Day Trippin'

For the first time in our almost nine-year relationship, Art and I took a day trip. We wanted to see the autumn leaves along the Mississippi in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. Art had never been to that area and I was excited to show him that not all of Iowa is flat. We left Saturday morning and headed up the Wisconsin side first. I love Wisconsin. If it weren't for their lake-effect winters, I would live there. They have cheese, apples, rolling hills and beautiful state parks. According to the fall color report, that area of Wisconsin was at its peak, but I think if we had waited another week it would have been even more vibrant. I drove so that Art could freely look at the scenery without driving us off the road so he was also in charge of taking pictures. It was so nice not having a destination; we just followed the signs for the Great River Road but took some detours when we saw signs like "Rustic Road" or whenever we saw a road that looked nice. I hate to say it, but I think Wisconsin is more beautiful than Iowa, at least the southwestern part. Because they have more dairies they grow more hay so there are more grass fields than corn fields. While I was admiring the changing leaves and the bluffs, Art was loving all of the dairy farms we drove past. We also stopped at an apple orchard that I remember visiting as a kid. I had told Art how great it was but when we got there it was just another tourist trap. Obviously I had no idea what a 'tourist trap' was when I was younger, I just thought it was awesome. We bought some apple cider and a peck (a large bag) of apples and were on our way. There was some complaining from Art; his argument being that a) we have apple trees at home and b) we should just drive up the road some, pull over and pick all the ripe apples that were just laying under the trees.

We stopped in one small town that had five wagons of pumpkins, sqaush, gourds and pie pumpkins for sale (payments were on the honor code) so I was able to buy pie pumpkins for fifty cents a piece! That's a deal! Combined with my now four pie pumpkins from my garden I will be able to make pumpkin butter! I love small towns.

We took the time to stop at scenic outlooks and a state park (where Art laid down to stretch his back and enjoy the 80 degree weather) which is something we never do. Whenever we go somewhere we are always busy just trying to get there. But yesterday we didn't have to be anywhere at any certain time so we just meandered through the country side. We crossed back over to Iowa in the late afternoon and drove through McGregor but we had to stop and decide if we were going to follow the Great River Road or the Scenic Bluff Road. It was getting dark by this time so we just followed the Great River Road and I finally was able to prove to Art that Iowa does have bluffs and hills. It was a beautiful drive, especially as the sun was setting.

The best part about the trip is that even though it felt like we had travelled far, we still made it home around 9:00 and got to sleep in our own bed. We had such a great time! I told Art I was almost glad he hurt his hand because otherwise I don't know that we would have taken the time (or Art wouldn't have had the time) to take this little trip. We decided that we would do this every year in the fall- and I'm going to hold him to it!