Life in a Small Town

We've just come back from several days spent in Monticello, Iowa (population 3,607). The day we arrived, we headed down to the public library to use the computer. All four computers were in use, said the librarian, and would be available in about an hour. She remembered us from our trip last June and our daily one-hour internet-addicted visits. We didn't give her our names or our phone number, but exactly one hour later the phone at my in-laws' house rang. It was the librarian; two computers had opened up and she would reserve them for us if we would come right down.

A similar thing happened this summer when we were visiting, and my son attended vacation bible school at one of the local churches. I was a bit concerned when registering him that I only had to provide my son's name and age and a parent's name. No address, no phone number, no liability release. However, on the second day of VBS, we got a call from the church saying that he had thrown up and maybe we should come get him.

Later this week, my husband went with his dad to make a delivery at an Amish farm in Kalona. They also bought some chickens and a couple dozen eggs (non-certified organic) and received a gift of a large bag of apples and an Angelfood cake, made from scratch by the farmer's wife. They don't have electricity, so it left us wondering how she bakes such beautiful cakes - wood stove? Propane oven? D. and the farmer, a 30-something father of seven, had an interesting conversation about midwives and homebirth and vaccinations and such. Like us, they birthed their firstborn in a hospital; and two midwives in their community assisted the rest. In Iowa, direct-entry midwifery is illegal, but even the most midwifery-hostile states tend to refrain from prosecuting midwives who work exclusively within religious communities. Some states, like California, have a specific religious exemption (art. 2063, Medical Practices Act) for traditional midwives. (Compare, however, the case of Judy Wilson who served both Amish and non-Amish populations in Pennsylvania. Her trial is scheduled for January).

Another neat thing we did was visit the Field of Dreams in Dyersville. We brought along a couple of plastic balls & bats and the boys (ages 4 1/2 and 2 1/2) took a couple of swings and ran the bases. We also walked out of the corn. The Field of Dreams is actually two separate entities - the Lansing family's Field of Dreams Movie Site, where the house used in the movie is located; and the Ameskamp family's Left and Center Field of Dreams, which owns 3rd base and left field. Of course, a feud ensued between the two property owners. Rumor has it that the two parties have patched things up; for instance we noticed the groundskeepers aerating the field on both sides of the property line. Reminders of the division remain, however; two separate roads run down to the site, and a sign on the Lansing farm side lets you know that the Left and Center site is run by "an out-of-state investment trust." For the record, while the Field of Dreams Movie Site has a bigger & closer parking lot, the Left and Center site has a much bigger souvenir shop (with drinks and snacks) and better displays of educational/historical information.

TRAVELOGUE: Florida Day 4

In the morning, we head down for a swim, where we discover that all the families with children hit the attractions first thing in the morning, and we have the pool pretty much to ourselves. Around noon, we bid farewell to Kelly and she leaves to catch her plane.

In the evening, we head to Downtown Disney, yet another shopping-restaurant-entertainment area with a theme-parkish feel. Despite our better judgment, we wait nearly an hour (at 9:45 pm on a Thursday) for a table at the Rainforest Cafe. We ask ourselves, it is worth it to pay $10 for a hamburger to eat in a fake rainforest, as elaborate as it may be? Big Champ is terrified of the animatronic gorillas, which our host leads us directly past on the way to our table. The heard of elephants we dine with are o.k. The huge tropical fish tanks are a big hit. And every 20 minutes or so, you get a thunder and lightning storm, complete with rain. Little Champ wants to go up and down the stairs near our table, which is not such a good idea considering the place is crowded.

The zoo it ain't.

TRAVELOGUE: Florida Day 3

Today we head to Old Town, a fun shopping area with rides.  It is technically in Kissimmee, but is closer to Disney, and quite a drive from our hotel.  After some shopping, the Big Champ rides the merry-go-round with Kelley and the Tea Cups with me, and surprises me by not being frightened by the cups going up and down and spinning around.  By the end of the ride, we are both ready for it to be over.  LC enjoys hanging out in his new stroller.   Afterwards, we have some lunch and are ready to call it a day.  We drive through Kissimmee but are not impressed, so don't stop.

We finally make it to the pool in the afternoon.  For dinner we head to Pointe Orlando which is an outdoor mall on International Drive.  International Drive is surreal and has an amusement-park feel to it.  We park near WonderWorks  the facade of which is an upside-down building.  They have speakers with a recording of creaking noises as you walk by.  At Pointe Orlando, we stop by a stand where you can have your picture taken with a parrot, and the lady puts the parrot on BC's arm which delights him.  We don't pay for a photo, though.  We pick the cafe at XS Orlando which has decent food but not so great service.  For the most part, the service at just about every restaurant we visit in Orlando is slow, slow, slow.  Even in the middle of the week.

TRAVELOGUE: Florida Day 2

Start out the day by heading to Walmart to stock up on supplies, where I make the best purchase of the trip - a Cosco umbrella stroller with a canopy, about $13. Unlike our Graco travel system stroller, which I love, an umbrella stroller can be gate checked on an airplane.

From there we drive to the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins college, which boasts Florida's oldest art collection, and had the added attraction of being free. But it was under renovation and closed. We head instead to the Orlando Museum of Art. I initially balk at the idea of taking two children under the age of 3 to an art museum, but we are surprised and delighted to find From Goodnight Moon to Art Dog: The World of Clement, Edith and Thacher Hurd. And although the Chihuly exhibit had closed in May, we were able to view one piece which had been purchased and loaned to the museum.

Then on to the Peabody Hotel, where we caught the daily march of the ducks from the lobby fountain down a red carpet, up the elevator, where they return to their penthouse. The Duck Master caries a walking stick, which does double duty keeping his ducks in a row and keeping small children off the red carpet.

TRAVELOGUE: Florida Day 1

My husband says: "Orlando is like going to Las Vegas but without any chance of winning any money, only loosing."

We arrive in Orlando and head to the car rental. We have reserved a full size sedan for $119/wk. The service agent offers us a Dodge Durango for $139/wk. They have 50 sitting in the lot and are pushing them. What a deal. When we get the bill, we realize that the $139 was for an upgrade, in addition to the $119. Nevermind. We end up with a Buick LeSabre, more than adequate, lots of trunk space.

We check into the Hawthorn Suites Orlando Airport. My friend Kelley is already waiting for us. She will spend the next 3 days with us, exploring Orlando with me and the kids while my husband is in class. We immediately head down to happy hour. Hawthorn Suites offers complimentary drinks and snacks for two hours every evening. They also have free american (hot) breakfast every morning, and free dinner on Wednesday nights - though in this case, you get what you pay for.

TRAVELOGUE - Introduction

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. The next several entries will be a travelogue. My husband goes for training in Orlando, so since the company will be springing for part of the trip, and we have adequate frequent flier miles for me and the boys, we are all going with. First to Florida, then to Iowa for a week to visit Grammie and Grampy.

The theme for this first part of the trip is: how little money can we spend in a week in Florida. Can a family of 4 eat well on a $45/day per diem? How many fun things can we find to do in Orlando without shelling out the big bucks for Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, or one of the countless other major attractions in the city?

My guide for Orlando: Top 10 Travel Guides: Orlando (DK Publishing, 2002).

Note to the blog purists out there: these blogs were written out by hand and post-dated when published.

SITE UPDATE

Blogger now lets me backdate or postdate a blog entry. For instance, all of the Florida travelogues were written out by hand on the trip, and then posted when I got home. Anyway, I have just added a 9/03/03 blog entry, a travelogue from Iowa which I finally located.

Also, I am thinking of adding a hit counter to this page. Does anyone have an opinion about which is the best or the most useful? Must be free, of course. Email me please - mommyblawger AT mindspring.com.

PERSONAL NOTE

Next week we will be headed for a much-needed family vacation to Daytona Beach, Florida. So I don't expect I will be able to blog while I'm gone, but I will have a lot to say when I get back. We will be there on the tail end of Biketoberfest. This is not by design. Ironic, three things that my husband dislikes with a passion are: Harley-davidson motorcycles, NASCAR, and golf.

This week I have done several things that I have not done since lawschool: stayed up half the night to work on a brief, refer to the principle of contra proferentem, cite to the Restatment (Second) of Contracts (fondly known as "R2K"), and use my well-worn Bluebook.