On the Road to Chicag… Moline
Woke up early Saturday morning but didn’t get on the road until almost 11 a.m. because,… well between procrastination (hadn’t done laundry) and having decided to forgo the library time I’d planned, I took my time leaving. After grabbing drive-through lunch and deciding not to get my nails done in Coralville, I finally made it to the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum in West Bend. Hoover is the only Iowan who has been elected president (as of this date anyway), and I thought the stop would be interesting. Actually, it was interesting–and surprising. Even considering the expectation that the president life and career are going to shown in the best light possible, I found Hoover’s accomplishments to be quite different than I anticipated. Some of the pictures I took are below, but I suggest you take a look at a bio on him. Someone on Facebook asked me why I…
Grotto of the Redemption (West Bend)
I drove RB the 182 miles to West Bend, Iowa, accompanied by my mother. We toured the Grotto of the Redemption. The weather was gorgeous, and because we’d stayed in the nearby motel the night before, we had no difficulty getting there in time for the earliest tour time, avoiding the heat of the day and the crowds. As suggested by the name, the Grotto of the Redemption portrays the life of Christ through various tableaux. The tour guide gave us extensive details about the priests who created the Grotto, the rocks and materials gathered from around the world and used to construct the site, and story told in each scene. Far more information about the Grotto is available at http://www.westbendgrotto.com/. Even as I took as many pictures of the Grotto as I could, I knew they would not come close to capturing the beauty and depth of detail. The complete…