We took a fantastic quick trip to Iowa over Memorial Day weekend to visit with Jane and her family. It's a lot of driving- about 1500 miles (fortunately at nearly 50 mpg in the hybrid)- but well worth it. Cedar Rapids was great! Shall we tell them about it, Sam? Yes we should.
On Saturday we took a day trip to Jefferson, Iowa. Kim's friend Brooke lives in Omaha, and she and Kim decided that it would be fun to meet somewhere halfway between Omaha and Cedar Rapids. I brainstormed and came up with Jefferson. This charming small town is home to RVP~1875, a "living history" woodworking shop where the owner Robby Pedersen builds furniture in the style of and using the methods Iowa furniture makers would have used in 1875, and a place I've long thought would be fun to visit. It made a great place to spend some time while Kim and Brooke caught up with each other's lives.
First stop was the Uptown Cafe, where we met Brooke and had a tasty lunch.
On the city square, the Lincoln Highway is marked with this stone marker. The square is also home to the Mahanay Bell Tower, a 168 foot tall carillon tower. We enjoyed taking an elevator to the top of the tower for the views of the town and surrounding countryside.
Sam enjoyed the lawn, and visiting the Ben Franklin (in the background). Jane and I visited RVP~1875 where Robby gave us a nice hour long tour while Sam, Kim and Brooke strolled. We rounded out the day trip with a stop for ice cream before returning to Cedar Rapids.
Sunday we visited a small farm zoo in Cedar Rapids in between rain showers. Sammy loved seeing the ducks, lambs, piglets and ducks.
He also got a third chance at a birthday party, opening a few gifts from Aunt Jane, Uncle Bruce and his cousins.
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