Cedar Rapids takes care of its own

Experience Summer: Week 4

May 29-30

I hit the road again, finally venturing out of Central Iowa for this weekend's Experience. I'm fortunate to have a few trips planned for either business or family this summer that helping direct my course for which things to try when. On Friday I had an ICCE Board meeting in Cedar Rapids so I decided to make a weekend out of it (or at least 36 hours or so). I called Amy, my best friend from college, to see if she wanted to meet me in CR Friday night and join me in some of my tours the next day. Thanks to Marriott Rewards points, I could get a free hotel room.

I headed east Friday morning. I'm hoping that in the midst of my set travels I have the flexibility and initiative to take some unplanned stops if they offer the opportunity for more experiences. On Friday I did just that, although it only resulted in about a 5-minute diversion. In Tama, Iowa a "historical marker" sign caught my eye. Since it was literally right off the road, I pulled off to see what it was. I ended up finding the Lincoln Highway Memorial bridge.

Back on the road, I got to the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce without too much problem, although I'm not a big fan of the street system in the city. That night when Amy arrived, we got dinner, did a little shopping, and got back to watch Jay Leno's last late show appearance. Even that I count as an "experience," especially since I vividly remember gathering 17 years ago with friends to watch Johnny Carson's last late show appearance.

Yes ... I'm that old.

Brucemore Mansion

The Brucemore Historic Site and Community Cultural Center is a mansion built in 1884 by Caroline Sinclair after the death of her husband, Thomas Sinclair, who had established one of the 4 largest meat packaging plants in the world at that time. Mrs. Sinclair moved in to the 21-room mansion with her 6 children in 1886.

In 1906, Mrs. Sinclair's children were grown and actually traded homes with George and Irene Douglas who lived in the "city." The Douglas family was also pretty prominent in the community, as George Douglas started a company that ultimately grew in to the Quaker Oats Company which still dominates the Cedar Rapids skyline today. The Douglases purchased another 23 acres to add to the original 10 acres purchased by the Sinclairs, added a new front entrance and outbuildings, and, eventually a pool.

The Mansion was given to the oldest Douglas daughter, Margaret, in 1937. Margaret was married to Howard Hall, who had been president of the Iowa Steel and Iron Works and had started the Iowa Manufacturing Company.

All three historic families were also historically famous for their generosity, especially benefitting the Cedar Rapids community. Among those who were helped by the Douglas family was, appropriately, Grant Wood. There were a couple Grant Wood paintings in the mansion, but Grant was also commissioned to do a plaster mural in the sleeping porch built for one of the Douglas daughters. The Douglas family were also very big contributors to Coe College. In fact, according to our tour guide, Coe College might not be here today were it not for the Douglas family.

Amy and I also noted that it seemed like the Sinclairs, Douglases and Halls were all good employers, showing generosity to their help. There was an employee chart that showed how many of the staff had stayed for years, and there were even husbands & wives, brothers and sisters employed together. Several of the staff had their own rooms or even separate homes on the property. And, when Margaret Hall bequeathed the Brucemore to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, one of the stipulations she made was taht any of the staff still living at the Brucemore after her death must be allowed to live there until their deaths. Today there is still one woman living on site in a separate cottage on the property. Her husband had been the last chauffer for the Hall family.

The Brucemore mansion was definitely impressive, but probably even more impressive were the grounds, including amazing landscaping. Especially since the weather was so beautiful on Saturday, the Brucemore grounds were really neat to walk through, although it proved that I am more than illiterate when it comes to naming flowers and plants. If I lived in Cedar Rapids, I'd definitely go back for some of the events held at the site each summer.

Quirky things about the Brucemore:

• The Douglas family had several pets as did the Halls. The Halls had 3 lions - one right after the other - all named Leo. There were also 4 dogs named King, among other pets.
• The Brucemore continues to be a host location for art fairs, outdoor theater and musical performances, a greenhouse and floral shop, and even an annual Night Glow hot-air balloon event. Organizations and businesses can rent the mansion for meetings, dinners and conferences. However, as gorgeous as the grounds are, Mrs. Hall stipulated that it was never to be used for weddings.
• Howard Hall had many contacts in Hollywood, and traveled to the West Coast often, including getting to go behind the scenes and take personal movies of "Gone With the Wind." And one of the Leo Lions was actually the daughter of the original MGM Lion.
• It was very "Narnia-like" on the grounds, complete with sculptures of dogs and deer that looked more like wolves and far too anatomically correct fawn.
• And ... SPOILER ALERT! There are 5 total floors to the Brucemore. The upper 4 are expectedly formal. Then we went to the basement, which was mind-blowing in uber-tacky Tahitian and Hunting lodge themes. No kidding. About 2/3 of the basement was turned in to a ridiculous tiki-hut with 1/2 plastic naked women with grass skirts and leis on the walls, 'bamboo' and straw faux roof and walls, diaramas of sea life, shells and more. Then you walk in to the Grizzly Bar complete with beer steins a'plenty, a couple more diaramas of bar scenes, 'log cabin' type walls, and all the tacky bar signs you can think of. According to the tour guide, Howard Hall wanted a place to entertain clients. Clearly, all his clients were men. :)

We paid $7 for the Mansion tour, but you could walk around the grounds for free and give yourself a self-guided tour. It's definitely worth the $7 for the tour. Thumbs up. :)

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Amy had to leave town after the Brucemore, so I headed for the Art Museum on my own, which should have been an easy drive if I stopped to ask for directions, but apparently I thought I knew Cedar Rapids well enough to not need them having been in town for less than 24 hours. Anyway, I finally got the the Art musuem and found it was the opening day for the new John Buck exhibit, which was primarily large woodcut pieces. And, John Buck was actually there to do a lecture, although after looking at the Buck pieces, I was happy to skip the lecture. :) Art is subjective - what can I say. Two artists I did like there, however, were Malvina Hoffman (sculpture) and especially Thomas Jackson (photography). Ms. Hoffman (1885 - 1966) did a great job capturing personality in her subjects, especially the non-famous subjects, like her neighbors or her father. Mr. Jackson (still alive) was born in Rock Island, IL, and used to teach at Mt. Mercy college in Cedar Rapids. I'd love to have some of his pieces in my home; very unique combinations of different photographs. Check out his photography: http://www.thomascjackson.com/index.htm

Admittedly, there's not a lot to the Museum of Art. I was happy to make the $5 donation, even though, ironically, all the Grant Wood pieces were not on display this weekend. Bad timing on my part.

Downtown Cedar Rapids

I kind of thought the Grant Wood studio was right next to the Art Museum or attached or something. I was wrong, but it was only about 3.5 blocks away, so I walked. I had never really been downtown CR before, so this was my first opportunity to be here, but it was still definitely 'post-flood.' Cedar Rapids is far from recovered, and there are still lots of empty storefronts, even in just the few blocks I walked. However, there were also a spattering of "We are open for business" signs, beckoning potential customers to come back. The day before while I was in our board meeting, there was another meeting going on at the Cedar Rapids Chamber with many angry citizens who still haven't gotten much progress on recovery funds from the State or federal agencies. Cedar Rapids is huge ... and hurting. But, as I learned from my experiences this weekend, Cedar Rapids is good about taking care of their own. Though the rest of the country was virtually blind to the severe flooding (unlike the enslaught of aid directed towards the gulf states after Katrina), Cedar Rapids will continue to rebuild because they don't know any other way to respond. Iowa needs Cedar Rapids.

Grant Wood Studio and Visitors Center
The studio is quite unpretentious as it's located, really, in the parking lot of a funeral home ... or so I thought. I followed the signs to the entrance and was immediately greeted by two volunteer workers. I purchased my ticket and was directed to a viewing area to watch the video "Grant Wood and Me." Just as it was starting, an elderly man also came in and purchased a ticket and watched the video with me. The video was pretty good, actually. Grant Wood was born in Iowa in the country, but moved to the 'big city' of Cedar Rapids when his father died and his mother need to find a job (3 jobs, actually) to take care of the family. Grant was well-liked everywhere he went, and in school he was recognized right away for his artistic talent. He went to school to pursue art, and returned to Cedar Rapids where he was offered a job teaching art. The principal said the kids loved Grant and would follow him like the Pied Piper. He also continued to do other art work which the Cedar Rapids community loved (and they loved him), so on summer breaks he was sent to Europe to study more. On his first trips, Grant was in France and learned about the impressionists which he could imitate, but he never really liked it, sensing something was missing from the finished work. Later, back in Iowa, Grant was commissioned to do a portrait that was a different style for him, but was more detailed. Grant decided to enter the painting in the Iowa State Fair. He not only won the Fair show, but he gained even more fame and fans. The subject of the portrait, if I remember correctly, was John Turner, who then owned the mansion earlier inhabited by the Douglas family and later Mrs. Sinclair. The Turners were so enamored with Grant Wood, they offered him the loft above their carriage house to be used as a studio and apartment.

The studio apartment is almost exactly as it was when Grant lived there. He was not only a masterful artist, but he was also innovative in using space efficiently, he was a builder, a craftsman, and even started the community theater in Cedar Rapids. He turned the Carriage House loft into an amazing studio and apartment where eventually he lived with his mother and his sister. He even had plays performed there. The 11 years he worked and lived in the studio were the years Grant was most prolific, and where he painted his most famous works including "American Gothic" and "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."

The thing that stood out to me most about the Grant Wood Studio experience was what a well-liked guy he was. He didn't appear to ever be wealthy, but he was so popular with everyone people loved to be with him and see what he'd do next. He definitely had a sense of humor, he was generous to friends and family, and he was profoundly creative. In fact, everyone who referenced him, even my tour guide, always referred to him as "Grant" - as if everyone was his friend. It makes me want to learn more about him, and, actually, it made me envy his life a bit.

Grant lived a short life. He died in his early 50's from pancreatic cancer. As I drove back from Cedar Rapids, I couldn't help but notice what perhaps Grant saw - a beautiful state. There were "Grant Wood landscapes" all along Highway 30. I mean, who wouldn't want to experience all this state has to offer?

American Gothic facts:

• The "models" never posed for this painting in front of this house
• The "models" were Grant's younger sister Nan and his dentist. His dentist posed in the dentist's office.
• The house is in Elwood, Iowa. The window is a 'gothic' style.

Experience Summer: Week 2 (May 22-25)

Drive-In and Circle 'Round

Although most would say Memorial Day weekend is the real start of summer, this is week two of my Experience Summer. Local commitments and potential car issues kept me in Central Iowa again, but we will be traveling broader soon!

Friday, May 22. It cost me having the song Stranded at the Drive-In (a la "Danny Zucco") stuck in my head all week, but I finally made it to the only drive-in movie theater still functioning in Iowa. Three friends joined me for the 50-minute drive east to Newton to go to the Valle Drive-In (http://valledrive-in.com/) to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. I think the last (only?) time I went to a drive-in was a gazillion years ago with my family in Michigan. I know there used to be a drive-in in Ames, but that's been closed for quite some time, too.

For reference sake, the gates open at the Valle at 6:30p, but, of course, the movie doesn't start 'til "dusk" (which we found out means about 8:45p). Grilling isn't allowed, but you can bring your own food, so we had plenty of snacks with us. We got to the "theater" (parking lot?) about 7:00 and there were already plenty of cars lined up. The weather was great and we got a perfect spot, although that's when I realized I forgot the football and frisbee I had planned to bring, which is really what this kind of experience calls for. My bad. There were plenty of other people playing catch and other games - and even sword fighting - but we were still able to pass the time 'til the movie started without even resorting to the deck of cards I did manage to bring. I will admit that the Valle brings out all types ... ALL types. And lest you think I'm referring to the sword-fighting ... that's not even the half of it. That said, once the movie started everyone was focused on the same entertainment element: a pretty good sequel with some good laughs, a pretty big cast of characters, and the occasional flashing brake lights.

The bonus of the Valle Drive-In is that, I think, each night offers a double feature. If we wanted, we could have stayed for "Wolverine." Unfortunately for Ben, the rest of us didn't want, so we headed back to Ames, but all agreed that's something we should definitely do again.

Monday, May 25 My original plan called for me to go to Story City early Saturday morning to check out their antique carousel and be back in Ames for a wedding that afternoon. Fortunately I learned late Friday night, though, that the carousel doesn't open until noon, so I bumped the plans back to Monday and decided to see if I could find more to do in Story City.

Well ... there's really not much more to do in Story City, but I did what I set out to do. On the way to find the Carousel, I stopped to see the 1936 Swinging Bridge. It was kind of pretty, and it hangs over a river that actually has some rapids in it, but as hard as I tried, it did not swing. But the park it's located in, along with the river (which is open for canoes and kayaks) was kind of pretty, and I stored it away for a potential future gathering. In fact, I came back to the park later on just to read a bit because it was so nice out and I thought I'd take advantage of a new background.

It took me a while to find the Carousel, truth be told. Yes, there's a sign on I-35 announcing that it's in Story City, but the signage in town isn't super obvious. Fortunately, Story City isn't very big. In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw all of Story City while I was looking for the Carousel. For the record, there's not a whole lot open in Story City on Memorial Day. Also, having never actively looked for the Carousel before, I now know why I haven't ever seen it before. It doesn't necessarily jump out at you.

It's all enclosed. That was probably what threw me off. Maybe it's some kind of Scandinavian trait to be unassuming. Anyway ... it's a carousel. It goes around in a circle. It has animals in a variety of 'running' positions. Most were horses, but there were a few other random animals. I was confused by the running pigs with fangs. Sure - they're probably supposed to be wild boars or something, but what psycho designer would have thought that would be the choice of animal to delight and welcome children of all ages? Anyway, the Carousel was originally built in 1913, but was forced in to "retirement" in the late '70s. A group rallied around it (no pun intended) to raise funds to restore it a few years later. They even have postcards ... and t-shirts.

So, the real question ... did I ride it? Nope. (the crowd groans) Understand, there was no huge line around the building filled with hopeful riders. There wasn't even a handful of people around. There were 2 volunteers running the carousel and ... me. Eventually a couple kids came in with their mother, and only one of the kids wanted to ride it (I imagine the other one was freaked out by the fanged pigs). At that point, I thought the only thing weirder than a grown woman riding a carousel by herself, was riding it with one other little girl. What's more, I thought - wow ... once I get on this thing, what exactly would I do? I mean, I don't like ice skating or watching racing because all it consists of is going round and round in circles. But I did finally see it, I learned some of the history surrounding it, I took pictures of freaky fanged pigs, and I did give a donation to keep the tradition alive and running. Check!

Week one: Des Moines has it going on

May 16, 2009

Well, I did it. I actually got up early on a Saturday morning when I didn't have to. Then again, I guess in order to fully experience this summer's adventures, I really did have to get up early. Hmmmm ... I'm not sure I thought that through when I scheduled everything. My love for sleeping in may have just got trumped by a need to impress myself.

Anyway, because of previous scheduled activities in Ames, I had to start my Experience Summer fairly local so I began by going to the Downtown Farmers' Market in Des Moines. Now, I have been to the market before, but it's been a few years. I had no need to get there at the crack of dawn to get all the freshest produce (this coming from the girl who is notorious for microwaving frozen Hy-Vee veggies), however the DsM Farmers' Market never fails to impress me, no matter the time of morning or weather. I think part of my "awe" of the market is, quite frankly, the fact that the poor excuses Ames has for farmers' markets depress me. Anyone who knows me knows I like to speak highly of Ames, and not just because I work for the Chamber. However, it's because Ames is so dynamic that it makes me crazy that we can't get our act together and have a decent market, especially when everyone knows it's really just because a few people can't get along.

So, editorial comments aside, the Farmers' Market in Des Moines has everything you'd want from a market and more. Although I made it through without buying anything, I was tempted several times over. I stopped briefly to watch some mime artists and a live band, talked with a gentleman about the care of mini bonsai trees, and was most tempted to buy a $3 bunch of flowers mostly because I felt like the sellers looked like they could use a sale.

I would have spent more time, but, alas, I was on a schedule. I was off to the Blank Park Zoo, but as I got to my car I realized I still had part of a gift card to use for the Downtown Des Moines Association, and it made me wonder if it was valid at the State Historical Building gift shop, which is a lot of fun, so I made a quick stop there. I actually arrived before the gift shop was open, so I got to add an unplanned experience in the day, and that was to go through a couple of the exhibits at the Historical Building, including learning about the Mammoth skeleton and other mammoth remains found in Iowa, and learning about Iowans participation in our World Wars. The point the stood out most to me was the posters rallying stateside Americans to come together to "Buy Bonds," fly flags, or even conserve eggs for the troops. I actually stifled tears thinking about a country that was so unified in the fight for freedom ... and comparing it to the country we live in today that so often seems to not only take that freedom for granted, but throws it in the face of those who continue to fight for an ungrateful nation.

My visit to the historical building was short, and I was soon on my way to Blank Park Zoo. To be honest, I don't know if there's even another zoo in the state, but there's certainly not another one in Central Iowa. I actually like walking through zoos, but I had been previously discouraged from visiting this one since so many people have told me how small it was. Still, I wanted to see it. So I went. The first area I entered was some kind of bird sanctuary with the prettiest little colorful birds I've ever seen. The photos won't do them justice, but I was kind of enamored with them. They weren't in any cages, really. I was right there with them. In fact, one almost flew right in my face as I was trying to take its photo. From there, I found myself in with several aquariums where I saw very freaky jellyfish, and crazy sea horses. For the record, until this day I never knew sea horses actually existed. For as many zoos and aquariums I've been to, I don't ever remember seeing a sea horse. I think I always thought they were like sea monkeys - some kind of gag toy you buy at a store in pellet form and then they 'come alive' when you drop them in water. Guess you can chalk that up to 'city girl' status. They look awfully cartoonish, but they're kind of cute ... and still a bit freaky.

Most of the zoo is outside. There were, of course, many of the "usual suspects" in the zoo; monkeys, lions, zebras, tigers, llamas, and even a couple camels, bald eagles, penguins and sea lions. But the most impressive part was what I saw after entering through a double person-gate. I followed a path and found a rabbit-hutch like box with some birds in it, but before I could figure out what they were, I was confronted with an Emu. And by "confronted" I mean confronted. Like - face to face with an emu. OK - these things weren't locked up. They were just walking along the same path and grass area I was. Is that normal? I mean - apparently it is for the Blank Park Zoo, but it surprised the heck out of me. However, I was also ridiculously impressed. Not only was I right in there with the emus, there were also wallabys and a giant peacock in there. That's crazy.

Clock was ticking, so my time at the zoo was short. I mean, I think I saw about everything, but I maybe would have lingered longer at different animals, but for the most part I think I took it all in. I needed to get back to Ames for a fantastic St. Baldrick's event, where a couple friends were joining with others to shave their heads as a fund-raiser for childhood cancer research. The event at Dublin Bay was packed out, but I was so glad to be there. How cool was it to see about a dozen Ames people (including one beautiful woman!) sacrifice their hair on behalf of someone else who they didn't even know. I will say this, though; in large part, most of the shavees did not sacrifice beauty! In fact, I think some even looked better shaved!

The official start of summer is usually Memorial Day weekend, but weekend one of "Experience Summer" was pretty good. No regrets so far!

Blogging's a chore

OK - Blogging ... not so easy. I mean, you actually have to keep updating this thing. I was right in that blogging will help keep me accountable to accomplish my "Experience Summer" adventures, but now I need something to keep me accountable to BLOG about the experiences.

What do they say about how long it takes to develop a habit?

Hoping this gets easier, but in the meantime, I apologize for any lack of consistency!

EXPERIENCE SUMMER

2009 Schedule

MAY

Saturday, May 16

Des Moines / Ames

• Des Moines Downtown Farmers' Market
• State Historical Building
• Blank Park Zoo

Friday, May 22

Newton

• Valle Drive-In Movie Theater

Monday, May 25

Story City

• Story City Carousel
• Swinging Bridge

Friday, May 29 - Saturday, May 30

Cedar Rapids

• Grant Wood studio
• Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
• Brucemore Mansion

JUNE

Friday, June 5 - Saturday, June 6

Dubuque & Galena, IL

• Heartland Acres AgriBition Center (Independence, IA)
• DeSoto Hotel
• Galena/Dubuque

Tuesday, June 9 - Friday, June 12

West Bend, Okoboji

• Grotto of the Redemption (West Bend)
• Arnold's Park Rollercoaster
• Abbie Gardner State Historic Site

Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14

Black Hills, South Dakota

• Wall Drug
• Mt. Rushmore
• Crazy Horse

Saturday, June 20

Council Bluffs

• Squirrel Cage Jail
• General Grant House
• Lewis & Clark Monument and Scenic Overlook

Saturday, June 27

Davenport

• Figge Art Museum
• Channel Cat Water Taxi
• Mississippi River Visitor Center (Arsenal Island)

JULY

Saturday, July 4

Ames

• Fourth of July Celebration / Parade (Ames Chamber Float/Entry)

Friday, July 10 - Saturday, July 11

Ames

• Packing up and moving out! Moving "up north" ... to 936 Duff Avenue

Monday, July 20 - Friday, July 31

Spain

• Madrid
• Toledo
• Granada
• Costa del Sol
• MOROCCO
• Seville
• Barcelona

AUGUST

To be continued!

Welcoming myself to the blog-o-sphere; the justification of blogging

Well, some may say it's "a-blog" time I actually started a web log of my own. I do like to write from time to time. I do tend to make stories dramatic. And I do seem to have experiences that are a bit out of the ordinary. So, why wouldn't I have a blog?

Well, as most who know me will attest, the idea of volunteering* random information about myself is pretty contrary to my basic nature, so starting a blog probably seems like quite the anti-Eve thing to do. So, herein lies my justification for jumping on the trend: ACCOUNTABILITY.

I've come to the realization that as much as I like to try new things, travel to new places, engage in new experiences ... I haven't been doing much of it lately, or at least not as much as I should for someone with minimal commitments. A couple weeks ago I decided this needs to change, and I would make Summer 2009 the summer when I would finally start doing the things I've said for years I wanted to do; especially if it involves going to places just in the state of Iowa that I've always thought would be interesting to visit. No more excuses - no more waiting to find someone to go with me, waiting for an event or work-trip to take me there, no more putting it off just 'cause I end up sleeping in too long. I need to take time to do it, and, more importantly, take time to plan it ... and commit to follow the plan.

My hope is that this blog will provide some accountability for me to write up the "Experience Summer already!" plan, put the plan in to action, and document the plan. And while I don't care a whole lot who reads this or if anyone reads it at all, knowing that I've told people this is part of the overall plan adds to the accountability factor.

I admit that I hope this "Experience Summer already!" plan kick starts a "Experience LIFE already" plan/lifestyle. However, as the saying goes, every journey starts with a single step. Welcome to step one.