Iowa
Our next stop was a place that always feels like home - Iowa!
I was born in Iowa City - we lived in a small town nearby called Williamsburg until I was 5. Then we moved to the northwest corner to the town of Spirit Lake (next to Okoboji if you’re familiar at all with the state). Funny enough, Tom told me that when he was in high school or college, he used to say he wanted to marry a “corn fed Iowa chick” just as sort of a random saying. Well, that’s exactly what he got, so apparently he manifested it - haha! So yes… I am an Iowa girl through and through. Even the strangers of Iowa feel familiar to me. I can’t explain it.
Anyway, we left Wisconsin, on a Friday and stopped just a couple hours away in Dyersville, Iowa for an overnight. This is the town where Field of Dreams was filmed and the filming location is still there today and is kept exactly the same. It was truly surreal to see it. “Is this heaven? It’s Iowa” felt so real here. Highly recommend a stop if you find yourself in the area. We actually did our first Harvest Host here at a winery called Oh So Good Winery. The host was super accommodating and the food hit the spot after a travel day. If you don’t know, Harvest Hosts is like Airbnb in the sense you can stay in unique places, except you typically boondock, you don’t pay them, and as a thank you just support their business. So we stayed at the winery for free, but dined at their business in exchange for their hospitality. It was a great experience and fun to try boondocking (zero hookups) in our rig.
The next day, we finished our short journey to Southeast Iowa. We stayed for a week and unfortunately did miss out on my sister-in-law and niece, but she was busy competing in a national dance competition… which seems like a valid excuse to be out of town ;) She did amazing! Not only that, but Tom had to go to San Francisco for the week for a conference. So! The boys and I got to do alllll the country Iowa boy things with my brother and it was a blast. My nephew, oldest niece, and her boyfriend also carved out some time to come down and see us (they’re grown and off on their own!) and it was just the best catching up with them and hearing about their lives. I get sappy seeing them now. I was only 13 when my niece was born and it’s wild to see her so grown. She pointed out to Tom that she was 8 (our oldest son’s age), when she first met him and the reality of how quickly time flies really hit us. My brother confirmed that yes, it does in fact go THAT fast.
All in all, it was another full, happy week. We spent a lot of time with my brother who took the boys fishing, took them for rides on the four wheeler, Ike got to mow with him, we got to watch/experience some farm chores, visited a creamery and “Amish Costco” (as my brother calls it), helped take care of the dogs and cat, ate pheasant, helped carry brush, and just hang out all week. The boys got put to work and they were definitely glad for that - they love a job! I also got to visit Kalona - a town my mom used to take me as a child to get “squeaky cheese” and go to the Amish-run stores. It made my heart so happy to share that with my boys and let them enjoy the horse and buggies cruising around.
If you ask the boys, Ike will definitely tell you that Iowa has been a favorite so far. And if you ask him why Iowa? He’ll tell you “Uncle Jeremy and mowing and the dog field" and that’s that. A cool uncle, some mowing, and playing fetch with some dogs off a four wheeler. Who could ask for more?
