July 31, 2026
We went to Iowa for a long weekend trip for our niece Skyler’s wedding. It was a longer drive than anticipated at 11 hours of driving from Granville.
We were pleasantly surprised with the rolling hills once we crossed the Mississippi River. Everything was lush and green and unexpectedly beautiful. We arrived in time to meet everyone after rehearsal and joined them for catered BBQ pork and smoked turkey before turning in for the night
We ate breakfast at the hotel and went downtown to visit the farmers market and Botanical Gardens. Downtown was clean and looked fairly new and there was lots of construction going on. What that meant was there was no parking within a mile of the farmers market. So we decided to just hit the Botanical garden. It was very well done and although it was only about 15 acres there was lots to see.
The wedding was nice and just long enough as the hot sun was almost unbearable. The reception moved inside to the air conditioning and much more pleasant environment. The dinner was excellent with roast beef, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad and bread. The DJ was good and we had a great time visiting with many family we haven’t seen in a long time.
We left around 10 and the next morning we were on the road heading home just before six o’clock in the morning. The drive home was uneventful and good. We made it home shortly after6 with the time zone change.