With no time to catch our breath after the Darien' trip, we set off on our annual trip to the States. This time we spent a few days in Iowa visiting my Dad and a bit of shopping in Florida.
We arrived in Des Moines around lunch time and set off to find Smitty's Tenderloin since it got high ratings and it was just a few blocks from the airport. Personally, I prefer a thinner more crispy pork tenderloin, but it was still good.
this is a small one...
We then drove to Fort Dodge and got checked into our hotel. Unpacked a bit and then drove to Thor to pick up Dad and bring our packages we had delivered to his house back to the hotel so we could try things on and get what needed to be sent back taken care of. (or new things ordered) Then, it was off to dinner at Applebee's for dinner.
I had my annual doctor's appointment set up in Fort Dodge for the next day (set up a couple of months in advance) and I showed up for the appointment only to have them tell me I was not on the schedule. After some investigation they found out that they had made it for 1 month earlier and NO they could not work me in and there was no other doctors in any of their associated clinics that were taking new patients. (it's very hard to get and keep doctors in there small towns) So, in a panic to get a same day appointment since it takes time to get the scripts mailed out before it was time to return to Florida, we left to figure out our next step. On the way we saw a billboard that said "accepting new patients". Whoo Hoo! I called them and they had just moved to a new location and they got me in that morning. They weren't totally set up yet, but the doctor saw me and called in the meds to our mail away pharmacy. Phew!
After that we stopped to pick up Dad for lunch and back to our hotel to play cards and then out to dinner later.
Saturday, we had reserved the dinner train in Boone. So, we went to the mall and walked around there and tried to return something, but the store had closed down. (so returned it in Florida) We played cards until it was time to drive to Boone. The train ride was really nice, but the food was mediocre at best.
Boone scenic railway
brick walkway
conductor
conductor with Dad
Dad
The rest of our stay mainly was playing cards with breaks for lunch and dinner. We did get out for a nice walk one morning. The weather was cold and a bit windy for most of the trip, with it warmed up the last couple of days. We also went to Fort Frenzy and played some mini golf. Iowa has Broasted chicken, which of course we had to have. (like deep fried chicken). They also have really good ribeye sandwiches. There are lots of Mexican restaurants there as well and we went to a really good Chinese Buffet.
Canadian Geese
this pair had over 30 young ones, seemed to be at least 3 sizes/ages
gotta love the name Sukup for a grain elevator....
Dad's house
Thor Post Office
Unkie's Restaurant for ribeye steaks & hash browns
containment building
went for a walk by the Dam
squirrel in the tree
We didn't do any birding really, but Greg found a few birds in the park.
American Robin
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
female Wood Duck & ducklings
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Capitol in Des Moines from car window
man in the airport
It was a great visit to the heartland and it was nice to visit dad even though our trip was short. The fields had corn barely coming up. We saw pheasants in one field.
We then flew to Miami and spent a few days there doing the shopping for things we can't get here. We also got new computers and snorkel gear, since both were getting quite old. We also went RV shopping again to check out our various options. We keep going back to the same brand and model, however there are "trade-offs" no matter which you choose. We indulged ourselves with steak twice (Panama beef sucks) and Chinese and salads and Cheesecake Factory. Bought raspberries to go with the cheesecake. I really do miss fresh berries here. It was a short trip, but we didn't need as much stuff this time around since we only have about 6 months left here.
In just a little over a week, my son Scott and his wife Sonya will be here for a visit. We're very excited to see them and show them around Panama!
