I.O.W.A ooohhh Iowa.

Greetings from the world of lush greenery, gorgeous trees, warm and friendly people, mosquitos, humidity, rain, and overcast skies. We really enjoyed being in Iowa, but we'd like to believe that this year has been especially bad for weather...





This the Deaton family: Mike, Jana, and Brette. They are Finnegan's human birth family and all around great people. We loved visiting with them!






The Deaton's live in Nevada, Iowa (that's with a long "a" and not a bit related to the state that hosts Las Vegas.) This is Iowa farm country. Here's a shot of downtown Nevada:

Finnegan got a bath and haircut (doesn't he look gorgeous!?!?!) and we got to eat at the most wonderful restaurant!!! right in Nevada!

It seems to be a place without a name...and it's all Iowa homecooking. Everything fresh and homemade, and a wait staff that comes with an Iowa sense of humor. Example: when the bread basket was put on the table in front of Ed, he was told, "Now that's not just for you...!" It was so good, we went back for breakfast before we left town.

Brette offered to take Finn in for daycare one day so we drove 30 miles into Des Moines to see the sights. We visited the Iowa History Museum where we took in a wonderful exhibit on the Iowa caucaus. Finally! We both have an understanding of how it works. The Deaton's have been part of the caucaus for many years serving in all capacities.

The "young" lady above was my highlight of the history museum. Agnes is 78 years old! (O.K. - so I lusted after her flawless skin...) She's a college graduate and 3 day volunteer at the history center. We talked for a loooong time about how times have changed during our lives - especially hers. She was an education on her own.

Next stop - the Iowa State Captiol Building. A real beauty. We took the walking tour because it was the only way to get into the library - the real highlight of the tour.

Have a look at this incredible room. Three stories high and almost all original. It was built in the first decade of the 20th century.

We left Des Moines and headed to the next presidential library on our very loose agenda. Here's a hint:

Now Hoover was not the most illustrious of our presidents, but he was a very interesting man. His museum is among the oldest and least impressive, but very very interesting.

The National Park Service oversees the whole area that encompasses the 180 acre Hoover Historic Site. It was purchased by local contributors for our benefit.

This is Hoover's birth home. It seemed spacious to us, but we live in a bus...

He was quite the dapper young man in his day, Secretary of Commerce, philanthropist, businessman, mining engineer. His Feed the Children program after WWI was instrumental in helping Europe recover from the war.

There was just this little event that marked his presidency...

All in all, we enjoyed Iowa. Ed especially found it interesting.

(Sandy Ohm says we should call this "Houston, we have a problem."

And now to Wisconsin.

P.S. We miss hearing from you all. Though I don't have internet access everyday, I do manage to pick up email at least. I've reset this blog to accept comments and our email works just fine.