Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation - 10/29 - Link to new TR!

[pkondz]

How was the drive from your place to Omaha? The next time we go back east to visit family we are planning on driving up there and then over.

Imagine a flat, dull, lifeless expanse
that goes on and on forever,
never giving any respite from
boredom or dullness.

It was worse than that.

There isn't much here except corn lol and when you are driving home from the east that stretch between Des Moines and Omaha seems to go on FOREVER!!!!

I seem to recall seeing one or two
corn fields.

Maybe more.


Maybe a lot more.

If you ever come back this way you will have to check out the SAC Museum.

Shoot!!!! I didn't know about that.
And it was only 30 minutes from
the hotel!

When the sky turns green here you know you are in for a good storm.

Oh, it was a good storm all right.
I kept wondering if I was going
to perform an impromptu rendition
of Dorothy's house flying trick
but with my car.

 

[pooh'smate]

Imagine a flat, dull, lifeless expanse
that goes on and on forever,
never giving any respite from
boredom or dullness.

It was worse than that.

I seem to recall seeing one or two
corn fields.

Maybe more.


Maybe a lot more.

Yeah we experience that any way we drive when we go back to MTL. We do tend to leave around 2 or 3am so I sleep through a lot of it lol.

Shoot!!!! I didn't know about that.
And it was only 30 minutes from
the hotel!

There is always next time if you ever want to brave the vast expanse of boringness. Did you visit Dillon's when you were here? If you did you were in my neck of the woods.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Last weekend, I had a small little road trip
to Newton, Iowa.

What?! I live just 40 minutes from Newton in a Des Moines suburb! I wish I would've known you were in town - it would've been fun to meet you (or at least to give you some tourist or food recommendations!).

I'd noticed in the Iowa tour book that
there was a winery fairly close to Des Moines
and not far off from the route I was following.

Perhaps surprisingly, Iowa has quite a few wineries (including some where you can view the grapes!). The Sommerset Winery even has an event in the fall where you can pick grapes and then stomp others in a bin (a la I Love Lucy). I suppose you're paying them for your own labor, but it was a fun time when I did it a few years ago!

My first ever covered bridge.

Fun! I live SO CLOSE to Madison County and I've never seen the bridges. G and I plan to try and venture there sometime.

Once inside the building...
I was shocked at how beautiful
it was!

WOW! I've never been to the state capitol, but I think I need to plan a visit! I love your pictures!

About a minute after I got back to my car,
the skies opened and it poured out.
And the lightning! I've never seen
such a display!

Yikes! We can definitely get some ridiculous storms in the Midwest. I'm glad you were (somewhat?) safe in your car. Also, that's an amazing picture of the storm!

During my sojourn in my car,
I suddenly realized that my
race ticket was missing.

Oh, no! I bet you felt ill! I'm so glad it wasn't a problem for them to reissue it for you.

I took this photo once I was settled
into my grandstand seat.

What a great picture!

There was a neat moment when
Gene Kranz, who was the Chief
Flight Director for Gemini and Apollo
space missions (including Apollo 11)
dedicated the race in honour of the
50th anniversary of the moon landing.

How neat! I'm most familiar with Gene Krantz from the movie Apollo 13 - I didn't know he was the flight director for Apollo 11 as well! That's very nice that they honored him and the moon landing.

I'm glad you had fun! The next time you'll be heading through Des Moines you'll have to let me know!

 

[pkondz]

Yeah we experience that any way we drive when we go back to MTL.

MTL?

We do tend to leave around 2 or 3am so I sleep through a lot of it lol.

As long as you're not
the one driving!

There is always next time if you ever want to brave the vast expanse of boringness. Did you visit Dillon's when you were here? If you did you were in my neck of the woods.

Yes I did!
As well as Defiance and
Loess Hills.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Why?
Because I collect Harley Davidson
poker chips and going that way
brings me half a dozen more chips.
(A hundred and forty-six now, for those
of you who've been asking.)

This is a thing that I know about you. But I didn't realize quite how large the collection had become!! I think of you whenever I drive by a Harley Davidson store, but of course I'd never in a million years consider picking up a chip for you when I do. I know that you need to actually visit the place yourself for it to count.

Why would you want to go from
Nebraska to Iowa.


I'm guessing it's to compare corn.

Ahhh yes, that makes sense.

I didn't see anything else,
so that's all I can comment on.


Corn


Lots of corn

This made me laugh. I remember when my cousin from Florida came to visit us as kids, she had been so excited to see real-live potato fields. Then she quickly realized that they were...well...absolutely everywhere. The novelty wore off pretty quickly, and by the end of the trip she was pretty sick of seeing potato plants.

I walked in and saw a woman
at the front desk.
"Hi Terry!" I said. "How are you?"

Too bad it was a different woman.
Apparently, Terry was on a break.


I felt betrayed and lied to.

I feel betrayed on your behalf.

I ordered a glass of my favourite
and sat and relaxed for a bit.

Nice!

I think you and my mom would share similar wine preferences. She's more of a white drinker than red, and she also doesn't have much use for exceptionally sweet wines.

Covered Bridges winery.
In Madison County.

...oooohhhhhh!

And now... behold!
My first ever covered bridge.

Okay... so it's not the Taj Mahal,
but it's kinda neat anyways.

Cool! Worth the pitstop

Just in case you needed yet another reason to come visit us in the east, I actually grew up just a short jaunt from the world' longest covered bridge. (I may have mentioned this before, actually.) It's 391m long and sits in Hartland, NB.

The sky wasn't just dark... it was dark green.

Woah.

WOAH.

Finally, at 10:50pm, almost exactly
four hours after the 7:00pm
scheduled race start time,
the cars started to circulate.

Oh my goodness! That's quite the delay!

I heard one announcer (Paul Tracy, if that
name means anything to you) say:
"Oh, no. You're kidding!"
And a second later, they stopped the race
for another rain delay.

Oh, shoot! Just when things were getting going! Fortunate that it didn't last too long, and that you were able to enjoy a good race.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I didn't go straight there, however.
I instead went straight south
to Omaha, Nebraska, which is
two and a half hours west of
Newton, Iowa.

Well shucks you weren't too far from my neck of the woods!

Did you know there's corn
in Nebraska... and in Iowa?

I didn't see anything else,
so that's all I can comment on.


Corn


Lots of corn

So, so much corn. But if you've never had fresh Iowa sweet corn on the cob, then I recommend trying some if you come back down.

Also try Zombie Burger in Des Moines. It's just as healthy as the corn, I promise.

the Iowa tour book

Wait that exists?

I finally got to try Chick-fil-A.
I won't say it's the best chicken
I've had (far from it), but I will
say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I could eat Chick fil A every day of my life. Except Sundays. But honestly I'd get double on Saturdays and just save it for Sunday.

So much so that I had it again,
on the drive home.

Good decision.

Glad you had a good time at the race, even though you got one of those quintessential Midwest severe storms.

 

[Steppesister]

(A hundred and forty-six now, for those
of you who've been asking.)

Your collection is growing!

That's quite a lovely piece of engineering.

Did you know there's corn
in Nebraska... and in Iowa?

Ethanol for everyone!

Corn


Lots of corn

Maybe you've never seen it...

(usually a McDonalds)

Their bathrooms are better than their food.

At this point, it was pretty
much a foregone conclusion
that I'd be going to the Danish Museum.

Random, but that's what roadtrips should be!! The nooks and crannies often have the best things to see!

Holy cow, that thing is HUGE!

I walked in and saw a woman
at the front desk.
"Hi Terry!" I said. "How are you?"

Too bad it was a different woman.
Apparently, Terry was on a break.


I felt betrayed and lied to.

Which may or may not be better
than the confusion the woman
at the desk felt.

That is a simply charning letter/story. I love this! And love Victor as well.

I had a couple of stops planned first, however.
And a "couple of stops" turned suddenly into
a few more...

This sounds both ominous and exhilarating at the same time.....

And the last and sweetest was
cloyingly over-sweet.

Gross.

This is a really good photo! You seriously should show it to them and see if they'd buy it from you for $50.

Why not?

Sure! Why not! Road trip...

Just then, a police cruiser pulled up
alongside me.

Uh, oh.

And there's the "ominous".

He started to tell me, thought
better of it and instead said.
"How about if I take you there
and you follow me?"

That's either one of two things:

A) Incredible Midwestern-style hospitality, or,

B) a cleverly disguised "You're a stranger around here and Imma ride your butt til I know you're not up to no good".

Neat in a(nother) random sort of way.

There weren't any bathroom
facilities in the area
(what do people do?
pee in the woods?

Well..... yeah.


Duh.

Whoa Nelly!! That is intense! Look at the art work!

What I found most interesting
is that the ship was in commission
from 1943-1949, again from 1951-1958
and again from 1984-1990.

Wars tend to do that.

I'll bet the debate on Farm Bills regarding corn is... riveting. I'm sure those galleries are full at times.

Perfect recipe for heat stroke.
I'm sure they had some nurses
around on hot-standby.
(See what I did there?)

LOL!!! Theeeeeeeeeere it is. The hot nurse jokes.

I wonder what it takes to get a job in that niche. Connections no doubt!

I arrived back at the track and parked
the car. I was walking back to the track
when a loudspeaker announced that
lightning had been detected within
twenty miles of the track and all
spectators were to return to their
vehicles.

EEK!!!!

Holy bleep! That sky has major rotation-y looking layers in it, doesn't it. Did the T word cross your mind?!

If I'd been there, I'd have looked up the tail #s. I can't imagine Newton, IA getting very many jets of that caliber/size very often.

Great.
I was going to wait hours for
a race that I wasn't going to be
allowed to even see!

Oh dear.

Flight Director for Gemini and Apollo
space missions (including Apollo 11)
dedicated the race in honour of the
50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Neato!! Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies.

A funny moment on that big screen.
They were showing live tweets from
fans at one point and one
clever wag called the race
the Midnight 300.

LOL! That's pretty funny!

 

[pooh'smate]

MTL?


As long as you're not
the one driving!

Yes I did!
As well as Defiance and
Loess Hills.

MTL= Montreal My dh was born and raised there. My in-laws still live there.
Dillons is 2 miles from my place.

One of my favorite movies.

 

[pkondz]

What?! I live just 40 minutes from Newton in a Des Moines suburb! I wish I would've known you were in town - it would've been fun to meet you (or at least to give you some tourist or food recommendations!).

Oh, no!!
I was afraid someone
would say that! Shoot!

Perhaps surprisingly, Iowa has quite a few wineries (including some where you can view the grapes!). The Sommerset Winery even has an event in the fall where you can pick grapes and then stomp others in a bin (a la I Love Lucy). I suppose you're paying them for your own labor, but it was a fun time when I did it a few years ago!

I dunno...
Have you ever seen that
classic video of the reporter
who falls off the grape stand?

Fun! I live SO CLOSE to Madison County and I've never seen the bridges. G and I plan to try and venture there sometime.

You need to go!
You're right there!

WOW! I've never been to the state capitol, but I think I need to plan a visit! I love your pictures!

You should go,
it's really quite beautiful.
But... I totally get it.
I've lived in the same city
for almost my entire life
and there's a few things
here that I've yet to do too!

Yikes! We can definitely get some ridiculous storms in the Midwest. I'm glad you were (somewhat?) safe in your car. Also, that's an amazing picture of the storm!

Thanks!
Yeah... "ridiculous" is an
appropriate description!

Oh, no! I bet you felt ill! I'm so glad it wasn't a problem for them to reissue it for you.

I did at first, then came
up with a plan.
If they could re-issue the
ticket, then no problems.
Otherwise, I'd buy the cheapest
ticket they had and still sit in
my better seats.

As it turned out, they could
re-issue it since I had the
confirmation email.

What a great picture!

Thanks!

How neat! I'm most familiar with Gene Krantz from the movie Apollo 13 - I didn't know he was the flight director for Apollo 11 as well! That's very nice that they honored him and the moon landing.

I'm glad you had fun! The next time you'll be heading through Des Moines you'll have to let me know!

Okay! I will!

 

[pkondz]

This is a thing that I know about you. But I didn't realize quite how large the collection had become!!

And no duplicates.
And each one a place
I've visited.

I think of you whenever I drive by a Harley Davidson store, but of course I'd never in a million years consider picking up a chip for you when I do. I know that you need to actually visit the place yourself for it to count.

Correct.
But... I like that you think of me.

Ahhh yes, that makes sense.

Of course!
There's corn over here,
and corn over there.
Completely different!

This made me laugh. I remember when my cousin from Florida came to visit us as kids, she had been so excited to see real-live potato fields. Then she quickly realized that they were...well...absolutely everywhere. The novelty wore off pretty quickly, and by the end of the trip she was pretty sick of seeing potato plants.

I'll bet!

I feel betrayed on your behalf.

I think you and my mom would share similar wine preferences. She's more of a white drinker than red, and she also doesn't have much use for exceptionally sweet wines.

I prefer sweeter whites, but...
this was ridiculous.
Like drinking syrup.

...oooohhhhhh!

Now the nickel drops, right?

Cool! Worth the pitstop

Just in case you needed yet another reason to come visit us in the east, I actually grew up just a short jaunt from the world' longest covered bridge. (I may have mentioned this before, actually.) It's 391m long and sits in Hartland, NB.

Trust me.
I don't need another reason
to come visit.
You're there.

But... now I do have
one more reason.

Woah.

WOAH.

Yep. Pretty much.

Oh my goodness! That's quite the delay!

I was actually hoping...
and then a bit shocked
that they ran it that late.
But glad they did!

Oh, shoot! Just when things were getting going! Fortunate that it didn't last too long, and that you were able to enjoy a good race.

I was worried... it could
have ended the race right there.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Well shucks you weren't too far from my neck of the woods!

Also try Zombie Burger in Des Moines. It's just as healthy as the corn, I promise.

Wait, are you from Iowa, too?! I never would've guessed! (I live in a Des Moines suburb myself.) Obviously I know that there are DISers everywhere, but I always seems to follow people that are from much further away. How neat!

Mmmmm, Zombie Burger. And now I want a cereal shake for breakfast.

 

[pkondz]

Well shucks you weren't too far from my neck of the woods!

I'm getting the distinct feeling
that I should've mentioned
I was going, ahead of time.

So, so much corn. But if you've never had fresh Iowa sweet corn on the cob, then I recommend trying some if you come back down.

I'd be okay with that!
Looooove fresh corn.
(Without garlic spread, thankyouverymuch.)

Also try Zombie Burger in Des Moines. It's just as healthy as the corn, I promise.

I'm not exactly sure how
I missed this place.

But I did go to Iowa Beef Steakhouse
and Cosi Cucina.

Wait that exists?

It's an exceptionally slim volume.
And is comprised of four States.

I could eat Chick fil A every day of my life. Except Sundays. But honestly I'd get double on Saturdays and just save it for Sunday.

Good decision.

Well, I had to make sure
I liked it, right?

Glad you had a good time at the race, even though you got one of those quintessential Midwest severe storms.

I was wondering if I'd have
to say "Toto, I'm not in Iowa anymore."

 

[Tracy161]

Hi! Welcome to the.... wait...
that's not for this, is it?

I don't think so. But admittedly, I forget what we were talking about Oh wait. I think that was the point.

I've done the living part...
When does the learning part happen?

You got me. I'm waiting for the learning to commence, too.

I am a benevolent despot.

Aren't we all from time to time.

(A hundred and forty-six now, for those
of you who've been asking.)

I took the time
to sashay along the Bob Kerry
Pedestrian Bridge.

I love a good sashay. On a good pedestrian bridge.

Why would you want to go from
Nebraska to Iowa.


I'm guessing it's to compare corn.

Checks out.

At this point, it was pretty
much a foregone conclusion
that I'd be going to the Danish Museum.

Called it!

The gas attendant was very
enthusiastic about it
and told me that "Terry"
would be working at the desk today.

Armed with that knowledge,

This made me LOL - "armed with that knowledge"

He started to tell me, thought
better of it and instead said.
"How about if I take you there
and you follow me?"
I happily agreed.

How kind! Love stories like this.

I finally got to try Chick-fil-A.

A cult sensation here in the states. Sometimes earned. Sometimes not.

I'm sure they had some nurses
around on hot-standby.
(See what I did there?)

I did

(All of the well-known Andretti drivers have
the same initials. Mario, Michael and Marco,
hence the tail numbers ending "MA".)

I cataloged a photograph of Scott and Marco (I think it was Marco) recently-ish of when these two gentleman and a few others were at my museum years ago doing a make your own glass experience

Finally, at 10:50pm, almost exactly
four hours after the 7:00pm
scheduled race start time,
the cars started to circulate.

FOUR hours?! FOUR HOURS?! And to think the last of it hadn't even happened. So glad the race eventually started... and finished... without [much] further incident.

 

[pkondz]

Your collection is growing!

That's quite a lovely piece of engineering.

It really is an eye-catching bridge.

Ethanol for everyone!

Which is exactly what Indycars
run on. Their fuel is 98% ethanol.

Maybe you've never seen it...

I have...
But it's been years.

Corn! Corn! Corn!

Their bathrooms are better than their food.

Their bathrooms are a necessity
because of their food!

Random, but that's what roadtrips should be!! The nooks and crannies often have the best things to see!

Absolutely!
The road less traveled.

Holy cow, that thing is HUGE!

Right?
I would've been surprised to see
one half that size!

That is a simply charning letter/story. I love this! And love Victor as well.

He was great.

Gross.

Kinda was.
I finished my sip, but...
A sip was plenty.

This is a really good photo! You seriously should show it to them and see if they'd buy it from you for $50.

Thanks!

Sure! Why not! Road trip...

See previous comment
re: road less traveled.

And there's the "ominous".

Turned out really well, though.

That's either one of two things:

A) Incredible Midwestern-style hospitality, or,

B) a cleverly disguised "You're a stranger around here and Imma ride your butt til I know you're not up to no good".

Probably a little of both.

Neat in a(nother) random sort of way.

It was a rather... jarring piece
of architecture in the middle
of nowhere.
Kinda… weird, to be honest.

Well..... yeah.


Duh.

There's an old joke...
you've probably heard it.

A bear is taking a dump in the forest.
Suddenly a bunny accidentally stumbles upon the scene.
Before the bunny can react, the bear grabs him.
"Do you have trouble with poop sticking to your fur?" The bear asks.
Quivering in fear, the bunny shakes his head "no".

The bear then wipes his bum with the bunny.

Whoa Nelly!! That is intense! Look at the art work!

I was shocked at how beautiful
it was inside there!
I was totally not expecting that!

Wars tend to do that.

I get that, and yet...
Can you imagine recommissioning
a tank from 1943?

I'll bet the debate on Farm Bills regarding corn is... riveting. I'm sure those galleries are full at times.

"Therefore, I move that we adopt sweet corn as this year's feature corn."
"I disagree. I feel that Peaches n Cream should have that honour."
"No, sweet corn."
"No, Peaches n Cream."
"Sweet corn."
"Peaches n Cream."
"Sweet corn!"
"Peacehs n Cream!"
"SWEET CORN!!!"
"PEACHES N CREAM!!!"

<brawling erupts>
<no one is surprised>

LOL!!! Theeeeeeeeeere it is. The hot nurse jokes.

I wonder what it takes to get a job in that niche. Connections no doubt!

I would think so.
No idea, really.

EEK!!!!

Exactly what I said.

Holy bleep! That sky has major rotation-y looking layers in it, doesn't it. Did the T word cross your mind?!

Definitely.
I remember thinking that if a Tornado hit,
there wasn't a whole heck of a lot anyone
could do about it.
We couldn't outrun it.
When it came time to leave (at the end
of the race), it took a long time for
all the cars to get out of there...
And that was with fewer cars.

If I'd been there, I'd have looked up the tail #s. I can't imagine Newton, IA getting very many jets of that caliber/size very often.

I did!

Oh dear.

Worked out, though.

Neato!! Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies.

Great movie!
"Houston, we have a problem."

LOL! That's pretty funny!

I must admit that I almost missed it.
The nice lady sitting beside me pointed it out.

 

[pkondz]

MTL= Montreal My dh was born and raised there. My in-laws still live there.

Ohhhh...
The only thing I could think
of was Montreal.
"Nah. Can't be that."
I tried googling MTL
but kept getting... Montreal.
"Stupid Google. I want
MTL, USA!"

Dillons is 2 miles from my place.

I think I saw you.
Were you wearing blue
on Friday?

One of my favorite movies.

I know I've seen it twice...
So why can't I remember
much about it???

 

[pkondz]

I don't think so. But admittedly, I forget what we were talking about Oh wait. I think that was the point.

I'd say you were right...
But I really have no idea.

You got me. I'm waiting for the learning to commence, too.

Wisdom comes with age.




Which is a lie old people tell
so youngsters won't pick on them.

Aren't we all from time to time.

Yes we are!

Got some of those in your
neck of the woods.

I love a good sashay. On a good pedestrian bridge.

It's like it was made for sashaying.

Actually, I believe it was.

Checks out.

There was corn.
I saw it.

Called it!

This made me LOL - "armed with that knowledge"

It was valuable intel.
That just turned out
to be wrong.

How kind! Love stories like this.

He was a really nice guy.

A cult sensation here in the states. Sometimes earned. Sometimes not.

I was just telling someone about it.
"Well, it's definitely not even close
to the best chicken I've had...
But it's much better than other
fast food places."

I did

I cataloged a photograph of Scott and Marco (I think it was Marco) recently-ish of when these two gentleman and a few others were at my museum years ago doing a make your own glass experience

Really!
I'm hoping to get back there
and do some of my own
glass experiences.

FOUR hours?! FOUR HOURS?! And to think the last of it hadn't even happened. So glad the race eventually started... and finished... without [much] further incident.

Four hours.
But better than postponing
it when I couldn't see it at all.

 

[KathyM2]

Why would you want to go from
Nebraska to Iowa.

I have no idea lol but you are introducing me to a lot of the flyover states that I'd never even thought about (or thought about visiting for that matter)

Covered Bridges winery.
In Madison County.

That is seriously cool. I think I would go out of my way for that too.

That lightening storm was crazy. Glad you got to see the race after all that, but I don't think the drive back in the middle of the night in storms would have been fun. Isn't that where they have twisters and the like? Yikes!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Wait, are you from Iowa, too?! I never would've guessed! (I live in a Des Moines suburb myself.) Obviously I know that there are DISers everywhere, but I always seems to follow people that are from much further away. How neat!

Mmmmm, Zombie Burger. And now I want a cereal shake for breakfast.

No I'm from the KC area but with how far apart everything is in the midwest Des Moines is still considered 'close' hahaha

But I've made road trips to Des Moines just for Zombie Burger so I'll own that.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I was wondering if I'd have
to say "Toto, I'm not in Iowa anymore."

Oh yikes. Just...yikes.

 

[pkondz]

I have no idea lol but you are introducing me to a lot of the flyover states that I'd never even thought about (or thought about visiting for that matter)

I'm doing all this for you,
you know!

That is seriously cool. I think I would go out of my way for that too.

I'm glad I did.

That lightening storm was crazy. Glad you got to see the race after all that, but I don't think the drive back in the middle of the night in storms would have been fun. Isn't that where they have twisters and the like? Yikes!

Thankfully, the drive back in
the rain didn't get as bad as
it had earlier... and it only
lasted for a few minutes.