June 7, 2006
Dear Readers,

Enroute to DesMoines, Iowa
Today, (June 7) we are traveling Route 30, the Lincoln Highway, from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines. We have just passed Hope’s Bridal Boutique along the Lincoln Highway, consisting of a house and 4-5 barns all painted pink, dear readers, my camera was not at the ready!
One of the books Bobbi read before we left was American Road, about the Lincoln Highway, the first road in the US. Turns out after WWI, the military gurus figured out that the guys in trucks , etc. did better than the guys on the horses, so in 1918 the Army sent a convoy of military vehicles across the US to plan a road for military use. The Army sent a young whippersnapper named Dwight Eisenhower to be in charge of part of the ride, which may be why Ike is credited with starting the interstate highway system. Anyway, back in 1918, everyone wanted to have the Lincoln Highway go through their town, so folks were challenged to build a one mile section of road. The plan was to connect these sections built and paid for by the towns, but they did not always connect. And this was not even a government project!!! We suspect some of the Route 30 (Lincoln Highway) that we just drove was in fact built in 1918, it was a tad bumpy. It is kind of interesting- the front part bumps, then you hear the stuff in the bedroom banging around, then you watch the Honda in the back camera go over the bump. But, it is pretty amazing to think that less than 100 years ago, there was only one road, it was only part of a road, and that military convoy often made less that 5-10 miles per day, which is slightly less that we make per day!

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
On June 7th we left Cedar Rapids, Iowa, having soaked up lots of Czechoslovakian- American culture, not to mention a few Czechoslovakian kolach (pastry) calories. The ‘nuts and berries’ regime took a serious turn for the worse in Cedar Rapids, although the case could be made that that regime has yet to implement. Not to mention that we have not taken a single hike/walk in the woods or fields and we have been gone a month!!
We were just hearing the pitty-pat of little raindrops coming into Cedar Rapids on 6/6, when the gentle rain turned to hail, which is quite a racket in our little tin buggy. We had just left Indianapolis, where our friend Ron has all the windows out on one side of his house from hail damage, so we had gotten hail religion. We had been heading for Mt. Vernon, suburb of Cedar Rapids, for a campground, but figured we did not have time to get there so we turned around and followed the signs to the stadium, figuring they would have a big parking lot. The tornado siren went off as we pulled into the parking lot. One is supposed to have a bag packed to take to the emergency shelter, which we, of course, did not, so I decided to take the laptop, dear readers, with your best interests at heart. Problem with that strategy was that the laptop is attached to 6 million wires, one set for 12 volt, one set for regular electric, etc. So with our trusty plastic grocery bag stuffed full of laptop and wires we went running for a side door at the stadium, and after what seemed like an eternity, somebody answered the door and let us in. Iowans are used to tornados, and in about 15 minutes, the rain stopped, the tornado went to Mt. Vernon, Bobbi’s heart had resumed normal beating, and Lee took the opportunity to get a tour of the Cedar Rapid Kernels baseball stadium. In Cedar Rapids we stayed in a county park- combined campground and golf course. Lee had himself a little golf fest for $15 while Bobbi absorbed the Czech culture and made the bakery run. Near the campground was a patch of native prairie grasses. It was knee high, couldn't help but think how nasty that must have been to be walking through next to the covered wagon.

When one is in Cedar Rapids, one travels Route 151, because it runs north /south and east/ west and is not usually connected, but following the signs for 151 is sure to lead to adventure. We especially liked 151/13 which is 4 lanes with a median strip, 55-65 mph, and a 4 way stop sign in the middle!! Cedar Rapids is a beautiful town, another beautiful college campus-Coe College, in the middle of the town, as well as the ‘Czech Village’ on 16th St., and it is surrounded by miles of farmland, and lots of big, big plants processing stuff. Quaker Oats plant dominates the downtown skyline, Heinz is on the east side, and Cargill squeezes corn and soybeans in 4 different locations. There is a corny, soybeany smell in parts of Cedar Rapids, if it is not corn/soybeans, we don’t want to know what that smell was.

Crossing the Mississippi
The big Miss is not that big in Iowa/ Illinois, but still crossing it does give one a sense of satisfaction. We saw the plants for Hostess Twinkies and Wonder Bread, as well as a huge Oscar Mayer plant in the Quad Cities on June 5. The Quad cities (Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois) straddle the Mississippi and all sort of run together. The John Deere factory, Pavilion (display building) and museum are on the Illinois side. One can easily see why the American family farm has bitten the dust, since the machines they must compete with are humongous, complex and cost a king’s ransom. Since most of the tires were bigger than Lee, I’m not sure what one does when the tread goes bad, because the tires alone would buy a small 2 bedroom in the suburbs.

Galesburg, Illinois
We spent an afternoon in beautiful downtown Galesburg IL. A Presbyterian minister -George Washington Gale, founded the town, and Knox College. Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had one of the debates on the lawn in front of Knox College. Carl Sandburg was born here, lived in 4 different houses here, and is buried with his wife and 2 of his children, under a great big old rock in the backyard of the house on Third Street. Surrounding his rock are stepping stones with little snippets of his poetry carved in them-“A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.” So many of his lines have entered our culture, that one doesn't even know it was originally his. Importantly, he was a good Democrat, having worked on a Socialist/Democrat campaign during the Depression. His Dad worked repairing railroad engines, leading him to be a big union supporter. An all around good man, except perhaps he could have used a better hairstylist.

Indianapolis, IN
We spent over a week in Indianapolis visiting with Lee's friend Ron (of card group fame) and his girl friend Patty. While we did not make the Indy 500, Bobbi had her first chocolate martini, an event at least as momentous as the 500. Living at the Fairgrounds was always interesting, if not bucolic. For one thing, we were parked under a huge streetlight, so daylight was ours 24 hours a day. We woke up one morning to find the RV next to us was selling riding apparel for the horse show going on across the way. We had a horse trailer parked next to us, but best we can tell the horses were elsewhere. The day we left the Indiana truckers were having a rally where truck drivers were competing for best backer upper, a skill for which we have new respect. It was very festive and we ended up with some leftover chocolate cake from one of the sponsors, always a good thing. Unfortunately, Ron’s air conditioning was broken, so we often left Ron’s lovely home to come sit in air conditioned splendor here at the RV next to the horse trailer!