My next point to ponder? Will the bugs who surrendered their life on the front of my car ever come off? So far, 2 car washes and memories of their demise remain.I guess that's what happens traveling across the prairie.
My first stop in Iowa was Sioux City. Why? I liked the name and just wanted to see what Iowa was like. I spent my time in Sioux City resting and working. I was there for a few days. There wasn't much in the way of site seeing but as I asked around a bit there was a place that peaked my interest; Trinity Heights. It's a prayer garden, retreat area and it's beautiful.
I walked the garden and it had little theme areas for prayer and all of the benches had sayings, poems and prayers. It was really lovely.I also took a drive over the Missouri River to Nebraska just to say I was in Nebraska. I went to the center of a small town, S. Sioux City.
As an aside, the gas was really inexpensive and when I asked one of the guys said "You're in Iowa and corn is really handy" and let me just say, if you like corn or want to see corn fields (after corn field after corn field), Iowa is the place for you.
On my way out of Iowa Eileen had mentioned an independent book store, "Prairie Lights" she goes to when she attends a writer's workshop at Iowa State University in Iowa City.I thought, "What the heck, it's kind of on the way to Wisconsin".It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive and WOW was it worth it. I loved Iowa City. It's a funky college town with lots of shops and restaurants; people everywhere. Right before hitting the center of town there was a park with a pond. Perfect place to stop for lunch. I had a little picnic and listened to some live music. I got to see some turtles sun bathing while I was eating. After lunch I headed into downtown and people were all over. Students going crazy because Iowa State had a football game so the bars and restaurants were overflowing.
I parked and looked for the bookstore. I couldn't find it so I went into a boutique and that is where I met Maryanne and Sandy. They were great! Two women who were fun and funny and we just connected right away.One of them owned the shop and had just moved from L.A. and the other was from Germany. We bonded and hung out for an hour or so. We covered alot of ground in our visit. There is nothing better than those serendipitous meetings.I've had so many of them and just can't even begin to tell you how I feel after a wonderful encounter like that.
One of the things we talked about was Reflexology. Maryanne told me that she grew up on a farm in Germany and when she had stomach problems her mom would barter farm goods with the local Reflexologist for treatment.I love hearing that Reflexologists were a common treatment method for her growing up and she still seeks that treatment whenever somethings bothering her.
She also taught me a perfect word for my trip:GERMUTLICHKEIT. She was trying to describe something beautiful in Germany and she said,"Germutlichkeit" and wrote it down for me. She told me that it's a word the Germans use when there are no words for the beauty they've encountered. A word for what's wordless;something that is so beautiful you feel deeply moved. I just LOVED that because I've had so many of those moments on this trip.
I am so glad I stopped in at Iowa City. And the bookstore? Well, most of you know I could spend the day in a bookstore. Always a treat!
Well, my trip to Iowa ended on a high note...off to Wisconsin.
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