This is it. We are off on a trip across Iowa. My brother and his wife founded the team 'Iowa Borealis' (they are Alaskan and we are Iowan, so a nod to both of us) and organized the whole effort. Which is a good one and it is about time that we participate in this annual event.
I have lived in Iowa for over 20 years, but I have not spent much time in small Iowa towns. While the number of riders often exceeds the size of the town--so we won't be so much getting the nature of the town as drowning it--the ability to watch the state roll by in small snippets is something that I am looking forward to.
The only time that I have spent in smaller towns in Iowa was when my youngest son was getting chemptherapy in 2001. As the year progressed, we tried to go away a few weekends during the year in order to keep some of our sanity. Because he had almost no white blood cells and could be hospitalized at the drop of a hat, we didn't want to be too far away, so we would pick places that were within an hour or two of Iowa City, so we could get back quickly if we needed to--it was a lot of fun to explore the Main St. in little towns, see what artisans had started to occupy the 19th century buildings that make up most of Iowa downtown neighborhoods, and to eat in small town restaurants. This time we will not be staying in comfortable bed and breakfasts--au contariare, we will be sleeping in the 9stiffling) Iowa air, likely eating from various food vendors, and trying to ignore the fact that despite all, we are not showering with any kind of regularity. Ok, it may not sound like much, but I think it will be a fun family vacation.
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