Two Major Backtracks–New York and Porgy and Bess Plus Grotto of the Redemption in Iowa (2012)
While looking for the blog post describing my 2012 trip to New York City to see the musical adaptation of Porgy and Bess before it left Broadway, I discovered that I hadn’t actually written a post. Then, I realized that I was also missing a post for the visit my dearly departed Momma and I made to the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. At this point–nearly thirteen years later–my recollection is incomplete, but I’ll try as best as I can to explain what led to the pictures I captured. Unfortunately, the camera I used for the photos did not record GPS locations, so I found general GPS locations and added that information so that maps could be generated on my Piwigo pages. The Grotto of the Redemption, June 30 My mother, Cora Jones, flew out to Iowa for her second visit in June of…
Short Trip to the Iowa Border: DeSoto Preserve-080419
Last backtrack (I hope) of 2019 travels. I don’t remember the circumstances under which I made this trip, but I did try to get to know my adopted state of Iowa, and most parts of it were within a one-day round trip. In this case, I made the less than three hour each way drive in early August to the western border with Nebraska. The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is located along the Missouri River in both Iowa and Nebraska. In addition to the refuge, the site houses a museum with artifacts that survived the sinking of the steamship, Bertrand, in 1865. I will simply quote from the website: On April 1, 1865, the sternwheeler hit a submerged log, twenty-five miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. Bound for the newly discovered goldfields of Montana from St. Louis, Missouri, the Bertrand began…
Business and Pleasure–Days Nine and Ten: Change in Plans
I had a very long drive ahead, though thankfully the route was almost entirely on the interstate, specifically I-90, with speed limits up to 80 miles per hour. The GPS indicated that I could stay on I-90 all the way to Maryland. Then, it displayed a message suggesting that I could save 1.5 hours by taking I-35 south. I-35?!? The original route would take me above Iowa, and I was disappointed but tiredly accepting on this ninth day of my trip. Then, with this suggested change, I would not only enter the state, but actually drive through Grinnell after taking I-80 from 35! I knew that on a Friday during summer break, many staff would be off work. Still, I called a friend to see if I could stay overnight, stopped by the Favoli’s in Des Moines since there aren’t any in the DMV (hint, hint), and I bought the…
Trekking in Riverside, Iowa-Another Quickie Trip
Did I mention that I’m a Trekker (okay, Trekkie, whatever)? I first started watching the original series in syndication in the early 1970s. In the early 1990s, I attended my first Star Trek convention in Tallahassee, Florida, while I was a grad student at Florida State University. While my personal collection of Trek mostly consists of books, my home office has its fair share of Trek memorabilia. Strangely, although it’s less than 80 miles away, I have previously visited Riverside, Iowa, only once before–for the 2009 TrekFest. It was their 25th anniversary celebration of the festival, and their special guests were George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig (who is, BTW, a Grinnell College alumnus). Unfortunately, I have no idea where the pictures I took, especially from the parade, are, but here’s more information at this TrekFest page. In case you are wondering how the small Iowa town became known…
Iowa Weekend Quickie-Sunday
The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad train excursion was not scheduled to begin until 1:30 p.m., but I left home at 10 a.m. to give myself plenty of time to gas the Silver Bullet, get breakfast, and take care of business that I could address on a Sunday morning. Like yesterday, the weather was mostly sunny and moderately warm with the promise to warm considerably as the day progressed. My pleasant surprise as I neared the train depot was to see a sign that indicated the birthplace of Mamie Eisenhower, first lady of President Dwight Eisenhower, was close. I turned off my route long enough to get a few pictures of the house, which had been converted into a museum. The museum was closed, so I continued on towards the depot. The depot was similar to others I’ve seen in smaller towns except the exterior and waiting area were clearly…
Iowa Weekend Quickie–Saturday
I am a North Carolinian, born and raised, but I have now spent nearly a third of my life in Iowa. I decided I wanted to take in some parts of my adopted home that I haven’t visited before I hie myself back to the East Coast. As usual when I plan a trip like this, I added more stops than I could make in the timeframe I had available. This allows me to adjust my plans based on whatever situation I want to or have to address. For Saturday, I had to drop the planned stop in Riverside because the museum was not scheduled to open until noon, and I needed to be in Dyersville in time to make the 3:30 tour at the Field of Dreams Movie Site for which I had purchased a ticket. As it worked out, it was only the first of other adjustments I…
An Iowa Quickie
I had new tires placed on the Silver Bullet this past Friday morning and, on impulse, decided I needed a short test drive before putting her on the road for a more extended trip. So I decided to do a quickie trip to Le Claire, Iowa, a 130-mile trip that is almost a straight drive down I-80 East. My destination was for my third trip on the Riverboat Twilight, a 1 1/2-hour excursion up the Mississippi River. I admit that, as my anticipated departure nears, I am looking for last opportunities to see parts of the state that has been home for the last eighteen years. From the Le Claire exit, there’s a good view of the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River connecting Iowa to Illinois. The river isn’t quite so mighty this far north, but there still seems to be something special one can sense about it even…
Changing of the Guard
On my birthday (Thursday, September 17th), I took my usual day off. I decided to do some car shopping while I awaited the final steps before the insurance company claimed RB. My research had led me to decide on the Kia Soul for my next car. The closest dealership is in Des Moines, so I drove over just to have a look around. Three hours and a good salesman later, I had a new car. I bid RB a fond farewell after moving everything over to the new car. I got a few pictures of RB and the new car together. Then, a tow truck picked up RB. Don’t worry, I won’t post any of those pictures here. The new car needed a name, one based on how she felt being driven. Her silver body color already influenced potential names, but I couldn’t settle on one because I just couldn’t…
A 1-Hour Tour. A 1-Hour Tour…
(If you don’t get the reference, you really need to watch more 60’s TV.) Saturday morning of the Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted get out of town for a couple of hours. So, I grabbed my camera and laptop and was going to drive to the state park about ten miles away. I plugged in the latest adapter (RB is pre-USB player-equipped) and immediately realized that my original destination was inadequate for a proper test of its ability to handle my playlist. Since I didn’t have a change of clothes, and a visual reminder of my need to clean house might have dampened my impulse if I went back inside to pack, I started RB and headed east instead of west. As I neared the Mississippi River, which creates the eastern border of Iowa, and the exit for my destination, I had an impulse to keep driving east towards…
Tiptoe through the Tulips
: //www.cityofpella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pella, Iowa, is a town that calls itself "a touch of Holland." And its biggest draw seems to be its "Tulip Time." And, of course, what would Holland--even a touch of Holland--be without windmills. Right on the corner of what appeared to be the main intersection was an information center fashioned like a windmill, and right around the corner on Franklin Street, I could immediately see what looked like a working windmill. It was quickly apparent that I would not get good pictures through RB's rain-streaked windows, so I decided to "sacrifice" myself by opening the windows when necessary so I could get nice, clean shots of the windmills, the old town area, and the beautiful patches of tulips in yellows, purples, and pinks.
If you've read past posts, you know I'm a fan of classic cars. So, I really appreciated this gentleman allowing me to take a picture of his automobile (and, no, I can't tell you the make and model). [gallery size="large" type="slideshow" ids="809,811,816,740,739,738,737,736,735,813"]A friend mentioned a bakery that was very popular, so I decided to stop by. Across the street was Central Park, which must be the main site for activities based on the very large sign at the park entrance. I was lucky to get parking directly in front of the : //www.jaarsmabakery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jaarsma Bakery and so watched a bit to see how long it took for the many customers who entered its door to exit. Since the time seemed fairly short, I went inside and was initially dismayed at the very long line that wound throughout the room. Still, the staff was very fast, handling their customers' requests rapidly. I spent far more money there than I'd planned, but everything looked and smelled SO good!!
(A side note: I guess I've been in Iowa long enough that I don't really take note that I haven't seen another Black face until I actually see one. An African American gentleman entered the bakery just before I did. Wonder if folks thought we were a couple.)
[gallery size="full" ids="745,742,817,743,746"]I headed briefly back to the : //www.cityofpella.com/facilities/Facility/Details/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Klokkenspel on Franklin Street and walked the courtyard with its flower beds filled with purple and white tulips and daffodils. On a nicer day, I most certainly would have sat on the stone benches and perused the detailed artwork of the Dutch tile scenes that lined the courtyard. However, the hard, wet, cold seats were rather uninviting to me. Most of the flowers were holding up well, but occasionally I did see some beds where the wind and rain had left the flowers looking a somewhat the worse for wear. The far end of the courtyard was a fountain sheltered under an ironwork pavilion; the street end contained a windowed area where puppet shows could be seen both on the street side and within the courtyard. I'd arrived at 4:00 p.m., so I took a break with the idea of catching the 5:00 show. Unfortunately, RB's time was three minutes later than the clock there, so I just missed it. Perhaps I'll catch it on my next visit, if the opportunity presents itself.
[gallery type="slideshow" size="large" ids="749,750,751,752,753,754,755,756,757,758,759,760,761,763,765,766,767,768,769,770,772,773"] It was starting to get late, and I still wanted to visit the Elk Rock State Park. The GPS, which had brought me into Pella on Main Street, now gave me a route that took me out of Pella heading west down Washington Street. I'm glad because I got views of the other side of Central Park, various gardens, and houses along the street with their own flower beds on full display. Then, on the edge of town was a nicely decorated "welcome" to Pella, again with its signature windmill and tulips. [gallery size="large" columns="2" ids="777,780,776,782,783,784,785,787,788,790,791,793"] Because of the inclement weather, I wasn't surprised that there were few people at Elk Rock State Park. Quite the contrary, I was stunned to see a single tent pitched on the grounds (boy, did it look cold setting there!). I'm sorry, but I'm not drawn towards camping out even under ideal weather conditions. There was a large ramp leading to the lake clearly for putting boats out and a parking lot large enough to hold both passenger cars and RVs, but again, I was alone. I took several pictures of the lake and nearby scenery; however, I didn't feel terribly comfortable being out there with no one around and my smartphone picking up no signal at all. So, I made my way back to Grinnell. [gallery size="medium" ids="797,800,802,803,804,806" orderby="rand"]: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20170429_193911-1-226x300.jpg" alt="" width="226" height="300" />As usual, all of the pictures I took from this trip are posted on my Flickr page.
On Sunday, I carefully examined the very tasty looking butter pecan coffee cake that I'd bought at the bakery the day before. Believe me, it smelled as good as it looked, even the next day. My original thought when I saw it was to take the entire thing into work on Monday for my co-workers to enjoy. However, it occurred to me that I should consider freezing it and eating it all myself over time. Well, I had just enough willpower to eat only a piece--and it tasted even better than it smelled--and take the rest to work, where it met its fate quickly (come to find out there was a staff meeting that morning, so it didn't stand a chance). Somehow, it won't surprise me if I find myself visiting that bakery again since it's pretty close by--don't worry, I still have no plans to fight the crowds expected this weekend at Tulip Time. Besides, I can always plan a detour on one of my trips to Des Moines (I've driven much farther for less). Lord, help me if they have anything with creamed cheese or strawberries.: //singin1.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/loudmusiccrop.jpg" alt="" width="291" height="264" />As usual, music was a companion on this trip. Rather than use my standard drive-time playlist, I listened to a Des Moines radio station that was playing all Paul McCartney songs in honor of his announced upcoming performance in town. Between The Beatles, Wings, duets with other musicians (i.e., Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson), and his own solo work, McCartney certainly cranked out a lot of really great music! And it was played at an appreciable volume, too!
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