Ohio: hills, no mountains, trees, open space, shorter hills, still no mountains, fewer trees, more open space
Indiana: no hills, no mountains, some trees. I would bike everywhere if I lived here.
Illinois: no hills, no mountains, some trees, corn, corn, corn. Oh yes: road construction, road construction, road construction
Iowa: much lovelier than I expected! What did I expect? I don’t know, but it was lovelier than that. Terraced corn fields! Who knew? Corn — the vineyards of the midwest. We stopped on a whim at the Herbert Hoover Birthplace and Presidential Library and stretched our legs in a simply-but-beautifully restored section of the town of West Branch where Bertie lived during part of his childhood. We ate lunch well-off-the-beaten-track at The Coffee Cup Cafe in Sully, IA, as recommended in Road Food by Jane and Michael Stern. We had tenderloin sandwiches, which for those of you who, like me, had never had such a thing is a slice of pork loin pounded, breaded, fried, and served on a soft roll with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. Serious yum.
Last night we made our way just into South Dakota to the little town of North Sioux City. Every third establishment is something other than a sad-looking !!!CASINO!!! Depressing. Why do communities think adding casinos is a good thing? Comparing this place to Sully, IA, with it’s tidy town square, neat properties, and cared-for businesses — well, there is no comparison and no contest as to which offers the best quality of life.
On to Rapid City, SD today. I’m eager to watch the landscape change once again.
Where have you traveled that pops into your mind right now?
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