va•ca•tion (veɪˈkeɪ ʃən, və-) n. 1. a period of suspension of regular work, study, or other activity, used for rest, recreation, or travel.

By the time you read this, I will probably be returning from six-plus days of suspending my regular work, enjoying times of rest, putting in some hours of recreation and traveling to and from Omaha, Nebraska on Delta Air Lines.

Yes, we’ve been to Omaha several times before as it is where our son and daughter-in-law live and work. However, whenever we’ve gone, it was either for graduations (niece's and nephew's), weddings (niece's and nephew's) or college baseball games (nephew's).

This time, we (my wife and I) went with no special ceremonies or events scheduled. We “went with the flow” and no agenda – other than meeting up with Tim and Megan’s wonderful friends for food and drinks and seeing Megan’s parents, who live in York, Nebraska.

Yeah, there are no beaches in Omaha (surprise!) and there is always a threat of tornadoes and heavy hail this time of year, but it is a fun place with lots to do. We’ve never been there in August but even in other months it has been hot and humid. As I looked at the forecast before leaving on the trip, the six days had temps in the high 80s to high 90s – with a humidity level of “sweating profusely.”

Omaha has an abundance of nice restaurants and breweries, interesting shops, and the various districts in the city make it a multi-cultural adventure. We thoroughly enjoyed going to the world-class Henry Dorly Zoo the one time we went there, but it was 85F and humid and we were drained by the time we returned to the car.

Maybe some future vacation will be spent in a warm place during Maine’s winter months, but spending time with family and friends with no agenda or scheduled events this time, despite the heat and humidity, will be something new – as I write this just hours before our first flight.