A Road Trip to Odell, Nebraska
Sometimes the best places to visit when traveling across America are the small towns you might not know.
One would likely not consider taking a road trip to Odell, Nebraska. Who in their right mind would ever drive hundreds of miles to stay in a town of 300 people? Especially in the middle of corn fields. Children of the Corn, anyone??
But Donetta and I aren’t ordinary in any sense, and we’ll travel to obscure places to get our thrill on. Especially if we have a compelling reason to do so.
Why we took a road trip to Odell.
We love being in the country and traveling the back roads of America. There’s so much to see and experience when you go off the beaten path.
Old barns and farms are just fascinating to me. I imagine what it would have been like to be an early settler or farmer who built these places. Undoubtedly, there was a lot of hard work and sacrifices to be made. How people lived back then and how they live to this very day is interesting.
Yet it’s not the allure of cowboys or corn fields that made us want to drive five hours to Odell, Nebraska. No, it was the fact that we had some very special people to sit back and enjoy life with for a few days.
Porch time with the Sutton family
Donetta and I are fortunate to know Spencer and Kristie Sutton thanks to our Scentsy business.
I met Spencer on one of our many free cruises. We formed a brotherhood by strutting our stuff on the nude beach in Sint Maarten, having only known each other for five minutes. Yep, it’s a true story!
Spencer and Kristie are great because they’re down-to-earth and authentic people. They’re hard workers who love the beach and traveling, as well as enjoy talking shop over a “few” Natural Light beers. We met two of their kids, Shane and Kaden, and they’re equally fun and super awesome.
These are just good folk, and we love spending time with them, especially on the back porch with a bonfire. The Suttons are the real deal. We appreciate that.
What about the town of Odell?
Odell is a small town near the Nebraska-Kansas border. If you blink while driving by, you will undoubtedly miss it. But we met some really cool people and got to see downtown, midtown, and uptown ... all within several blocks of each other. Haha!
While some people don’t like that small-town vibe, we really enjoyed it. There is some remarkable history behind Odell, and you can even visit a haunted house, ahem, bed and breakfast. It does have character.
Other cool places we got to see.
We visited Stone Hollow Brewing and Smoke and Fire Cigars in Beatrice. Both were incredible places, and the owners were extremely friendly. The old building they’re in has such a cool vibe, and you'll definitely want to swing by for some goods if you’re ever in the area. Spencer and Kristie also took us to the Salty Dog Saloon in Stelle City, an even smaller town.
Finally, life wouldn’t be complete without tasty food.
Besides the killer steaks and sides Spencer grilled for us, we also enjoyed a Runza for the first time. You read that right! A Runza is THE STAPLE of Nebraska and you certainly don’t want to miss out on this treat. It’s not keto-friendly, but well worth it.
If you DO want a keto-friendly snack, go to Dean's Gourmet Kettle Corn in Beatrice for pork rinds. Holy pig, are they good. My favorite was the Jalapeño Cheddar, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
A great time we will never forget.
Our road trip to Odell, Nebraska, was worth every minute. It might not seem like the perfect place to visit for a vacation but it truly was. We had a lot of laughs and experienced a time we’ll never forget.
Thanks to Spencer, Kristie, Shane, Kaden, and their two dogs, Duke and Rocky, for letting us crash your place. Cheers!
P.S. I do love that 1969 Camaro. Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to have one someday.