On Wednesday, April 27, we left Lawrence, KS and drove through Missouri to Des Moines, Iowa. The Kansas Turnpike is also a toll road, but this time we ready for it!
One of the 5 Iowa Pentico cousins, Lynn, lives in Norwalk a suburb of Des Moines and since Tom and I had never seen his home we stopped to see him. We visited, got the tour of his home and went to lunch. We followed Lynn to Lake Cornelia, about 120 miles away, where we were stayed for the next 5 nights. We had a great spot by the lake, even though it as windy and rainy. While hooking up the trailer, Lynn said he felt ill with heartburn and was light-headed, so he decided to go to the doctor. Tom offered to drive but he said it wasn’t far and he was sure he could make it.
We immediately called his brother Jeff and his wife Jodi who live close by in Belmond and told them what had happened. We headed to their house, but we got lost and had to call them. It was a good thing because we were just around the corner from the hospital so they left and met us there. We checked in on Lynn, who it was discovered was extremely dehydrated. He ended up staying two nights in the hospital before being released to go home and make an appointment with his doctor.
Tom and Jeff stayed with Lynn until he was in his hospital room and Jodi and I returned to their home as she had supper in the oven. When Tom and Jeff returned, we ate a great meal, visited for a while and then returned to our trailer. It had been a long day and we were tired. That night it rained hard, with lightning and thunder. It was quite the show, between Texas and Iowa I have never seen so much rain in so short a timespan.
Thursday continued to be cloudy, cool, and rainy so we got in the truck and drove the 46 miles to Rolfe, IA to see Jim. If you are keeping count, we have now seen 3 of the 5 cousins who live in Iowa. However, it is also important to note that Jim is more than just a cousin, he is the Mayor of Rolfe as well. After visiting with Jim, he called Debi (his sister and cousin #4) and we all met for lunch. We then drove to Deb’s home in Humboldt and had a nice long visit.
Since there are five Penticos in Iowa, we were still one short! We drove to Bode 14 and visited with David for a while before returning to Lake Cornelia and getting some much-needed sleep.
The plan for Friday was for the guys to play golf and Debi, Jodi and I were going shopping. The rain would not let up, so we left the guys sitting around the table in our trailer when we headed out for our shopping trip. We went to Sheffield, had a great lunch and shopped in some cute boutiques. Lynn was released from the hospital, but just wanted to get back home, who could blame him? After two days in the hospital, I’d want to be home as well.
After finishing shopping, we met everyone at Jeff and Jodi’s home and played cards, had a drink or two and ordered pizza for dinner. It was such a fun day, and after it being so many years since I had seen all the cousins, I had forgotten how much fun they all are. As it is with cousins, Tom and they were all talking and remembering as if they saw each other daily! Friday night the wind blew so hard, it shook the trailer most of the night. I don’t mind rain, and I sort of like lightening but wind I can do without. I’m always afraid the trailer will blow over. I know that won’t happen but in the middle of the night it sure feels like it could!
Saturday, we had planned on going to get some groceries and find a laundromat, however Jodi invited us to use their laundry. While I was doing the laundry, Tom decided to go to Ft. Dodge to Walmart as he needed DEF for his truck (again!) Jodi said we should all go to the one in Mason City, I think because there is a Mexican restaurant right near it! Now everyone has said you can’t get good Mexican food outside California and Arizona, but that is just not true. I had street tacos that were delicious, and the salsas had a nice kick to it. Tom’s enchilada was good, and his tamale was ok and although the margaritas were a little sweeter than we like, they were still good! On our way back, Jeff and Jodi took us by the local “Freedom Rock” which is a program in Iowa where each county has a rock that has been painted by a local artist. Each rock has a patriotic theme and the one we saw was just beautiful. Look in the photos for what I’m talking about. We finished the afternoon with some more cards and drinks, while the laundry was finishing.
While driving around Iowa you would expect to see corn silos and farmhouses surrounded by acres and acres of crops, which because of the weather were not planted yet. We definitely saw all of that, but what I would like to say about the area is the beauty of it all. One of the purposes of our trip was to see this great country of ours and this area reminded me of the tremendous work the farmers in the Midwestern part of our country do to feed us all and how much I take that for granted on a daily basis.
Sunday, was May 1 and I actually saw the sun for about 5 minutes! Tom thought I was crazy, but the only reason he didn’t see it was he’s not a true believer, I know the sun is still out there somewhere! Jeff and Jodi picked us up around 11:30 and we met everyone else for lunch and then went to Jim’s home for a while. Eventually it was time to say good-bye but not before Jodi showed me a picture of a goat at our trailer. I was very confused until she explained that it was a May Day fundraise for the local animal rescue ranch called “Lazy J”. “Butter” the goat stopped by, they took a photo and left us a snack pack of M & M’s and microwave popcorn. When I was a kid my best friend and I would put flowers on neighbor’s doorsteps on May 1, I didn’t know people still celebrated May Day, but apparently, they do in Iowa!
Saying good-bye to everyone was sad, after such a good week, I will miss them all. Hopefully I’ll be back to Iowa before the next 27 years!
Take a look at some photos of the week.
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 