Nebraska Friendly

December 13, 2017 alyssa baldridge

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eclipse

Photo by: Julie Geiser

I’m writing to NEBRASKAland to tell you how much I enjoy it. I first subscribed to the magazine in February after I decided I was coming to Nebraska to watch the eclipse. I thought it might give me some tips on what to do and see in Nebraska. It did, as we enjoyed an outing at Rock Creek Station (Homestead, too) after reading about it in your magazine. Even though our vacation has come and gone I plan to renew my subscription to your magazine.

However, what I really would like to say is thank you to the people of Nebraska. My wife, youngest daughter (17) and myself traveled to your state to watch the eclipse. While we stayed at a hotel in Kearney on Aug. 21, we watched the celestial event from Ravenna Lake in Buffalo County.

According to a study done by the Tourism Commission, the Aug. 21 solar eclipse had an estimated $127 million economic impact from lodging and travel spending across the state and 708,000 people traveled to watch the eclipse in Nebraska. About 87 % of the travelers came from out of state, making the eclipse the largest single tourist event on record in Nebraska.

We also took part in the town of Ravenna’s festivals, from the bands to the vendors. And yes, we spent money! We enjoyed the small-town atmosphere, charm and hospitality to the utmost maximum.

We spent a total of nine days in your lovely state. Nebraska is so big! We logged nearly 1,900 miles traveling from the Omaha airport and back again seeing such sights as Homestead to Fort Robinson to Smith Falls and everything in between.

I was surprised at how friendly Nebraskans were and how they were willing to help or give advice on what to do and see to a stranger. Even the police officer that pulled me over for speeding in Ogallala ended up offering advice about Ash Hollow. It turns out that by the end of our stay we could actually tell who was a native to Nebraska and who was not, simply by their friendliness.

You put “southern hospitality” to shame. We also learned of your new state motto, “Nebraska. Nice,” and found it to be perfectly fitting.

Mike Sausser and family Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania

The post Nebraska Friendly appeared first on NEBRASKALand Magazine.

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