Road Trip!

Daph and I usually talk about food when we reminisce about vacations.

San Diego? Mexican.

Prince Edward Island? PEI mussels.

Victoria? Every downtown street had a bakery.

So, what about this summer's Canadian trip? 

The Pan Chancho Bakery in Kingston, is a fun place to visit.

The last thing we did in Kingston before heading to the train station was to have breakfast there. I ordered the Weekender: two eggs over easy on a croissant with bacon, chives and 2 year old cheddar. I added the two strips of bacon to go along with the peameal bacon. The bacon jam was a welcome addition.

In Québec City the breakfast sandwich at The Paillard was also a knock-out.

Check out those layers.

Our breakfast at Café La Maison Smith (also in Québec City) was no slouch, either. 

This bakery has quite a delivery vehicle.

One common thread linking these breakfasts is a croissant so light that it hovered slightly above the plate. Only the buttery taste kept it from floating away. And these are just the croissants I took pictures of. Others were consumed before I even remembered my camera. It didn't matter if the croissants were as rich in calories as they were in taste. We relied on public transportation, and we logged 99 miles of walking in ten days.

That was back in July, and we haven't been to a bakery since. I Googled "best Iowa bakeries", and discovered that the Des Moines Register reported in 2017 that BuzzFeed had named The Café in Ames as the best bakery in Iowa. BuzzFeed enlisted Yelp’s algorithm that measured the star ratings and reviews for every bakery in the state.

That got me thinking. We don't travel to Ames very often, and we have not been to any of the bakeries there. Hmmmmm...

We started at the Ames Farmers' Market on Saturday. 

This has nothing to do with baked goods, but the ribs from the Cornbred Barbecue food truck were awesome. 

Ali Cakes is located on the same street as the farmers' market, so we stopped in for a salted caramel cupcake. (If you want to sound Canadian, pronounce it "care-a-mel".)

The Dutch Oven Bakery was close, so we walked over there. I did not tell Charlotte my definition of a "dutch oven."

Apple pocket:

Great Harvest Bakery and Cafe recently opened in Ames. What a great surprise! Des Moines had a Great Harvest Bread Company store for years, but it sadly closed when Char was an infant. 

I love their white bread. In Des Monies it was sold as "Whata White!" When we spotted a Great Harvest store in Seattle, Daphne was kind enough to lug a loaf home for me in her airplane carry on.

Char was all too happy to relax with a slice, "This bakery tour idea is a lot better than I thought it would be, Dad."

We had to drive to get to The Cafe.

We ordered a croissant, and the gal behind the counter told us that their croissants were twice baked with a layer of almond paste. 

I wish I had I known that "twice baked" meant "crunchy" like "when you bite this, hard flecks will break off and hit your family." I would have had different expectations with that kind of information.

So, it wasn't The Cafe's fault, and it wasn't the day-old-croissant's fault, but this wasn't what I had hoped for.

The surprise of the day was at Insomnia Cookies.

The space inside isn't much to talk about. It's fairly dark and industrial. But the warm cookies... wow. 

My plan was to end our time in Ames by stopping by one more eatery. I hadn't tried Taco Time before, and I had a recommendation of what to order from a buddy who is an Ames native.

I pulled the car into Taco Time's parking lot, and this is what I saw in the back seat.

I didn't have the heart to stop the car again, so I turned around and drove home quietly. 

So, was the Bakery Tour a success?

No, not really. We were all tired after our first week back to school, and we were all fairly crabby. I should have waited a few weeks before I surprised the girls with my tour idea. We were not in the mood to have a great time; some days are just not filled with sunshine and unicorns. 

But in retrospect, our moods wouldn't have mattered. I can't recreate our bakery experience in Canada here in Iowa, and actually that's a good thing. If I could, then why would we travel there in the first place? 

Summer's over and so is our vacation. It's time to focus on what Iowa can bring to the table. And that's some great Iowa Chops, awesome steaks, the best milk from AE Dairy, killer bacon, Maid- Rites, pork tenderloins, farmers' markets, etc, etc, etc...

And maybe Taco Time. I haven't given up on making that stop.

Look Out, Here Comes Third Grade!

Just like the cast of Grease 2, Char's Gotta go Back, Back, Back to School Again...

Fun Fact: Dad (me) picked out that dress at the store.

Iowa State Fair '18: The Last Day

Apparently everything at the Iowa State Fair tastes good, even the blue ribbons.

Charlotte really wanted a chick to hatch, and she wanted to be the first thing that it saw. Then the chick would call her "Mom". That didn't happen, but this little guy seemed to like Char. 

Can you spot EnergyLogic's typo?

We like to buy the Family Fun Pack when we get our tickets ahead of time. The pack includes one ticket for a Kids Bungee Jump or a Pony/ Camel ride. This was the first time Char was willing to try the bungee jump.

She didn't do any flips, but she got some decent air.

We bought three Family Fun Packs, but Charlotte wasn't interested in using the other two bungee tickets. She wanted to go to the pony and camel rides and give her remaining tickets to a child who could use them. 

Handing a ticket to an unsuspecting parent with a little one was the highlight of Char's day. As parents, watching her generosity was a highlight for us, too.

I celebrated with a bacon wrapped rib.

Char got a wad of cotton candy that was bigger than her head.

This was the first time we attended the Woodcarver’s Auction. It’s held in a the Penningroth Media Center in the Putney Family Cattle Barn, and you better go early if you want a seat.

Do you see those six, blue coolers on the stage? Three coolers contain the winners for Grand Champion Ham, Grand Champion Bacon, and Grand Champion Dried Beef. The other three coolers contain the runner's up in the same categories. Can you guess how much one guy spent on the two coolers of bacon?

Okay, I'll tell you. He spent $3,100!

Holy. Cow.

(Or should I say holy pig?)

Each cooler was packed with ice, so it wasn't like they were entirely full of bacon, either. The winner was wearing a Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival t-shirt, so I suspect he has more than a fancy breakfast in the works.

They also auctioned off 40 wood carvings. The "butt pants" carving in my ISF fair post went for $450. That pales in comparison to the chicken carving that brought in $2000.

One a sad note, I usually stop by this hot dog stand to say hi to an ex-student. I walked by twice looking for him, and then I was shocked to see this sign.

Bryan Idso was a really nice guy, and he was part of a great family. I was so sad to see that he had passed away at such a young age. I will miss his friendly wave and genuine smile.

The '18 -'19 school year begins tomorrow for Urbandale teachers. It's time to finish this post and get ready for in-service.

Summer is done, and I need to read my "back to school" letter.

8th Birthday Party: Before and After

I was so surprised to see Charlotte vacuuming before her party today. She told Mom she wanted to help, and she followed through. Whoa! Charlotte is growing up.

I'm not comfortable publishing pictures of other people's children, but I can say that everyone was exhausted after the party.

Iowa State Fair '18: Day Two's Great Comeback

 I was asking a real question when I said to Daphne, "Have we outgrown the fair?"

Daphne and I have been married for 16 years, and neither of us are the same people we were in 2002. There are stores and restaurants that we used to be excited about, but we wouldn't even think to visit them today. Daphne now enjoys foods that she wouldn't touch when I first met her. I used to think a Friday night at home was a wasted evening, and now I can't think of another place I would want to be.

After our disappointing first day at the Iowa State Fair, both Daphne and I admitted later that we were secretly worried about returning for a second time. What if we really had outgrown one of our favorite events?

Sunday's forecast was in the 90's. Daphne's plan was to keep Charlotte as cool as possible and keep her belly full. Before we left home, Char was given cereal, milk, and a hot dog bun smeared with peanut butter.

To keep Charlotte cool, we took numerous breaks in the air conditioned buildings, and Daphne also brought along this water bottle.

The spray bottle was great way to beat the heat. The mist spray cools you down quickly, and you can refill the bottle at any fountain. One dad spotted me spraying down Charlotte, and he asked if I'd also spray his kids. No problem! 

Char also thought the bottle was fun to play with. She'll be happy to cool you down, too.

Daphne and I started the day with a corn dog...

... and some apple egg rolls. The egg rolls reminded me of the apple pies McDonald's served in the 70's. (Man, I miss those pies.)

It was then time to use Char's Thrill Pass Wristband. There's a new rule this year. Char will smile before and after the ride, but you get a scowl during the ride. (I do not know why.)

Before:

During:

After:

The Iowa Turkey Federation sells a turkey sandwich that I hadn't noticed before. The turkey was awesome, and felt like it was a healthier choice as well. 

Char tried some of the turkey that didn't have BBQ sauce on it, and she asked for a sandwich, too, "I just want it plain, please." She filled up on turkey, and her good mood continued.

Char also had PB&J on-a-stick awhile later.

This wasn't the winner of the biggest pumpkin, but it was definitely the most handsome. 

By the afternoon, Daphne was getting cheeky. This is the "butt pants" seat at the chainsaw carving exhibit.

Yea! Now that's more like it. This is a pork chop that's worth a photo.

The Salty Carmel Lightning Rod cup from Bauder's Ice Cream was a great way to wrap up our day.

Speaking of dessert, Daphne's recipe for S'more Bars made it into the 19th edition of the Iowa State Fair Cookbook. 

According to the older gentleman who was selling the cookbooks, these books are sent to Library of Congress for prosperity. "If you're in there, then you're immortal! They can read your recipe a thousand years from now." I don't know about that, but getting a recipe in the book is pretty cool.

Whew! We had a great day two at the ISF! Keeping everyone cool and well fed paid off. We hadn't outgrown the Fair! 

We were Back in State Fair Groove!  Link.