Road Trip 2

Thursday, I found myself and my son back in the MINI for another road trip. This time we were headed east, to move him into a new apartment for the start of his spring semester at college. I loaded up the necessary boxes of cleaning supplies and bags of groceries to stock his kitchen, but he kept bringing out bags of clothes, boxes of books, and piles of bedding. We just looked at each other and laughed, then re-arranged and stuffed his possessions into every breathable square inch of space in the back of that car. And we got it all packed!

He jumped into the passenger seat and announced that he had a handful of CD's he wanted me to listen to. "A captive audience!" he proclaimed. The first selection was Cat Power, a musician who he had heard at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park last August. (This was an interesting choice given the last time I moved him, it was out of his apartment before he left for India to study abroad. As soon as we finished packing the MINI and cleaning the apartment that blistering hot, August afternoon, he headed off to this three-day music fest with some friends.) Then he selected Wolf Parade, Radiohead (my Christmas present from my daughter), and Elliot Smith. And the finale....The Very Best of Otis Redding! Ev always wants to share his music with me. Bless his heart, he has great taste in music!

I helped carry in the boxes and bags, surveyed the new digs, then he pushed me out the door. He assured me he could unpack and make his bed all by himself, so after several xoxoxox's and "I love you's" I headed down the road to Sister's Garden with hopes of finding one blogger known to all of us as Sweet Repose. Sharon was helping a friend set up her new blog. I got to poke around in two really cool, old farmhouses stacked to the ceiling with all kinds of treasures. I found some brown transferware plates, a gorgeous, dark blue, oriental area rug, and two fired-clay flower frogs. Wow, what a haul!

After talking with Sharon and Beth, I loaded up the MINI and headed back up Highway 1. I had also purchased a CD from Sister's Garden, Acoustic chill3, which was playing as I shopped. It featured great music from k.d. lang, Alison Kraus, Indigo Girls, Wynonna, and Eva Cassidy. I was hungry, but wanted to get on the road and the only options I spotted from the driver's seat were BK and the Golden Arches, so I passed, and drove out to the interstate.


After about an hour into the trip, I noticed a front moving in from the west. It extended as far as the eye could see both to the northwest and the southeast.
It was dramatic in its approach. I whipped out the camera and clicked away, never reviewing the shots, but just snapping different views, hoping some would turn out. I also thought of Willow's "mistake" firing of her camera and thought I might catch one of those.:}

Further down the road I caught sight of a simple sign that read, "The Best Burger In Iowa". By now, my stomach was grumbling, but it was getting dark and cold; I wanted to get home. After I passed the exit, I regretted my decision to drive on. Why not experience the best burger in Iowa? Surely, by the time I arrived home, everyone would have eaten. It was 6 miles to the next exit, but something told me to turn around and take a chance. So I found my turn-around exit, crossed over the bridge, and headed back to find a burger that was calling my name.

No Regrets!!!! It was one of the best vegetable, cheeseburgers, ever! The golden, crunchy fries on the side were hand-cut and rivaled anything Micky-D's serves. The next time you're traveling through Iowa on I-80 at mealtime, take the Kellogg exit and pull in for the Best Burger in Iowa.