LOCATION: Near Pella, Iowa in southeastern Iowa
WEATHER: Pretty fall day. Highs in 70s
We left Lake MacBride State Park in the morning, and headed into the nearby town of Solon where we had spotted a brewpub yesterday. We had a nice lunch there....who would expect a Laotian pulled pork sandwich with great craft beer in a tiny Iowa town?
From there, we drove only about 100 miles to Pella, home of Central College, my alma mater. Pella has kept its Dutch heritage strong. The downtown has its original buildings with Dutch storefronts. The bakeries sell Dutch pastries. There are windmills in the parks. There are huge churches on every corner, most of them Dutch Reformed. Each spring, the town explodes with tulips, enjoys a parade with the high school band wearing wooden clogs, and townspeople sweeping the already-clean streets. The town is very prosperous with the Pella Window company and Vermeer manufacturing, who invented/makes the round hay bales. It has become a huge international company.
We visited my former "boss", a classy lady and mentor. After graduating from Central College, she hired me to assist her, the Director of International Programs at Central.
From there, we went to our campground, next to Red Rock Dam and Lake. These are our only neighbors.
DINNER: A take-off of our friend Tony's corned beef dinner.....We grilled patties made with corned beef, frozen hash browns, egg, onions, mustard and horseradish. Very tasty!
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