A little about Iowa

Yesterday my family and I went on a trip from Iowa City to Keosauqua, the little town where we have a summer house on the Des Moines River (you can check out these place on GoogleEarth). There was an ice jam a couple of weeks ago, and you can see how badly it damaged the trees right in front of our cabin (look how high the water was - higher than the flood of 1993!).

Then we drove past the Pearson House, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad:

We ate lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, the Riverbend Pizza and Steakhouse:

There I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries for $3.95 (about 2,63 Euros):

Then we drove around looking for things to photograph, including the flat, fertile, black Iowa farmland:

and Amish buggies:

We finally made it to Riverside, Iowa, the FUTURE birthplace of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, of the STAR TREK Enterprise (yes, really!):

Safe at home in Iowa!

Hi everyone! I made it safely to Iowa, where my Dad and Mom met me at the airport. The flight from Munich to Atlanta was 10.5 hours, then I spent 4 hours at the airport before my next flight to Iowa. It was a long trip, and it was nice to sleep in my own bed!

The weather here is typical for spring. When I arrived, there was quite a bit of snow, but it's melted little by little (as you can see from my parents' backyard from Tuesday to Friday).

Today we're expecting a "wintry mix" today, which means combined snow and rain. But that's o.k., because there's plenty to do at home: watch CourtTV, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, read the local newspaper and novels, and snack. This is the corner of temptation at my house:

There are at least four different types of chips (crisps) and I take a handful every time I walk through the kitchen. There are also cookies of all kinds, nuts, olives, pickles, sweets, etc. A very dangerous place!

I'm collecting photos for different essays, including food, supermarkets, birds, and anything else you request. So send me an email: pocketjoey@gmail.com!