Coffee shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries, museums—not all Nebraskans know that a treasure trove of travel destinations exists within their own state. Sara Howard and Doug Schroder, however, know them well, having visited all the stops on the Nebraska Passport program’s itinerary for several years.
Together, Howard and Schroder have traveled to every corner of the state, experiencing people and places they otherwise may never have encountered. Howard documents their adventures on her Facebook profile, while Schroder is always amazed they make it to all 70 stops every year. The married couple has visited every stop since 2014, save for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Howard, a former two-time Nebraska State Senator and current policy advisor at First Five Nebraska, immediately formed a bond with Schroder, a ceramist and visual art teacher at Duchesne Academy, when a mutual acquaintance connected them in 2012. It was somewhat difficult, however, for the couple to get to know each other quickly, as Howard had recently been elected a Nebraska State Senator. “It was possibly a bit strange for him because we met, went on a couple of dates, and then I was sworn into the legislature,” Howard recalled. “All he has ever known of me is this political career, a career of service.” Being an integral part of the Nebraska Legislature meant dedicating a significant amount of her time to her political career, although Fate would soon present a solution.
“Someone from the tourism board left two [Nebraska] passports in my office at the Capitol. I remember coming back to Omaha and asking Doug if he wanted to go do this with me,” Howard recalled.
The Nebraska Passport program, which runs May 1 through September 30, aims to help travelers discover Nebraska’s hidden gems, including museums, parks, restaurants, wineries, and retail stores, among other locations. Each year the Nebraska Passport program selects 70 attractions across the state to serve as Passport stops where participants can have their passport booklets stamped. The stops feature different attractions every year, and the program continues to involve more sophisticated directions and way-finding enhancements.
“There were a few times where we were not lost, but had to do some driving around to find the stop. But that’s all part of the fun, right?” Howard said. “Now you can click a button on your smartphone and get very clear directions.”
A transplant from Missouri Valley, Iowa, Schroder saw the program as an opportunity to trek across his new state, which was largely unknown to him, and to spend more quality time with Howard.
“Our first ever Nebraska Passport stop was the (now closed) Higgins Hardware Store on Main Street in Plattsmouth,” Howard said. “We went there, took a photo, and then went to the River House across the street for a soda pop and ice cream.” The couple chose to visit passport stops within a few hours driving distance from Omaha as day trips to escape the city and spend time together. The stops provided opportunities for trips they didn’t have to plan and long car rides to connect through deep conversations.
“The Nebraska Passport program is truly how we got to know each other,” Howard said. “I think a lot about how the Passport and the journey within the Passport that year was very much what convinced me that I needed to keep this guy around for a very long time.” (The couple married in 2015.)
The Passport Program would take them beyond the towns along Interstate 80, well off the beaten path. The long drives down back highways provide tranquility to the trips. “It's kind of more fun because it's a little bit more relaxing when you're not driving 80 miles an hour on the interstate,” Howard reflected. “And they kind of become your favorite spots, because maybe you wouldn’t have seen them if it weren’t for the Passport. It has changed the way we travel. Now we consider the places we want to stop along the way, the places we want to revisit and check in on, like the Circle C Market, a grocery store in Cody, Nebraska, constructed entirely of hay bales and run by high school students.
“Cody is so cool. It’s just a little grocery store. When the town had lost its post office and bar, the kids decided they would open up a market,” Howard said. “Every time we go there, we buy whatever non-perishables we can. I just want them to stay in business, and it's always kids who are working.”
Another hot spot on the couple’s list is McCook, Nebraska, where they go out of their way to make repeated trips to the area, visiting the Senator George Norris State Historic Site, which pays homage to the father of the Nebraska Unicameral. Next, they always stop for a James Beard award-winning Bieroc sandwich at the Sehnert's Bakery before stopping by the only home in the state designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
A few of Howard’s favorite places to visit regularly now were once passport stops. “I never knew about The Next Chapter bookstore until it was listed as a passport stop one year. Now I go there regularly, I am in three book clubs, and know the owner personally,” she said. “We stop in just to say hello, and going there makes me really happy.” When she’s out and about, she makes a point to visit Terrace Books in Columbus and Postscript in Ashland. “The [Postscript] owner, Laura, is so nice. She knows me by name now—I have a stationery problem. Ashland as a town, and experience, just keeps getting better,” she affirmed.
There’s no need to pack snacks on these road trips, as there are many bakeries, coffee shops, and places to eat, like The Vault Coffee in Bayard, the Gering Bakery in Gering, Master’s Hand Boutique and Bakery in Tekemah, and The Speakeasy in Holdrege.
Schroder has an affinity for a very specific menu item often found in small-town ice cream shops, drive-ins, and diners: the Pizza Burger. “It’s a sausage hamburger patty that's breaded with a slice of cheese on top of it. They put it in the deep fryer, warm it up and put it on a bun, and you eat it like a sandwich,” he said. As the two make their way across Nebraska, he manages to find pizza burgers at places like the TK-Starlite Drive-In in Neligh, or Staabs Drive Inn in Crawford. “That’s my kind of thing, even if we've just had lunch, if I find one, I have to get it,” Schroder said. “It has been a fun little side quest.”
Deena Hannum, owner of Hay Jay Coffee in Omaha, participated in the Nebraska Passport program for the first time in 2023. She digitally stamped 2,374 passports and hand stamped nearly 2,000 books, including Howard and Schroder’s. Hannum and her staff recall an influx of patrons from Nebraska’s panhandle. “I loved hearing some of the stories of those that do it continually. I worked in the store during a lot of May and that was the majority of our customers, so I got to know them a bit,” she said. “For the most part, the Passport customers were fun and tried to spend a little something to support us as a small business.” The store owner has plans to apply again to the Passport program after she gets a café up and running.
Now an annual tradition, the Nebraska Passport program has not only fostered the couple’s romantic relationship, but it has also been invaluable to Howard’s professional relationships. “Some of the work I do is state-wide, and it has been healthy for me to see how policy and law is applied in all areas of the state,” she explained. “It was also meaningful for me to visit colleagues in their district. One of my favorite health departments in the state is out in the panhandle…I’ve fallen in love with my husband and with my state through the Nebraska Passport program.”
To learn more about the Nebraska Passport program, request a booklet, download the app, and view 2024’s stops, visit nebraskapassport.com.
This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
