The Rose Capital of Iowa

Spent the last week in Iowa visiting my significant others' family, so not a lot of running was to be had.  I did venture out a few days to see the country on foot, so I did manage to get a few miles in, just not as many as I'm used to.



11 miles

 The loop I plotted out took me through the town of State Center (the closest one by a long shot) and then along the dirt roads through the corn fields.  Running through the main drag of town was nice, though I did get some odd looks from the townsfolk.  State Center is a sleepy little town mostly inhabited by the local farmers and their families, much of the town has been preserved from the turn of the century, so many of the buildings still standing were old brick edifices.  I wish I had brought a camera, but the weather had promised to give me a wet morning, which of course, it didn't do anything more than spit at me. 

Luckily I was able to get out on the roads before the combines began to harvest at weeks end so as to see the wide expanses of crop.  Being a city boy, my only experiences with great open spaces being on a cattle ranch, seeing this part of the country before and after harvest was amazing.  As far as I could see, whole fields were blanketed by, for the most part, corn.  Every now and again I stopped just to take it in and watch the fields just roll with the breeze.  I had forgotten how just about every motorist in the country has the habit of waving to you as they pass by, whether they know you or not, and as an added bonus, they even swerved to the far side of the road even though I had plenty of space on the shoulder as I ran against the traffic.

A lot of firsts for the family, especially for Aiden, my 11 month old.  This was not Aiden's first flight but he did get to embark on his first long road trip.  We drove from Iowa to Kinosha, WI to visit more of my girlfriend's family.  During the 5+ hour road trip, we drove over the Mississippi River, a first for me, and along the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.  Cousins, second cousins, aunts and uncles, but most importantly, Molly's grandmother (which would be Aiden's great-grandmother) came by to meet the kiddo and I.  We stayed over night with Molly's favorite aunt and uncle, with whom her grandmother lives with, and stayed up chatting through the night.  We left early afternoon the next day, I wish we could have spent more time as I felt nothing but love from these people who I had just met only the day before.  I was worried Aiden would experience a little bit of anxiety amongst all the new faces, but he took to everyone right away.

On the way back, we made the usual pit stops for bathroom breaks, but pulled over while still in Wisconsin for cheese.  Another reason why I ended up gaining about five pounds over the time away, besides Molly's mother cooking up a storm for breakfast and dinner every day, and her father always urging me to eat just a little more.