I "got out of Dodge," as the saying goes, last week. My wife and I finally got to use our airplane tickets, paid for in 2020, to visit our son, Tim, in Nebraska. We met him and his lady, Megan, in Kansas City, Missouri so we could all meet up with Mel's brother and wife to attend our nephew, Casey Burnham's, baseball games at the University of Kansas. The Jayhawks went 2-1 against Kansas State, including taking a 10-0, seven-inning no-hitter!

Tim drove us back to Omaha on Sunday where we stayed at their apartment for three nights. During our three days of dining, shopping, touring the house Tim and Megan are purchasing and moving into next month, and just catching up, we also got to entertain (or was it the other way around?) their Goldendoodle, Gus.

I was so impressed with my first experience at a dog park, it made me want to write about it here in my column. The public park, with realistic artificial grass, featured benches and umbrellas for shade for dog owners, a fountain so dogs could have water and get wet on warm days, rocks and man-made platforms for climbing, and plenty of room for running. The fencing was at least eight feet high and there was an area fenced off for small dogs.

Omaha also has a dog bar, where dog owners can enjoy food or drinks while the dogs play. Gus had a great time there, with most of the same features as the public park. Tim and Megan scheduled a time to attend the facility and there had to be 30 dogs there when we attended the facility for about an hour.

It would be great to have a fenced dog park somewhere in the region. Perhaps it could be considered as an addition to the Clifford Playground reconstruction plans.