Taking the High (Trestle) Road

RAGBRIA runs through my Grandmother's town this year, and we'd thought it would be neat to ride the day between Forest City and Mason City. The route is 38.5 miles long and relatively flat. But we have to get a few miles under our bike tires before we even think about that.

This week we took two trips out to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. We started our ride in Slater and rode twelve miles to the High Trestle Bridge and then took the same trail back. It's a test to see how well Charlotte can ride in her "little blue car".

Here's a view of the bridge from the west side. What a cool architectural design.

Here's a goofy Char enjoying that view. Little did we know what was going to come in about 30 minutes.

Here's two more views of the bridge from two opposite directions. Light makes such a difference in a photograph. About one minute separates when the shots were taken, and I did my best to follow the rule of thirds.

On the first ride we stopped in Madrid for lunch at Saddles BBQ Bistro. Unfortunately, Charlotte got sick. When she got out of her blue car she threw up, and we suspected she had gotten too hot during the ride. We were hoping the air conditioning in the restaurant would help, but it didn't. She threw up again while we were waiting for our food to arrive, and all she could do was lay down in the booth with a wet napkin on her forehead.

I gulped down my food and sped off on my bike to get the car in Slater. While my out of shape legs were pumping as fast as they could, Char threw up two more times in the booth and spent some time in Saddle's restroom letting her mom clean her up. I pulled up to the restaurant 35 minutes later, and I packed up the bikes while Daphne got Char in the car. Poor thing, Char fell asleep in the car with a "vomit cup" around her mouth and chin.

Charlotte was mostly back to normal after we got her home, cleaned her up in the tub, and let her sleep for three hours.

The gal who was working at Saddles was so nice to my girls, she was so understanding about having a sick child, and I can't praise her enough. I also can't wait to stop by there and eat again, but I'll eat slower this time. The smoke sauce was great on my pulled pork, and Charlotte loved the grilled cheese sandwich the next day - a three cheese sandwich off the kid's menu is pretty awesome!

The next morning we tried the same bike ride. Charlotte kept agreeing that she really did have fun before she got sick, and she was willing to try again. This time we started out about an hour earlier, we packed more snacks, and we took more breaks. Success!

The next time I'm on the High Trestle Bridge, or eating BBQ at Saddles, this is what I'm thinking:

June Highlights part 3 (last one)

The last big event of June took us up to Minneapolis for my cousin Travis's wedding. It's strange, I haven't been invited to a wedding in about a decade, and then we're invited to three weddings in one month.

The wedding was on a Saturday, so we drove up to the hotel and swam in the pool before getting ready to go to the church. I'll be honest and tell you that I think going to the pool with Charlotte is one of the most boring things we do. Pools are no joke; they're dangerous and you honestly can't look away when Char's even near the water. Sure she's tall for her age, but most hotel pools start at 3 and a half feet and get deeper from there. So when she's in the water, you are too, and you're holding her. Twirling a child on the surface of the water is fun for a little while, but it makes for a pretty long hour. Catching someone jumping off the edge of a pool 73 times can also get tedious.

The wedding went well and so did the reception. Because Minneapolis's traffic is crazy and confusing, I didn't dare drink any alcohol. On the way back to the hotel I thought I'd stop and pick up some beer. Most hotel rooms don't offer two separate spaces, so after Charlotte goes to to sleep there's not much to do in the dark. I like to surf shopgoodwill.com and drink a few beers.

I am not a picky beer drinker. I don't need a nifty name on the bottle or a long list of adjectives to describe my drinking experience. Does the beer make me burp and pee? If the answer is yes, then I'm a happy guy. Unfortunately, I did not know that in Minnesota you cannot buy beer anywhere but from a liquor store. And liquor stores are only open until 10 pm on Saturday, and they are not open at all on Sunday. I discovered this information at 10:07 pm Saturday night. Insert sound of sad trombone here.

I take back what I said about the pool being the most boring thing ever.

On Sunday we took Charlotte to Minneapolis's Children's Museum. After visiting the museums in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, I was afraid this was going to be a case of S.S.D.M, but I was wrong. The three museums have similarities, but the differences are noticeable. For one, this place had five floors. Let's see what Char got to do.

She turned a crank.

And took her mom for a ride, "I'm taking you to the zoo, okay?"

All three museums have water features.

Char also drove a bus.

On the "neighborhood" floor you could dress in different uniforms and pretend to have different careers. I got a real kick out of watching Char the mail-carrier.

As always, Char was drawn to the medical exhibit. She's fascinated with organs and bones.

Char let Mom paint her face in Lincoln. Charlotte was ready to do it herself in Minneapolis. 

Why so serious?

The top floor was botanical, and Charlotte chose to plant a bean in the small pot they gave her.

Ten days later, that bean is growing pretty well on our front step.

On the way down we stopped to pretend Char was a turtle.

And before we left we had a chance to dance.

Recently during a car drive Char informed me that she likes the word "booty".
"You mean like pirate treasure?"
"Noooo Daaaad, I mean like my bottom. I like to shake my booty!"

We'll just let that one go for now.

After the museum we had lunch at Matt's bar (already a recent blog post), and then we headed over to the Mall of America to check out their amusement park. It used to be called Camp Snoopy, but now it's Nickelodeon Universe. That doesn't matter to me, the tight, small rides that go around in a circle still make me want to lose my Jucy Lucy. Here's Daphne and Char on the same ride I'd take in about five minutes.

I always time how long the ride takes while I'm standing in line. I want to know how long the torment will last. I also watch the smiles on the parents currently on the ride. I want to know how long my real smile will turn into a sickly one like theirs.

We stopped by the Como Park Zoo before we left town on Monday, and let me warn you. Before you can get into the free zoo, you have to walk through "Como Town" - a cheesy carnival with all the glamor a carnival can provide. Because we had already hit Nickelodeon Universe, we were able to get Charlotte to the zoo without too much trouble.

For me, the best part of Como Zoo was the polar bear exhibit. Huge animals effortlessly gliding through water are beautiful to watch.

After the polar bears it was time to wish Sparky the Seal Lion happy birthday, and then we were back on the road to Iowa where they sell beer anytime you want them to.

Stupid Minnesota...

June Highlights part 2

We were invited to two other family weddings in June, but my cousin Chris's wedding invitation made it clear that the reception was to be for adults only. What are you supposed to do if you have a little one and the wedding is another state? Do what we did, I guess, and not go.

But we didn't stay home. We went back to Omaha. On Friday afternoon we went to the Omaha Art Festival. We bought gifts, so I can't show you those, but I can show you a picture of a woman roasting a hotdog with the blacksmith. I'm sure there's a story there, but I don't know it.

We went to Dixie Quicks for dinner. We found the place by checking the TV Food Maps web site.

We took Char to the Omaha Children's Museum on Saturday morning. Char wouldn't pose by the head of this T-Rex because it was menacingly moving back and forth. I can see why a little kid would be spooked by that.

But Charlotte wasn't scared of the x-rays in the medical exhibit. She's fascinated with her body and all of its processes.

I don't know if it's a result of all the time she spent in the hospital when Grandma Deb was sick, but often Char tells us she wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

But when we tried the "When I Grow Up" machine, Char didn't pick nurse. So who knows what she'll be?

Later, during Knight's Adventure in the Fairytale Theater, Char learned the five positions for holding a sword, and then used those positions to defeat a dragon and free the princess.

For Father's Day the gals took me to Jethro's for breakfast. The food was great, as you'd expect.

And then we took Charlotte to her first movie!

We watched the original How to Train Your Dragon at home the night before, and then we watched the trailer for the sequel in the morning to see if Char would be willing to see it on a "really big screen". She thought she could do it. Ideally, I would have liked her to see something rated G. Sometimes we watch PG films at home, and they can get pretty scary for Charlotte. We had to warn her that Dad couldn't fast forward the movie when we were at the theater. 

We chose the Merle Hay Mall Cinema for several reasons. For one, with 800 seats the place is huge, and we could move to a remote location if we needed to. Two, the theater is all but forgotten. Usually only a handful of people are seated around you. Three, they show about three trailers and that's it. Char wouldn't use up all of her attention watching thirty minutes of commercials. Four, the movie screen is the largest in Iowa (not counting the Imax theater in the Science Center - that place makes me wanna barf). And five, the popcorn is good. I know how many calories are in movie theater butter, but I always say, "As much as you can put on it," when I'm asked if I want butter on my popcorn (Daphne silently nods). We love movies, and we have been to a theater only three times since Char was born. I figure we're due a few extra squirts of liquid happiness. 

Here's Char in her first movie seat. 

I'm happy to report the movie was a big success. Char ate popcorn like a champ, and when it was all over she leapt out of her seat and declared, "I talked a lot didn't I Mom!" 

Luckily, the movie was loud, and no one noticed. 

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A Literary Classic

Char made a book yesterday. I taped the pages together, Char put in the stickers, and then she told me what to write on each page.

This is her story. She also illustrated the last page and told me what sticker letters to place there. (Please forgive the poor handwriting... it's the only thing in this book that's mine.)

Say what you want, but my girl can deliver a punch line.

June Highlights part 1

Our summer started in Lincoln, Nebraska where we attended my cousin's wedding. I picked up a copy of The Reader while we were gassing up in Omaha. I look for these independent newspapers anytime I'm visiting an unfamiliar city. They're a great source for what the city has to offer for entertainment.

I noticed that "The Taste of Omaha" would be taking place while we were coming home on Sunday, so we made that a stopping point.

The food wasn't too exciting for Charlotte, but she got to ride a carousel, and that was big deal.

We also visited Omaha during our last Spring Break, and I was pumped to learn that Goodwill had a store dedicated to retro and funky items.

I was able to stop by the store, but by that time Char had just too much vacation, and she had a meltdown in the store. These things happen. Although I only had about ten minutes to shop, I bought this sweet tape deck. It's an AKAI GXC-510D, and it was manufactured in 1974. I think.

Here's the AKAI in its new basement home.

I found this Jimi Hendrix mix-tape in the store and used it to test the cassette deck. 

I bought the tape, too. Side B of the Hendrix tape is a fun mix of studio and live cuts, but someone recorded Hootie and the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View over most of Side A. That's a bit of a disappointment.

What was more disappointing was my return to the reServe store after leaving Taste of Omaha. All day I had been wondering what kind of cool stuff I was going to find. The outside of the store looked just like it did back in March. 

But the inside the store had changed drastically. I guess the retro sales were slim, because the store had been changed over to a 99 Cent Goodwill. Which means all the vintage items had been replaced with... well, let's just say I didn't find anything cool. Insert sound of "balloon losing air" here. 

We went home after that very brief shopping trip. After two nights in the Lincoln hotel, three hours in the pool, a morning at the Children's Museum, a wedding dance, and a taste of a city, someone was tired.

But I had a suspicion that we'd be back. I saw this in The Reader.

Feeding the Ducks on a Saturday Morning

President Obama Wasn't The Only One to Get a Jucy Lucy at Matt's

We were in Minneapolis last weekend for my cousin's wedding, and on Sunday afternoon we stopped by Matt's Bar to grab a burger.

Daphne and I first learned about Matt's Bar while watching Man vs. Food. The host, Adam Richman, compared two different restaurants who have claimed to make the best hamburger with cheese hidden inside. We tried a "Jucy Lucy" at Matt's Bar and a "Juicy Lucy" at the 5-8 Club. 

For us, Matt's burger won out. I think the onions tip the scales. They remind me of a White Castle burger (which I can't get in Des Moines... c'mon Des Moines get with the fast food burger program!)

But the meat is waaaaay better than at White Castle. So, how Jucy is the cheese in a Matt's Lucy? Let's press the burger and find out:

Char had a grilled cheese sandwich, and since it was grilled on the same surface the burgers are prepared on, it was sinfully good. Seriously, this might have been the best sandwich I have stolen bites from.

And Char liked the French fries, too.

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