Today Fernando and I began our Iowa vacation. Here is how the last few weeks have been for Fernando and I - "We're going on Vacation!" Friend: "Where?" Us: "Iowa". Friend: "Why Iowa?". The standard answer to that question was that my mom was getting married and my other side of the family was having "Christmas" early because my brother and I were coming to town. But, there is much more to Iowa than just those things!
As we pulled out of the Airport with our spankin new orange Saturn Vue (I loved it, he hated it - It matched my cell phone!) our first stop was to get something to eat. Lucky for us it happened to be a very historical place - the Worlds Largest Truck Stop. You just don't see something like that every day. We stopped in for some food and I introduced Fernando to Cheese Curds. We then visited the trucking museum and paid homage to the truckers of yester-year.
On day two of our Iowa adventure, we went to my mom's wedding in a park. The leaves were changing and it was a very nice day for an outdoor wedding. Then, Fernando and I were invited out to a dance in a stable with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We learned the Barn Dance, Western Cha Cha and the Watermelon Crawl.
Day three - we headed up to Mason City Iowa to celebrate my dad's family "Christmas". Fernando walked through a cornfield for the first time ever. He insisted on doing horror movie remake photoshoot in the corn - and we have way too many action shots trying to look scared in a cornfield. After wading through corn, we returned into the house to play cards and Fernando was surprised to find that corn kernels were used as the "money" for texas hold em. Thinking about it, I guess that does seem a little strange. I mean, its not like you would go to Raleigh and play cards using cigarettes for ante. OR WOULD YOU???? hmm.
Day Four - we attended the Mennonite auction. They auction off tons of produce from their farms.
Day Five - we headed up to Minneapolis, my old hometown. We rode the rollercoaster in the mall of America, the log flume, another roller coaster, nascar simulators. In the evening I met up with old friends from middle school for a 20 year reunion.
Day Six - Back in Iowa, Fernando and I took a trip with some farmers out to pick the corn on their high tech combines. Its way more complicated than it looks. The temperature and humidity of the air determine whether the corn needs to be dried before going into the grain elevator for holding. I felt like we were on our very own Nova or How things Work show.
Day Seven - headed to Dubuque Iowa where Fernando ran 15 miles along the Mississippi while I secured a room for the night. 15 MILES! Better him than me! A librarian convention was in town so there were no rooms and we ended up having to stay at a bed and breakfast which was fantastic! Its funny the things you end up doing out of circumstance that can enrich your vacation.
Day Eight - Flew into Chicago for a layover before heading home to New York. Ironically, Fernando's very good friend Vince was also on the same flight back to New York AND it was his birthday. We celebrated with drinks in Chicago. Weird.
So there you have it. So much to do in Iowa, so little time!
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