Stranger in a strange land

Wonderful trip, gorgeous landscape, and generally friendly people. But man, it is rather sad to be a vegetarian in Kansas City. We were welcomed warmly, but we’re coming home a little low on protein…
When we went out to dinner, the waitstaff were very polite when they told me that, no, they didn’t have a meatless [...]

Iowa homecoming

I haven’t been to Iowa since I was a year old. And it’s beautiful here. But it doesn’t feel like home.
A recent comment from a reader in Oregon noted that said reader was thinking of moving back to the midwest. I don’t know, man. I’ve lived a lot of places, and San Francisco is home [...]

Yeah, you do.

Little guy: Mommy, what there in Iowa?
Me: Well, there are a lot of places to go tromping and hiking because there aren’t a lot of buildings. No skyscrapers, just houses and lots and lots of things growing.
L: I love Iowa. I want go there ALL the time.

I don’t mean to judge, but…

I’m trying to plan our big family trip to Iowa this week (not a word; not a single word) and finding it a bit, um, challenging.
Between the town where we’re staying and the town where we need to be for Spouse’s cousin’s graduation, there is one park. Three hamlets, and one park. Now, I know [...]