(The title courtesy of Ray and John Kinsella, in my favorite movie Field of Dreams)
My trip to Iowa started last Wednesday when I caught an early morning flight through Atlanta to the Moline Quad Cities Airport. From there I drove to downtown Moline, IL and visited the John Deere Pavilion and Store. There are several large pieces of equipment and displays on how John Deere has shaped the lives of American farmers over the years.
Wednesday afternoon I visited the World’s Largest Truck Stop, also known as the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, in Walcott, Iowa. What qualifies it as the World’s Largest Truck Stop? Here are just some amenities it offers – convenience store, curiousity shop, a full-service restaurant AND a food court, a custom truck detailing shop, a Super Truck Showroom (which includes two trucks inside the building), a large selection of DVDs, and a game room. On the third floor are the trucker services, which include showers, laundry, a TV lounge, a movie theater, a library, a barber, and a dentist. Located in nearby buildings are the Truck Wash and the Pet Wash (I was confused as to whether this was the same facility); the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum; and what appears to be a small hotel. The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum’s prime attraction was the “modern trucking video” from 1949 that showed the trucking industry pre-Interstate and pre-computers. A very enjoyable period piece: “Watch the friendly trucker stop and help a motorist along a deserted two-lane road. What fine moral character!” From the fine selection of the World’s Largest Truck Stop merchandise, I bought a tin of breath mints and a magnet. Learn more about the World’s Largest Truck Stop here: http://iowa80truckstop.com/
Thursday I drove out to Des Moines. I stopped in Iowa City and visited the Old Capitol Museum, located on the University of Iowa campus. I walked around campus and visited the bookstore. Two more hours of driving west put me in Van Meter, Iowa, hometown of the late great Bob Feller (whose fastball was once known as “The Heater from Van Meter”). I went through the little museum there, which includes paraphenalia describing all parts of Feller’s life. I felt enlightened after reading Bob Feller’s autobiography, Now Pitching.
Friday I walked around the State Capitol in Des Moines. It has a dearth of statuary and celebrations of famous Iowans, but two statues of Abraham Lincoln. There is a display celebrating the current Governor and his accomplishments throughout life, something I had not seen in any other capitol. From Des Moines, I headed east again. I stopped in the Amana Colonies and watched the intro film. The fine settlers of Amana were part of a particular religious congregation that lived communally from 1855-1932. The main street has antique stores, restaurants, and other shops.
Friday afternoon I stopped in Solon for the Official Iowa Haircut. The Solon Barber Shop once also included a laundromat, but that closed sometime in the last year. The barber shop is a one-chair affair. The windows were opened to the street and I could hear the traffic and passers-by, which included a party bus sponsored by the bar next door. Lisa cut my hair as I instructed her to compensate for my previous, too-short cut. The price for the haircut was $11.50, rather than whole dollars, the first place I had experienced that in the last 10 years.
Friday night I watched the Cedar Rapids Kernels beat the Peoria Chiefs, 2-0. Saturday night I watched the Kernels beat the Chiefs, 6-5 on a walk-off home run with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately they were the only two games I saw all week, as my Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon games were rained out (in Davenport and Clinton, respectively).
Saturday I visited the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, which was flooded in 2008 by a 32′ crest of the Cedar River (1993 was only 19′). I also visited the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville (which is where the Ertl Company is based). But the highlight Saturday was my visit to the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville. They have put up a sign on the fence in front of the house, but the field has not been maintained as well since I was there in 2002. I walked around the field, taking pictures. I even took a little batting practice, the first time I had swung a bat in 20 years. I took some pitches courtesy of a group of guys on a baseball trip of their own. I didn’t hit the ball out of the infield. I was amazed at all the fans present. Many wore apparel celebrating their teams – Red Sox, Twins, Philllies, Cardinals; but also the University of Minnesota, the Indianapolis Indians, and me with my Durham Bulls jacket. A spontaneous game broke out while I was there. I imagine it was just as Terence Mann envisioned it would be.
Sunday I attended church at the First Federated Church of Lisbon, Iowa. Severe storms had moved through the Cedar Rapids area just ahead of me and knocked out power to the church in Lisbon. For the first portion of the service, we were in darkness. Not to be confused with the Biblical Evangelical church’s pastoral sermon on several verses in Revelation. There were 26 others there, several of whom greeted me. Because the storms flooded the warning track and concourse in Clinton Sunday, I drove around town and then headed back to the Quad Cities. Monday morning I visited the Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire before flying home. The Buffalo Bill Museum celebrates town native Buffalo Bill Cody, who was born there shortly after the town’s founding.
My 50 State Scorecard after my adventures in Iowa (and number of states in which I have now done those activities):
Haircut (32): Solon Barber Shop, Solon
State Capitol (25)
Church (25): First Federated Church, Lisbon
Movie (27): Fast Five, Jordan Creek 20, West Des Moines
Barbecue (26): Bandana’s Bar-B-Q, Coralville
Baseball (21): Cedar Rapids Kernels, Class A Midwest League
Community College (25): Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids
Local Museum: Bob Feller Museum, Van Meter
Complete State Sets (15)
Other findings –
1) File this under Good Idea/Bad Idea. Good Idea: The Cedar Rapids Kernels celebrated Star Wars Night on Friday by selling toy light sabers in the gift shop. $5 each, your choice of red, blue, or green. I think they sold about 500. Bad Idea: Do you think those 500 kids waited patiently until they got home to start playing with them? There’s a grassy berm down the third-base line at Veterans Memorial Stadium. There, sword battles broke out in the top of the second inning and continued throughout the game. Not to mention the kids wandering around the concourse or banging the seats around them.
2) Interstate 80 across Iowa is straight and uneventful. As the clerk in Davenport instructed me, “Put on your cruise control and you’ll be there in 3 hours.” However, it is thrilling compared to US 30, which has portions which do not appear to have been resurfaced any time recently (cue washboard effect).
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