It is a beautiful evening on the plains, after another day of sunshine, blue skies and fluffy clouds. The weather this summer has been unusually nice. It hasn't been too hot, too humid, or too stormy. Iowa hasn't experienced nearly as much severe weather as last year, which is good (although those huge thunderstorms are definitely exciting). Today was a mellow Sunday, with just
church and yardwork to keep us busy.
Yesterday, we drove all the way up to the northern edge of Iowa, to Mason City. I judged a BBQ competition up there, and Sarah and Asher came along. The contest itself was one of the best I have been to so far. it was well run, the setting was beautiful, and the BBQ was incredibly high quality. At BBQ contests, each table of judges gets six samples of each category (chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket), plus any extra categories (yesterday's extra categories were dessert, and one called "anything butt"). Usually, each category brings one or two outstanding entries, 3 or 4 decent entries, and one or two terrible entries. Yesterday, there were categories where each sample was absolutely top-notch. The chicken (sometimes an afterthought for BBQ teams), was amazing. The contest was definitely worth the 300 mile round trip.
Meanwhile, Sarah and Asher were exploring the park where the contest was, a nicely landscaped place along the Winnebago River. The had some great playgrounds, and a restored (but not running) steam locomotive, that we could get into and ring the bell.
we could get in and ring the bell
Asher rode his highest slides ever (he's a little scared of heights)
very cool Frank Lloyd Wright inspired playground
After the contest, we saw the sights of Mason City. Mason City was the home of Meredith Willson, the composer of the Music Man, and was the inspiration for the fictional River City. His birthplace is a major attraction, and the town has built Music Man Square, an enclosed recreation of downtown River City. Sarah is a huge Music Man fan, so we had to check it out.
marching!
oh, ya got trouble, right here in River City!
Mason City also has a few houses and buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Here is the
Stockman House, which is in a neighborhood with lots of other Prairie-Style homes.
We drove back down to Waukee last night, and feasted on some fresh local sweet corn. Sweet corn is very serious in Iowa, with strong opinions about the best growers, types, and sellers. Right now, I'm loving Adel sweet corn, from the next town west of us. Asher helped shuck it and had a great time.
It is a beautiful evening on the plains, after another day of sunshine, blue skies and fluffy clouds. The weather this summer has been unusually nice. It hasn't been too hot, too humid, or too stormy. Iowa hasn't experienced nearly as much severe weather as last year, which is good (although those huge thunderstorms are definitely exciting). Today was a mellow Sunday, with just church and yardwork to keep us busy.
Yesterday, we drove all the way up to the northern edge of Iowa, to Mason City. I judged a BBQ competition up there, and Sarah and Asher came along. The contest itself was one of the best I have been to so far. it was well run, the setting was beautiful, and the BBQ was incredibly high quality. At BBQ contests, each table of judges gets six samples of each category (chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket), plus any extra categories (yesterday's extra categories were dessert, and one called "anything butt"). Usually, each category brings one or two outstanding entries, 3 or 4 decent entries, and one or two terrible entries. Yesterday, there were categories where each sample was absolutely top-notch. The chicken (sometimes an afterthought for BBQ teams), was amazing. The contest was definitely worth the 300 mile round trip.
Meanwhile, Sarah and Asher were exploring the park where the contest was, a nicely landscaped place along the Winnebago River. The had some great playgrounds, and a restored (but not running) steam locomotive, that we could get into and ring the bell.
we could get in and ring the bell
Asher rode his highest slides ever (he's a little scared of heights)
very cool Frank Lloyd Wright inspired playground
After the contest, we saw the sights of Mason City. Mason City was the home of Meredith Willson, the composer of the Music Man, and was the inspiration for the fictional River City. His birthplace is a major attraction, and the town has built Music Man Square, an enclosed recreation of downtown River City. Sarah is a huge Music Man fan, so we had to check it out.
marching!
oh, ya got trouble, right here in River City!
Mason City also has a few houses and buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Here is the Stockman House, which is in a neighborhood with lots of other Prairie-Style homes.
We drove back down to Waukee last night, and feasted on some fresh local sweet corn. Sweet corn is very serious in Iowa, with strong opinions about the best growers, types, and sellers. Right now, I'm loving Adel sweet corn, from the next town west of us. Asher helped shuck it and had a great time.
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