Walk #24: Charles D. McLaughlin's Boring Old House

Address: 507 South 38th Street

Information: Charles D. McLaughlin House

Lunch: Bento Box #3

Destination Review: Sorry, Charlie, your house is really dull.

The Walk: This was in the Gold Coast neighborhood, so there were some interesting things to see as I walked around the block, including a big rich person’s house with separate servant’s quarters…

…pretty planters on every corner…

…more cool Gold Coast bricks…

…some nice brick and stone work…

…and another view of the Blackstone Hotel, over some construction. I’ve visited so many landmarks now that I’m starting to notice landmarks I’ve already visited during my walks.

The Lunch: The chef’s salad was OK, with plenty of ranch. I love roasted baby potatoes. Kiwi and cantaloupe taste good together. And I again enjoyed my version of trail mix, which is a nut and seed mix I get at Dollar Tree mixed with peanut butter M & Ms.

Lunch Ingredient Deals:

Cantaloupe: An Athena melon was 48¢ lb. at Fareway, $2.98 total.

Cucumber: 49¢ at Aldi minus a 25¢ Allrecipes rebate = 24¢

Deli Ham: Carl Buddig Original Lunchmeats were 68¢ at Walmart. I bought 5 and used a $1 off 5 coupon from the 5-7-17 SmartSource insert. I also got a $1 Ibotta rebate for buying 4. Total was $1.40 for 5, or 28¢ per pack.

Eggs: A dozen Hy-Vee Grade A Large Eggs were on sale for 39¢ at Hy-Vee.

Kiwi: On sale for 33¢ at Hy-Vee.

Lettuce: A Hy-Vee Garden Salad was $1.49 at Hy-Vee. I used a 50¢ off 1 store coupon I got in the mail to make it 99¢.

Peanuts: I got a single pack of Munchies Peanuts for 50¢ at CVS.

Red Potatoes: I got 4 for 50¢ at Hy-Vee.

Ranch Dressing: Bolthouse Farms Ranch Dressing was on sale for $2.49 at Baker’s. I used a $1.50 off 1 Baker’s digital coupon, got a $1 rebate from Allrecipes, another $1 rebate from Checkout 51, and yet another $1 rebate from MobiSave, resulting in it being better than free.

Art Project: Embellished Frame

Walk #23: Got Some Interesting Neighborhood Photos Near the Center School

Destination Review: This is an old public school that is now an apartment building. It has a great front door and some cool windows.

The Walk: I went around the block and encountered some interesting fences…

…a great tree swing…

…a brick-paved street…

…and a beautiful fountain in someone’s front yard.

The Lunch: I ate in my car again, because it was hot. Rice and beans were kind of bland. The guacamole made the celery lots better. I couldn’t find star fruit, so I substituted kiwi, which was kind of sour. The cantaloupe was OK. And I substituted fruit cubes for the dried fruit, and they were quite good.

Lunch Ingredient Deals:

Avocados: One of ‘em was 88¢ at Fresh Thyme. I got a $1 Allrecipes rebate for it, plus a $1 Mobisave rebate, making it better than free. The other was 99¢ at Target, minus a 10% off Target Cartwheel offer and the 5% Red Card discount. I got another $1 Allrecipes rebate for it, again making it better than free.

Black Beans: Mrs. Grimes Black Beans were on sale for 77¢ at Fareway. I bought 2 cans for $1.54 and used a $1 off 2 Invisipon coupon, making them 54¢, or 27¢ each.

Cantaloupe: An Athena Melon was on sale for 48¢ lb. at Fareway, $2.98 total.

Celery: On sale for 88¢ at Fareway.

Diced Green Chiles: Ortega Diced Green Chiles are 98¢ at Walmart. I bought 2 for $196 and used a $1 off 2 coupon from ortega.com, making them 96¢, or 48¢ each.

Fruit Cubes: A single pack of Gold Emblem Fruit Cubes was 99¢ at CVS.

Kiwi: On sale for 33¢ at Hy-Vee.

Limes: 25¢ at Aldi

Red Onion: On sale for 39¢ at Fareway. Subtract a 30¢ Allrecipes rebate and it was 9¢.

Sweet Corn: 33¢ an ear at Walmart. Subtract a 25¢ Ibotta rebate and it was 8¢.

Vegetable Broth: A can of Kroger Vegetable Broth was 69¢ at Baker's.

Art Project: Embellished Frame

Walk #22 1/2: I Nearly Get Squashed by Godzilla at the Omaha Pagoda!

Address: 3941 Ashwood Drive

Information: Omaha Pagoda

Lunch: Ice Cream & Bacon Bento

Destination Review: You probably are familiar with the big kerfuffle that happened about this a few years ago. A team of giant monsters wanted to destroy it, but the Omaha Landmark Heritage Commission intervened, and the legal battle was intense. So thanks to the OLHC, this is still standing, though it's a little hard to find.

I got a good picture of it from across the street, near the Piercing Pagoda.

I have to say there were some really interesting vehicles in the parking lot.

Inside, I had to use the restroom, and I was impressed with their facilities.

After emerging from the bathroom, I was greeted by a friendly robot guide, who offered to take me straight to the top.

The Walk: Just like in Hummel Park, I walked all the way to the top of this thing, even though the stairs were forbidding.

At the top, I got a good view of Union Station and the Bekins Van & Storage Sign.

Back at home, I saw on the news about Godzilla destroying the pagoda. Darn! I miss all the good stuff. I missed seeing the Wienermobile, too!

The Lunch

Mmmmm! Ice cream!

Lunch Ingredient Deals

Bacon: 50 lbs. was only $23.98 at Costco! What a steal!

Asparagus: Got it for free by stealing it from my neighbor's garden.

Velveeta-Wrapped Bacon: OK, I admit it; Kraft paid me to review it. See review above.

Red Jawbreaker: Only a penny down at the corner candy store.

Seaweed Snacks OK, $50 plus shipping from Japan Direct is kind of pricy, but I don't skimp when it comes to seaweed snacks.

Cauliflower: I only needed one floret, so I broke one off and managed to talk the Hy-Vee manager into letting me buy it for a quarter. That way, it was FREE after a 25¢ Ibotta rebate.

Weevils: No comment.

Ice Cream: Reed's was having a 50¢ per slice sale, so I saved big, in 1930s dollars at least.

Chocolate Sprinkles: Only a buck at Dollar Tree.

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Walk #22: Discovered the Cornerstone of Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church

Address: 3105 North 24th Street

Information: Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church

Lunch: Bento Box #18

Destination Review: This is now the Church of Jesus Christ Whole Truth.

It’s not in the best of shape, but that just provided me with some more urban decay pictures.

In the parking lot, there was a great old school bus and some colorful pallets that I’m sure Christopher McCandless could have found good use for.

The Walk: It was hot, so I wasn’t too ambitious. Around the block, and I was done. But I did get some pictures of some great paintings on the side of a building.

Back at the church, I found the Best Church Cornerstone Ever.

The Lunch: Like I said, it was very hot, so I ate lunch in the car with the A/C turned on.

I loved the tuna puffs, and so I’ve incorporated them into my Comfort Food Bento. They’re especially good dipped in ranch. The cucumbers and pretzels were also good dipped in ranch. And the cantaloupe and raspberries was a good combination, the melon adding sweetness to the raspberries.

Lunch Ingredient Deals:

Cantaloupe: It was 99¢ at Aldi.

Cheese Crackers: Small boxes of Cheez-Its were $1 apiece at CVS. I used a $1 off 2 Cheez-Its printable coupon that I got in an email from Kellogg’s Family Rewards, making them 2 for $1, or 50¢ each.

Cucumber: 50¢ at Fresh Thyme, minus a 25¢ Allrecipes rebate, made it a quarter.

Eggs: A dozen Goldhen Large Eggs was 51¢ at Aldi.

Lemon: 47¢ at Target.

Pretzels: An 8-pack bag of Snyder’s of Hanover Mini Pretzels was $1 at Dollar Tree, or 13¢ per bag.

Raspberries: Driscoll’s Raspberries were $1.50 at Baker’s. I used a 75¢ off printable coupon that I got for doing a survey on the Driscoll’s Consumer Panel. After a 25¢ Checkout 51 rebate, it was 50¢.

Artwork: Embellished Frame

Walk #21: I Climbed Some Stairs Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Cabanne Archeological Site!

Address: J. J Pershing Drive & Hummel Road

Information: Cabanne Archeological Site

Lunch: Bento Box #4

OK, first let me get something off my chest. How can something be a LANDMARK when it's in a SECRET LOCATION??

Yet this is what I read on Wikipedia about the Cabanne Archeological Site. OK, I guess I get that they don't want people messing with their archeological dig, but maybe have it designated a landmark AFTER you're done digging rather than before?

But because I'm a completist, I have to do the best I can with this. So. Apparently the Cabanne site is near the site of an old fort named Fort Lisa. And a little research on Fort Lisa reveals that it was somewhere in the vicinity of Hummel Park. So off to Hummel Park I go.

When I get there and find a place to park, I see a very old-looking set of stone steps.

So now I have my work cut out for me.

The Walk: Let’s talk a bit about exercise again, shall we? Did I mention that I hate to exercise? Did I mention that this project is all an elaborate ruse to get me to exercise?

I start climbing the old stairs.

After getting to the top of the initial stairs, I see more stairs. LOTS more stairs.

It’s July, so it’s very hot. The stairs are uneven and climbing them makes my hips hurt. I am in such bad shape that I have to stop every few steps and catch my breath.

To add to my humiliation, two teenage boys appear and run straight up the stairs like it was nothing.

But do I turn around and go back? NO. I HAVE to see what is at the top of these stairs!

Back to exercise: I don’t know how many stairs there were, so we’ll just call that value X. If you had put me in a gym on a Stairmaster and said, “OK, Christine, you have to climb X steps,” do you think I would have done it? NEVER! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!!

But because this was part of my grand Art Project, I did it! I climbed up ALL those stairs, even though it made me feel like my heart was going to jump out of my chest and sweat was rolling off me in gallons. Because this was my personal adventure, and I HAD to see what was at the top.

So what was at the top? A picnic shelter, perfect for eating my lunch in!

I call the Omaha Walks Project a RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!

The Lunch: I didn’t make a cute little face on my salad like in the source picture, but it was pretty good anyway. The blueberry bread was delicious. The honeydew melon added sweetness to the strawberries, making this a good combination.

Lunch Ingredient Deals:

Bananas: That’s Smart Bananas were 31¢ at Hy-Vee.

Carrots: A 1 lb. bag of organic carrots was 99¢ at Fresh Thyme.

Cucumber: 50¢ at Fresh Thyme minus a 25¢ Allrecipes rebate equals a quarter.

Greek Yogurt: A Chobani Greek Yogurt Cup was 78¢ at Fareway.

Lettuce: A Little Salad Bar Garden Salad was 89¢ at Aldi.

Shredded Cheddar Cheese: Crystal Farms Shredded Cheese was $2.69 at Hy-Vee and on buy one get one free sale. So I bought 4 bags for $5.38 and used a $1 off 3 coupon from the 6-4-17 SmartSource insert, making them $4.38. I got 2¢ off per gallon in Fuel Saver Rewards for each bag. I multiply my Fuel Saver discount by 10, because my car holds about 10 gallons per fill-up. So I got 40¢ in Fuel Saver Rewards for the 4 bags, making them about $4 total, or $1 per bag.

Artwork: Embellished Frame

Walk #20: Almost Trapped Near the Burlington Station!

Address: 925 S. 10th Street

Information: Burlington Station

Lunch: Bento Box #11

Destination Review: I had always remembered the Burlington Station as the Other Sadly Neglected Railroad Station in Omaha, left to crumble while the Union Station was made into a museum. So I was glad to hear that recently Channel 7 bought it, renovated it, and turned it into their headquarters.

I wasn’t able to get too far inside the building, though, as it was locked to random strangers. I was able to get the receptionist to allow me to take some photos in the lobby, and that was it.

But I did get to wander all the way around the outside of the building, where I got some great sign photos, some interesting brickwork photos, and a view of the Union Station from the back.

The Walk: Like I said, I wandered all the way around the building. I eventually found a little old outbuilding with picnic tables in it, which was the perfect place to have my lunch.

Inside the outbuilding, I got some brickwork and window photos, as well as another view of the Union Station through some bars.

After lunch, I almost didn’t make it out alive! There was construction work going on nearby, and just as I was leaving the outbuilding, a worker closed a large automatic gate around the work, including the outbuilding, trapping me inside. Fortunately, he opened it up again when I pointed out I couldn’t leave if he didn’t. Good thing, or I would probably still be there.

The Lunch: Ham and spinach roll-ups were as expected, which was pretty good. So was cheese & crackers. My recipe for trail mix, which is Dollar Tree cashew snack mix mixed with peanut butter M & Ms, was excellent. I substituted dark chocolate covered almonds that I got for free at CVS for the chocolate chips, and they were good. And I love watermelon. So all in all, this was a pretty good bento.

Lunch Ingredient Deals:

Cashew Snack Mix: This was $1 at Dollar Tree.

Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds: A 5 oz. pouch of Brookside Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds was $3.79 at CVS. Minus a $2 off 1 Brookside Pouch CVS coupon from the Card Scanner in the store, a $1 off $3 worth of premium candy CVS Extra Care coupon that I loaded to my CVS card, and $5 in Beauty Club Extra Bucks, these were better than free.

Deli Ham: Carl Buddig Original Ham was 68¢ at Walmart.

Watermelon: Watermelon cuts were 48¢ lb. at Fresh Thyme, 97¢ total.

Art Project: Embellished Frame