Sad to Say Good-Bye

Well, our time here in Council Bluffs is coming to an end.  We have been here since September 1. This will likely be the longest we stay in one place during this first part of our trip. Onward we must go.  We've had a great time doing all of the usual things:

breakfasts at Village Inn and Hyvee

Cornhusker games and tailgating

lunches at LPL's (Home of the best pork tenderloin sandwich and our favorite server, our beautiful niece, Megan) and Godfathers Pizza (favorite taco pizza).

casino visits

Texas Hold 'em games with the family

watching Poppy's flag football team

watching our nephew, Abe win his first football game this season

weekly dinners at Cascios Steakhouse and Pizza King

Many thanks to the Shanks for letting us use their basement as our hotel.  Thanks to all of our family for the dinners, games, laughs, and time spent hanging out.

I guess we'll see you when we see you....Love to all of you
J and L

Right in Your Own Backyard LW

Even though LW grew up here in Council Bluffs, IA, this week we saw a few things that he hadn't ever seen or at least hadn't seen in years.  Here's what we discovered.

Black Angel Statue-A memorial to Ruth Anne Dodge sculpted by Daniel Chester French and dedicated in 1920.  It is weathered black by the elements.  A plaque near the base stated that it is the angel Ruth saw in her dreams and then she died 2 days later.

Lincoln Monument-This monument to Abe Lincoln is located at the spot where he overlooked the valley in 1859, and shortly thereafter proclaimed Council Bluffs to be the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Joslyn Art Museum-I went to the art museum because they advertised Picture Book Art by Marla Frazee as a new exhibit.  I liked the art center itself but I was a little underwhelmed by the picture book exhibit.  It just had frames from different books on the wall.  No info and not even some of her more well known books.Here are a couple pictures from my visit.

out front in the sculpture garden

Loved this portrait

one example  of Marla Frazee's work

Union Pacific Train Engines-On display, high above I-80, we found Big Boy, the largest steam  train engine ever built and the Centennial No 6900, the largest and most powerful diesel-electric locomotive ever built.

The Golden Spike-This is a 56 ft tall replica of the tiny spike that marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad in Utah. This monument was placed here in 1939 as a promotional gimmick for the movie Union Pacific.

Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and riverfront area-crosses the Missouri River from Council Bluffs, IA to Omaha, NE.

Gerald Ford Birthsite and Garden-This spot marks where President Ford was born.  The house is no longer there but it has a beautiful garden and pavilion, including a few pieces of memorabilia.

There is also a time capsule that was buried here in 1976, to be opened in 2076.  I wonder what is inside.

Chef Boyardee Statue-In downtown Omaha we found a 6 ft bronze statue of Chef Boyardee in the ConAgra Plaza.

Memorial Stadium, Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, NE-

National Roller Skating Museum in Lincoln, NE-Here we found skates from famous people like Tara Lipinski, cowboy boot skates, skates signed by Drew Barrymore, and many many other things related to roller skating over the years.

Nebraska Holocaust Memorial in Lincoln, NE-Lincoln has a beautiful Holocaust Memorial.  There are bricks with just a few names of victims set among many, many stones meant to symbolize the sea of victims, There was a sculpture in the shape of the Star of David with scenes from history on each side.  There was a butterfly garden in remembrance of the children.

Lots of other statues-

Now that we have explored LW's hometown and surrounding areas, let's move east towards my hometown.  See ya there in a few days.

Road Trip

This week we took a little road trip to Fargo, North Dakota, followed by a stop in Storm Lake, Iowa.
One of our goals is to visit all 50 states. I lack 5 and LW lacks 6. North Dakota is one of those we both need to visit so we headed up there on Monday.
The temperature in Council Bluffs had been hovering around mid 70. When we stopped for lunch in Watertown, South Dakota, the temperature was 58 degrees. In Fargo, we checked out the Walk of Fame and a replica of a 12th century Norwegian church.  We had dinner at Old Broadway Sports Bar while watching Monday night football. The food was great and the free popcorn was even better. That night I saw people walking around in shorts and t-shirts, while LW and I were wishing we had brought warmer clothes. They probably thought it was a nice day.  I guess that is all relative.  This morning when we woke up, the temperature was 48 degrees. Brrr.

Fargo Walk of Fame

Woodchipper from Fargo movie, Norwegian church

This morning we headed south to visit Storm Lake, Iowa.  This will accomplish 2 things. First and most importantly, I hope the temperature will be much warmer. Second, it is a sentimental stop.

Storm Lake is the home of Buena Vista University. Both LW and I are alumni. We graduated 31 years ago in 1985. What? Whoa! That can't be right! I know its been awhile but....31 years?  Where the hell has the time gone? We have not been back to Storm Lake in many years.
So here's the sentimental part. Cue the oohs and aahs.  This is where we met. This is where the great love affair began. (Maybe I'll tell the whole story in another post.) Anyway, we wanted to check out how the town and college had changed in those many, many years.

Along the way we made a few stops. First was Devils Gulch in Garretson, South Dakota. Supposedly Jesse James evaded capture by spurring his horse to leap the 20 ft ravine. Historians believe it is impossible.

After that we stopped at a spot where you can see 3 states...Minnesota (To LW's right), Iowa (behind LW) and South Dakota (to LW's left).

Then we came across a town in Iowa called Lester. So of course we had to go 5 miles off our track to stop and get a picture.

Next stop...the ice cream capital of the world...Lemars, Iowa. Wells Blue Bunny got this distinction because in 1994 they were producing 100 million gallons of ice cream a year. There is a nice little free museum highlighting the company that has been in production since 1913 upstairs above the ice cream shop.

Arriving in Storm Lake, we drove around town. Our Pizza Hut is now a China House. The site of our first date, the movie house is still in operation. The Villager, our favorite restaurant, is still there and tasted just as good. Storm Lake High looks much the same. (I did student teaching in the high school Spanish program there.) But the college has changed A LOT!  Although the buildings we lived in looked about the same. 

We had hoped to spend the night and walk the campus, check out the bookstore, let LW play golf at one of the courses he played while on the college golf team. However every hotel was booked so we headed back to Council Bluffs.

Back in Council Bluffs with a few more things to do and see here before we leave on Sunday.

Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium

Omaha is home to a world class zoo and aquarium called the Henry Doorly Zoo.  I know that when the kids were young we came to this zoo but we had not been here since.  LW and I spent 4 hours at the zoo yesterday.  The collages below show some of the best of the pictures from the day.  The highlights were the giraffes (my favorite), the tiger momma and her 3 cubs, the elephants that they rescued from Swaziland and the silverback gorillas. If you have the opportunity to be anywhere near Omaha, make it a priority to stop at this zoo.  You'll need a good chunk of time but it is worth it.  It's the best zoo we've seen so far.

Annual Father-Daughter Game

Labor day weekend hosts the annual father-daughter weekend when LW and Lauren attend the Husker opener.  This year was a little different in that we were already here in Iowa/Nebraska.  Lauren flew up for the long weekend arriving late Friday night.  Even though the game was not until 7 pm, a tailgate party started around 11:00 on Saturday in Lincoln in the stadium parking lot.  I have not been to a tailgate party or Husker game in years, so I drove down to Lincoln to participate in the fun that they call "tailgating." After eating the last brat and hanging out for a while, some of us went for a long walk to check out the stadium. Shortly after returning to the tailgate, and just before the gates opened, the  rain began.  It rained... and rained... and rained.  There was talk about packing up and leaving.   There was standing around huddled under the tents.  There was moaning and groaning about the rain. There was debating about who wanted to go to the game, who would want to leave early if it continued to rain and who was just going back home to watch in the comfort of a dry home. Tailgate supplies were packed between bursts of showers. I wasn't going to the game in the first place so I ended up hitching a ride back home with family.  The ticket holders finally were able to emerge from the tents and attend the game once the rain completely stopped.  Bonus:  Huskers won 43-10!

Kansas City

Originally we planned just 2 days in Kansas City.  But when LW's brother was able to get tickets for he and LW to see the Chiefs/Packers on Thursday night, we extended our stay.  Good thing we did. There is so much to see and do in KC.  Here are the highlights.

Royals vs Yankees game

Harry S Truman Presidential Library, Museum and Home in Independence, Mo.

 We had ice cream at the Clinton Soda Fountain where Truman used to work.  I had Harry's Favorite-chocolate ice cream with butterscotch.

This is the outside of the Kansas City Public Library.

 We drove to Topeka to see the Brown vs Board of Education Historical Site.

Then we drove on to Abilene, Kansas to visit the Dwight D Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and boyhood home.

Today while LW and his brother played golf, I visited the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and the Donald J Hall Sculpture Park. The world's largest shuttlecocks are on the grounds.

Then I went to the Hallmark Cards visitor center and the Crayola Store.

Tonight the boys are enjoying the preseason football game and I am enjoying some alone time in the hotel.  Tomorrow we are off for Council Bluffs.  We will stay there for about 18 days, visiting LW's family, watching the Huskers and we will get to see Lauren since she will fly in to go to the season opener of the Huskers with her dad ( a long standing tradition).