My trip to the Midwest and Kentucky

14 years ago

I braved airplanes to attend our nephew's wedding in Louisville, KY, then drove up to Iowa City to visit my dh's brother and his wife before they move out of state. We were so lucky with the weather; Louisville had a high of about 78 the day we landed and only warmed up just before we left. Iowa was quite warm and humid the first two days, but cooled down to 75 for the last couple--what luck! I've only been to Memphis in the South before, 23 years ago and feel that what they say about Southern hospitality and nice manners is absolutely true. A man on the sidewalk who had to squeeze by me turned around, looked me in the eye and said "Excuse me." Such a surprise! Our nephews (brothers,) went out of their way to drive all the family to where we needed to be, put up some at their house and were never, never cranky about all the responsibility put on them. On the contrary, both were a delight the whole time. I crossed the bridge into Indiana on foot with another nephew and his wife, just to say I'd been in Indiana, forgetting that we'd be driving that way after a few days. There was the biggest barge I'd ever seen--4-5 football fields long?--passing under the bridge carrying coal, I think. It seemed like it was navigating shallow waters closer to the side of the river, but what do I know. The food took some getting used to for us, but perhaps it was richer and creamier than we eat because it was wedding food; salad was the only "vegetable" served.

After the wedding we drove through Indiana with a stop at Shapiro's deli for a huge corned beef sandwich--yum! and then on through Indiana. Marilyn Sue, I was thinking of you as we drove and wondering in which direction you live. I was surprised at all the trees since I expected mostly corn fields--very pretty. Illinois was more of the same but the trees became more sparse as we neared Iowa. Corn and soy crops as far as the eye could see, right up to the road! But still, the area was nice and green, unlike California in the summer.

I didn't get much a chance to interact with Iowa Citians as we spent much of our time helping b & s-i-l pack up their house and make runs to Goodwill, with dinners out. What a pretty city I.C. is! The university seems to take up much of the city but it's quite lovely--we toured a small part of the hospital area where my b-i-l worked. I saw fireflies in the evening, which is a thrill for me! We drove to the Des Moines airport from there for our flight home and I found the neat farms and rolling "hills" delightful. Taking a small airplane from Iowa to Denver was most decidedly not. The Denver area was hot and windy that day and I was white-knuckled all the way down. Poor dh had to hold my hand that probably did some damage to his. The plane from Denver to SJ was large and handled the turbulence so much better.

I'm happy to tell myself that I've now visited or gone through Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa! Thanks for indulging me my little...

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Comments (10)

bigack
14 years ago
Sounds like you had a good time. We're going to Louisville next weekend for our sons wedding, and it's supposed to be 92!!! You're lucky with the 78 temps!! I like it down there, it's a 6 hr drive for us from WV
maddie_in_ky
14 years ago
:) Nice to read nice things about my area! Thank you!

And Bigack--yep, it;s supposed to be i nthe low to mid 90s for the next 10 day--and it's supposed to be humid. Yuck!

Maddie in (Louisville) KY
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Marilyn Sue
14 years ago
I don't know what route you took but I am a little north and a little east of Indianapolis. Yes, we do have trees and corn fields. I do live in a woods with a field of either corn or soy beans across the road from me. I am glad you had such a nice trip.

Sue in Central Indiana
susanjf_gw
14 years ago
and you don't know how much i'd love to revisit your sj...i so miss the west coast, with real mountains and the ocean...we often head down to il to visit fil and i dread the field after field of corn...(we're in se mi)

sorry your flight was so bad into denver...just read today of horrid wild fires in upper colorado...but of course that is one thing of ca i don't miss! and smog....
iowagirl2006
14 years ago
I live in the middle of Iowa's rolling hills and neat farms -on a farm! :)

I am including a link to a short video of a song about Iowa - I am sure you will enjoy it :)

Here is a link that might be useful: The Iowa Song
linda_in_iowa
14 years ago
Too bad you didn't get to interact with folks in Iowa City. Iowans are very friendly. I have been here almost 7 years now and you couldn't get me to move back to California.
I enjoyed reading about your trip.
sjerin
Original Author
14 years ago
You'll have a lovely time, bigack, apart from the weather, but I guess you can use cars. I did enjoy walking the 4th St. area though.

Maddie, here in Northern Ca we're supposed to have triple-digit weather today, but without the humidity. That would make it unbearable to me! You live in a lovely city.

Marilyn Sue, I so enjoy reading your homey posts and now I can put you in the proper setting in my mind's eye. :) It really is pretty country. Do you know of Shapiro's?

Susanjf, I must say I would very much miss this place if I had to move. As you say, it's so easy to get to the mountains, beach or valley within a short amount of time. I'm not from here, but have most definitely adapted well. Until the Big One, that is! I suppose we will have smog today though. My nephew who lives in L.A. now went home for a visit (to Oregon,) and told my mom that he loves looking up and seeing blue sky, not the usual grey, smoggy sky.

Ha ha, Iowagirl! That was a cute video which I'll send to my in-laws. I loved the passing view of the corn/soy fields because it was all new to me and because it was green with farm houses interspersed. I would have waved at you, had I known you lived there!

I thought about you too, Linda, knowing you moved to Iowa from Ca, though I didn't know you live in IC. My in-laws find the city a wonderful place to live, apart from the crummy weather. We really lucked out on that score. They are moving mostly because of her aging parents and because their kids are on the West Coast now.

Thanks for the fun comments, all!
Marilyn Sue
14 years ago
I have heard of Shaprios, but I have never been there. I don't get down Indianapolis way very often.

Sue in Central Indiana
susanjf_gw
14 years ago
no i wouldn't move back to ca..i couldn't afford my house anymore (and that's with the falling real estate, lol) we've been here since 1988, and am still in awe every first snow...
cate52
14 years ago
Oh, if you are ever in Indianapolis... Shaprios is wonderful NYC style deli... would always take my Mom there after seeing her doctors at IU Med Center.. Not sure of your route - but it's really the northern half of Indiana that is pretty flat... It's the part of the state that was covered by glaciers...

My trip to the Midwest and Kentucky

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My trip to the Midwest and Kentucky

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