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"  &amp;quot;Many people who&amp;#039;ve never been here have a picture of a flat cow town with lots of cornfields and maybe some buffalo roaming around,&amp;quot; jokes Marie Otis, 48, a real estate agent and married mother of two who has lived in Omaha for 15 years. And while the Nebraska city is indeed known for its corn-fed cattle, there&amp;#039;s more to Omaha than meets the eye. Here, Marie shares a few of her favorite places in this heartland city.   Catch Football Fever: University of Nebraska Cornhuskers Fall in Nebraska is all about &amp;quot;Big Red.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Although the games and the university are in Lincoln, about an hour&amp;#039;s drive away, everything in Omaha turns red when football season starts,&amp;quot; says Marie. &amp;quot;Flags wave in front of homes and people all over town wear red. It&amp;#039;s impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.&amp;quot; But even that much fan spirit can&amp;#039;t hold a candle to the rush of being in Memorial Stadium on game day. &amp;quot;More than 85,000 people, all wearing red and cheering as one\u2014it&amp;#039;s incredible! If you can snag a ticket, you have to go.&amp;quot; Photo: Brian Bahr/Getty Images See Fall Flowers: Lauritzen Gardens What can you find at a 100-acre floral sanctuary this time of year? Vividly hued chrysanthemums. The signature flower of fall is on brilliant display here at the gardens&amp;#039; annual chrysanthemum show, now through November 20. Bonus: Quilts in the Garden, an exhibit of botanically themed quilts hand-stitched by area quilters, will be here from November 11 to 13. If the artistry and craftsmanship of one of the quilters catches your eye, take a piece of her handiwork home\u2014select quilts, quilted purses and other handmade crafts will be available for sale. ($7 adults, $3 kids 6\u201312)  Take a Nature Walk: Arbor Lodge State Historical Park Although the 19th-century home of J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, sits in this 72-acre park in nearby Nebraska City, another major attraction is the arboretum. Here you can stroll among 280 varieties of labeled trees, some of them more than a century old.  A Day of Family Fun: Omaha&amp;#039;s Henry Doorly Zoo Of all the amazing exhibits here, the Desert Dome really makes this zoo worth the trip. The world&amp;#039;s largest indoor desert (42,000 square feet!), the dome is filled with 30-foot sand dunes, giant cacti, and desert animals like meerkats and wallabies. &amp;quot;My kids also love the Kingdoms of the Night, which is beneath the desert floor,&amp;quot; says Marie. There, you can explore canyons and caves that nocturnal animals like bats and alligators call home. &amp;quot;You hear splashing and wings flapping, and then look around and see red alligator eyes glowing at you. It&amp;#039;s a little scary but fun.&amp;quot; ($13.50 adults, $9 kids 3\u201311)  Watch Amazing Aircraft: Strategic Air &amp;amp;amp; Space Museum Get an up-close view of awe-inspiring aircraft at this 330,000-square-foot museum in Ashland, just a half-hour south of Omaha. Each historic exhibit is more fascinating than the next, including an Apollo 009 test capsule and the SR-71 Blackbird (a famous reconnaissance plane that&amp;#039;s so fast, its maximum speed is classified by the government). &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s also an area where your children can crawl into the cockpit of a plane and pretend to be pilots,&amp;quot; says Marie. If they want to experience the real thing\u2014and you want in on the action, too\u2014try the flight simulator. ($12 adults, $6 kids 4\u201312; flight simulator $5 extra) Photo: courtesy of Strategic Air &amp;amp;amp; Space Museum Relive Your Childhood:  Gene Leahy Mall Slides Don&amp;#039;t let the chill stop you from trying the 18-foot-tall slides at this downtown outdoor mall (which is really a park). &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s always a line of people no matter the weather,&amp;quot; says Marie. That&amp;#039;s because these cool slides aren&amp;#039;t the kiddie kind. At 44 feet long, they&amp;#039;re big enough to bring out the kid in anyone.   Dinner for Two: Omaha Prime You can&amp;#039;t come to Omaha without trying its world-famous steak. And Marie&amp;#039;s favorite steakhouse, Omaha Prime in the historic Old Market district, serves up premium cuts in a warm, inviting setting, thanks to the exposed brick walls and huge windows overlooking art galleries, boutiques and antique shops. &amp;quot;My husband and I had dinner here the night he proposed to me,&amp;quot; says Marie. &amp;quot;It was one of the most romantic nights of my life, and we&amp;#039;ve been coming back ever since.&amp;quot; Although the menu features seafood, the real star is the steak. &amp;quot;I always order the New York Strip,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s tender, juicy and delicious every time. And a good bottle of Shiraz complements it perfectly.&amp;quot; Tasty Way to Start the Day:  WheatFields Eatery &amp;amp;amp; Bakery The awesome thing about this place: the bread\u00AD\u2014black olive, lemon velvet, maple walnut and 37 other varieties, all made fresh daily. &amp;quot;When you walk in, that wonderful smell of fresh-baked goods hits you right away,&amp;quot; says Marie. But the bread isn&amp;#039;t the only draw. People line up 15 deep or more to snag a table for breakfast, especially on weekends\u2014so get there early. The local favorite: pot roast and eggs with gravy. To learn how to get around Omaha, click here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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