mix of old and new - shiny buildings in the background, and the railroad crossing sign in the foreground.  Trains have been an important part of Omaha history since the 1860's, bringing goods and growth to the city since it was chosen as the eastern starting point for the first transcontinental railroad.  A series of murals on a building facing the Qwest center explores Nebraska's past and present, focusing on our roots...

The old and the new, co-existing peacefully side by side.  I like it.  It has character.

 

The more time I spend being a tourist in my own hometown, the more I find to appreciate about it.  The irony is that sometimes it takes a visitor from out of state to make me see what's right in front of me.

Oh - and I found a really cute sundress on sale at Urban Outfitters for $10.  Thanks for the tip, Ingrid!

Ingrid Michaelson at the Slowdown

To really understand this blog post, there's something you need to know about me:

I'm a girl guitar player.   

I love to jam out on my Taylor or Martin acoustics, and I've even been known to rock a Stratocaster on occasion.  I love to play, but I have this niggling insecurity about what that says for my femininity.  I mean, come on - wielding an "axe" is still pretty firmly guy territory, even though there are some amazing female guitar players and singer/song writers out there.  

Also - I love music.  I especially love watching talented performers in a live setting where I can see and hear them clearly.  Arenas are great, but I prefer more intimate venues for the most part.  (As my siblings know - checking out the gear and watching the guitar players' hands is half the fun for me.) 

Given that bit of background information, you'll understand why I so thoroughly enjoyed Ingrid Michaelson's show at the Slowdown on Friday night. 

The Slowdown is located at 14th and Mike Fahey Drive.  It's just a couple of blocks from the Qwest Center, although the two venues couldn't be more different.  No hockey games or Olympic trials will ever be held here.  But if it's music you love - the Slowdown lets you get up close and personal with the folks on stage.  (Wonder if that's why Ingrid Michaelson joked about us all being her best friends?  And talked about the kind of bra she was wearing...  You had to be there.) 

The show was sold out, but we still had no trouble finding a good place to stand.  We could have gotten closer by going down onto the floor, but - well, I guess the other thing you should know is that I'm short.  We stood on the second tier where we could see over all those tall people. 

Jason Reeves opened the show.  He did a great job, and I think we'll see a lot more of him in the next year or so.  He and Colbie Caillat have actually been friends for a long time.  I'm listening to songs from their shared MySpace page as I write this evening.

After Jason's set, I watched the techs set up for Ingrid Michaelson.  Then the band started coming out.

At this point, I overheard a conversation behind me.  It went something like this:

Girl A:  Where's Ingrid Michaelson?

Girl B:  She's right there!  (points to girl on the left)

Girl A:  Oh!  I didn't know!  (embarrassed laugh)

Me:  That's okay - I didn't know either.  (smiling to make her feel better)

Anybody get the joke yet? 

Ingrid Michaelson was not, in fact, on stage.  (Sorry, Girl B.  Bet you feel kinda silly now...)  When she did come out a moment later, I was confused.  I thought she was a piano player, but instead she picked up the ukelele.

I thought Curt Isaacson was the only one who could play an instrument like that and lead a band with presence and power, but Michaelson was amazing. 

Her band members were amazing, too.  I was especially impressed by the two girl guitar players with her.  They were so pretty and cute and undeniably feminine, and they completely rocked.  You don't see a girl wearing a little black dress and playing a Strat every day of the week!

 At one point in the show, they played "Chinese Fire Drill."  Every band member rotated to a new instrument in the middle of a song, and then they picked up the song from there.  It was awesome.

Michaelson herself ended up back at the drums.

And eventually, she played the piano.

Her band members kept changing instruments, too.  People like that just make me sick.  (With jealousy...)
 

Yes, that really is an accordian he's playing.  I'm finding that the right musicians can make any instrument sound cool.

Michaelson had us all laughing with her easygoing banter about everything from bras to Lady Gaga.  And she even taught us a little choreography. 

They also covered a song by a girl Michaelson predicted could become a big star someday - a young lady by the name of Britney Spears.  And the best part?  The whole band did this whole choreographed dance. 

She played "The Way I Am" three different times during the show, in three completely different ways.  One time was normal.  One time incorporated "Ice Ice Baby" and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song.  And the third time changed it from folky to rocking.  (Not my favorite version - but it made for an entertaining finale, and that was the point.)

It was a great night at the Slowdown.

Lauritzen Gardens

The bad news:  Taxes are going up.  And surprise, surprise - those of us who make less than $250,000 a year won't be exempt from the tax increase.  "Read my lips - no new taxes."  Uh huh.  You know that's bunk no matter which president says it. 

The good news?  If your vacation turns into a staycation - or you just need a quiet place to get away from your worries for awhile - the Lauritzen Gardens offer a beautiful, relaxing retreat.  Located off 13th Street north of the zoo and Rosenblatt, there are 100 acres with over 15 gardens of different themes, connected by nicely paved walk paths.  Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-12.  Children under 6 are admitted free.  A variety of memberships are also available.  There's ample parking in the lots by the visitors' center. 

The visitors' center has several displays, a pond, a cafe, a gift shop, and very nice bathrooms.  It's also air conditioned.  The rest of the gardens are outdoors.  They are not air conditioned unless the wind is blowing.  Hopefully that won't come as a shock to you, but a friend of mine used to work there, and someone actually called and grilled her about it.   I guess you never know if you don't ask...

When you start out from the visitors' center, the Victorian Garden will be your first stop.  Green to the core, many of the architectural components came from buildings that were torn down in Omaha or Council Bluffs.  Recycling should always look this good.

This door reminded me of The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett.

Some of the garden areas are formal, and some are more casual.  I love the way existing elements like mature trees have been incorporated into designed features.

Who can resist a mysterious stairway like this?  Go on - see what's around the bend.  You won't be sorry.

It's a model railroad garden!  With seven trains running on four different lines.

The buildings are all done to scale and made from natural elements like twigs, acorns, and pinecones.  Can you recognize any of these Omaha landmarks?  

I'm guessing the lights inside are not made of natural elements, but they're pretty.

The Children's Garden is a bright, colorful experience for all five of your senses.  Kids are involved in planning and maintaining the garden.  You can schedule an appointment for a special kids' tour, and they may even get a chance to do some hands-on gardening.

Appealing to the sense of sight is pretty easy in a garden setting.

But how about the sense of hearing?  Kneel beside these plants and listen carefully.  What birds and insects do you hear?

Touch these and feel how soft and fuzzy they are.  If you look closely, you'll find some little bugs snuggled up on the leaves.  (Click on any picture to see it larger.)

Break off a leaf of chocolate mint and enjoy - but leave some for the rest of us!  I need to get some of these plants for my garden at home.

Last but not least - the sense of smell.

The cabin in the Children's Garden appeals to the sense of play in all of us.  I just had to go inside.  Oh - and the window is a great spot to pose with a friend for a picture.

A scale version of Mt. Fuji on the future site of the Japanese Garden.  But I have it on good authority that you're not supposed to climb the mountain...  It isn't nice to tease us with stairs that go halfway. 

Some girls would do anything just to get flowers from their guy.  But Diane got way more than a nice bouquet in the herb garden!

Remember Anne of Green Gables?  This reminds me of the scene where she meets Roy Gardner in the gazebo in the pouring rain.  Ah, so romantic!  (But the moral of the story?  Sometimes we don't know what we really want until we get exactly what we think we want - and realize it isn't right for us at all.) 

Before we turned back toward the visitors' center, we paused to rest in the Garden of Memories.  This plaque honors Mrs. Kimball Lauritzen, who served on the board and was a key fundraiser for the gardens.  She was active in other community organizations as well, including the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Omaha Public Schools, until her death of cancer in 2008.  

The benches surrounding the reflecting pool provide a beautiful place to think about those who mean the most to us and the good times we've shared with them.

The Lauritzen Gardens are a great place to make new memories, too.  Enjoy!