The Road to Byron's: Day One
We took off on Sunday for Mark's show at Byron's in Pomeroy, Iowa. We'd decided to leave a day early so we had time to wander a bit. Unfortunately, the early part of the drive had some of the most intense rains we've ever driven through.
Fortunately it cleared up and turned into a gorgeous day. I was positively drunk on the beauty of the green Iowa fields. I truly find Iowa to be so beautiful. I remain utterly smitten.
We took the interstate through Illinois, up to the Quad Cities, over to Iowa City. I always ponder stopping, getting a burger at George's...but Judi's old house was destroyed in flooding a few years after she left. I don't know...we always end up driving by and just waving a bit sadly. We headed through Cedar Rapids and then I was getting antsy and tired of the interstate. What was calling to me? Why, my beloved Lincoln Highway of course!
Belle Plaine was indeed beautiful. Gorgeous little town.
Below is the gas station that belonged to George Preston. In its heyday it was covered with gas and oil signs. Evidently he was a character and even appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
We meandered on to Tama and when I saw signs saying the bridge was closed I almost hyperventilated. "MY BRIDGE, MY BRIDGE!" Ernie calmed me down and figured out how to get closer and it appears that it is being worked on. I love this bridge so much that I have been known to read months of Tama City Council minutes to see how the RFP process for repairs was going. I have never admitted that before so there you go. We drove past the closed King Tower Cafe but it was just too sad to photograph.
Eventually we made our way to our hotel in Fort Dodge. Finding an open restaurant on a Sunday evening there proved challenging. We ended up having a drink in a charmless bar and getting some pretty terrible food to go. Eh, win some, lose some. We settled in, battled with the tv remote and found episodes of the Office. I'm actually not particularly fond of the show but Ernie likes it and it's kind of our hotel comfort food tv. Here's a glimpse of us settled in....me lying on the bed, Big Red at the ready, albeit with my bra draped on it from when I flung it off. Side note: Handicap rooms (I used to hate it when I got a handicap room but now I'm all about the grab bars) tend to be close to the ice machine. Silver linings!
More to follow.
Onward.