Iowa Girl on the Go

Do you remember when you were a kid and the Sears Wishbook arrived in the mail? It had that plain brown paper wrapped around it, right? You couldn’t wait to rip it open and see all the new toys…it was almost better than Christmas!

I sort of feel the same way about the new 2011 Iowa Travel Guide. Does this make me a total geek, or what? I sent away for the book a couple of weeks ago, and it came to my house over the weekend. I was so excited! I spent many hours going through the book, writing down all the things I want to do this year once the weather warms up.

I guess it’s possible that THE WEATHER WARMING UP is the key phrase here, but I really am excited to start exploring more Iowa towns, historical sites, state parks, and festivals. I think my list is long enough to get me through about five years of weekly Iowa Girl posts! I thought when I started this project that I had seen a lot of the state, but it turns out that there are towns and attractions I never even heard of that I now really want to visit. Here are some examples:

• The Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum in Okoboji (I can go there after Arnold’s Park)
• Art Deco architecture in Spencer (and visit the library where Dewey, the world’s most famous library cat, used to live)
• Onawa, home of the Eskimo Pie (and then drive through Loess Hills)
• Iowa Falls nature center
• Whiterock Resort
• Latin Heritage Festival in nearby Marshalltown
• Laura Ingles Wilder Museum in Burr Oak
• Pearl Button Museum in Muscatine (a whole museum devoted to pearl buttons – can you imagine?)
• The Mines of Spain Recreation Center in Dubuque (I don’t know exactly what this is, but it sounds so exotic!)
• A swinging bridge in Columbus Junction
• The Vedic Observatory in Fairfield
• A Prairie Christmas at Living History Farms

Seriously, I’ve got my whole year planned! Let me know if you have ideas for me, because I am telling you, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I could do this for a living!