This is Molly, family to several Iowans in this blog and now-owner of Creative Images in Des Moines. She is personally responsible for my mini tattoo obsession. Back when I wanted something colorful and flowing to offset my first humble (but significant) tattoo—the black-lined geometry of my family-shared Star Trek insignia—Tracy told me, “I know […]
Banjo’s Big Day + Reunions and Sookie on the Water
When our days are this full with friends and special events because we’re in a town where we know people, I have a hard time organizing this blog. You’d probably appreciate it if I waited for a week to pass, then threw each topic into its own post so you could see (or skip) the […]
Iowa all over the Place
Iowa is a big state (to me at least, with its big sky and vast farms), but we always manage to hit several towns when we’re here. Below are shots from Elkader, Harper’s Ferry, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo. The Meeter’s Herb Garden Our last couple of days in Elkader we spent doing maintenance work on […]
Our Own Field of Dreams in Iowa
The set field from the movie, Field of Dreams, is near by; in fact Tracy used to enjoy visiting it, but now we hear buses of tourists stop there. Here, in the city park of the small town of Elkader, we have our own field of dreams campground. All-star Friends The anchor of the dream […]
3 Days, 670 Miles, a Casino and a Brewery
From when we left the Airstream factory at 5:00 pm on Friday night and headed to Iowa (we’ll pull into our destination campground around noon today, Sunday), we will have driven about 670 miles, which is way more than normal for us. We really want to see our friends in Iowa! Just a couple of […]
Back to the Mothership
As I mentioned in my post almost exactly a year ago when we were here in Jackson Center, Ohio, there’s only one Airstream factory in the world, and this be it. I’ve heard inspiring/reassuring stories about the 70-year relationship this tiny town has had with the factory, involving how respected the local employees are by […]
Casino Parking Lot Drug Drop
We’re booking it from Maryland to Ohio for an Airstream Factory appointment, so we picked an easy place to stay for one night—an option we knew about but hadn’t yet tried. Casinos are like many Walmarts, Cabelas, and Cracker Barrels: they know that people driving RVs are in their target audience and they have large […]
Introducing Sookie the Barbie Kayak
I don’t know where to start with this one. Do I start with my first kayak, which I impulsively bought on the side of the road and shoved into my Prius C, then paddled the Potomac, the Shenandoah, Lake Anna, the Chesapeake Bay, Chincoteague Bay; knitted in, read books in, towed my niece behind; loved […]
Standing Ovation for Friends & Family Tour
We’ve had so many highlightable moments in the past few days that I’ve split my post into two. This is the people post. Next up is the kayak post. I understand you might smirk at both. “This is a travel blog, Shelly! When are you going somewhere?” I tell you what: We’re leaving tomorrow, and […]
xyHt What?
xyHt is the name of the magazine I helped produce for a hunk of my life. If you’re curious, hang on to your hat. (Otherwise skip this next paragraph.) The magazine is for a variety of professionals who locate and/or measure most everything: from exact spots on the ground, to big sections of land or […]
