Little Frog on the Prairie
Froggy rode 31 miles last week! We worked on bike etiquette also called "not screeching to a halt without warning while knocking random people off the trail (but mainly her mom, Uncle Kiwi and Papa). We also worked on "staying to the right," or in Froggy language, "weaving back and forth across the trail to run over a deer, should one randomly cross, while a drunk bicycle fleet whizzes by screaming "On your left." I wouldn't call it a stress-free ride, but I would call it fast! One day we rode all the way from Grandma S. and Papa's house in the country to my sister's antique store in downtown. The bicycle shop guy next door couldn't believe she road ten miles on that little Huffy. Papa picked us up and we stopped at a winery, which is really the only way to survive a ride with the Frog.
We visited Pella (a Dutch town in Iowa) where climbing statues is frowned upon. But apparently done anyway.
It's a town of tulips and gigantic wooden shoes.It's like a Dutch Disneyland, but without the rides or fun.
Here's Froggy pretending to be as 'calm as a flower.'
Grandma S., Froggy and Papa. The kiddo was so good on this trip -affectionate, loving, sweet and well-behaved...other than climbing statues, and knocking bicyclists off the trail. But overall, as calm as a flower.
Grandma S. at the Wildlife Refuge Center, where buffaloes roam the Iowa prairies. She looks happy here, but that was before the buffalo charged. We told her to stay in the car, but Grandma never listens. We thought about waiting for her, but then we heard about this great Brewery in Knoxville, so we left her in the wild! Don't worry, she sent us a postcard saying she's now a Buffalo whisperer and has heard the call of the Tatonka. Weird. Unexpected. But kind of cool.
Froggy missed Grandma and convinced the Grand Poo bah Buffalo to release her! Whew.
3 comments:
Sooooo many things I didn't know.
1. Cool bike trails?
2. Antique shop?
3. You're so damn skinny!
4. You're so damn BLONDE!
Wow, we seriously need to catch up. And a great big 'I hear ya, sister!' about it always being the responsibility of the person who moves away to do all the traveling. It's like we're supposed to be punished for having the audacity to fly the coop in the first place, and our penance to pay is that we're always the ones to carry the burden of travel. When I think of the tens of thousands of dollars we must have spent traveling back to the midwest over the past twelve years......well, I can't help thinking I could have had a once-in-a-lifetime journey around the world an seen all the far corners of human existence for that amount of cash! *Sigh!* (whoa, I almost feel queasy thinking of it that way)
Never mind. I'm sure it brings us good karma in the end. Looks like you had an amazing trip!
Sounds like you had an awesome time! Love the pictures!
A brewery in Iowa... Tell me more! :)
Jill, Thanks! The skinny thing I'm sure is fleeting. The blonde thing too. And yes, Iowa is cool now. Remember when we were teens and the only fun activities were cheese sticks at Perkins, and boyfriend drive-bys?
Lisa, Iowa is very hip these days! Lots of fun brew pubs and wineries, farmer's markets. So not the town I grew up in. But it's great to come back now.
Post a Comment