If It Rains, It's Still Fun!-- Thursday, July 28, 2011

We ate breakfast in downtown Amana and headed for the meat market. The restaurant gave us tokens for a pound of brats for $1, so we had to take advantage of that. And, of course, we spent more money there, just as they hoped!

The morning started with thunderstorms, so the temperature was better than the day before, but the humidity it still, naturally, pretty darn high! Chris and Kathy will be ready to return to the much lower humidity of central Kansas before this vacation is over.

Our first planned stop was in Dyersville, Iowa. Since it was still raining we first visited the National Farm Toy Museum. If you ever owned or played with any toy even remotely related to farms and farming, this is the place to reminisce. All companies are represented, even though the Ertl Company began the Museum.

With her love of genealogy, Kathy's favorite part was a whole wall tracing the "genealogy" of present day AGCO . It's amazing how many companies have merged to create this company! Some of the best known names, even to this non-farm kid, are: Massey Ferguson, Gleaner, White, Hesston, etc.

The rain had stopped, so we headed to our "real" Dyersville destination, the Field of Dreams Movie Site. Even though the field was awfully soggy, with standing water, Chris and Blake were able to play a little catch and pose for the photos Kathy wanted to take. [photos to be added] Since the corn is nearing harvest time, we even got to take shots of them entering and exiting the cornfield. (For those of you that don't understand that part, you really need to watch Field of Dreams!)

The site was a little different from when Kathy took her kids years ago, but still is a peaceful stop for families, whether you like baseball or not! There's a new souvenir stand now, but that's about it. I appreciate the simplicity. As stated in the promotional information: "Enjoy the surroundings. Bat a few balls, play a little catch, run the bases or sit and dream on the bleachers."

After leaving the Field, we were officially on our way to Madison, Wisconsin, home of Kathy's daughter, Kyle. But even stalwart travelers need to eat, so we stopped in Dubuque, Iowa, at a restaurant Blake had enjoyed with his folks, Crust.

By the time we arrived in Madison, both Kyle and Shawn were home from work. We had a good visit with the two of them and enjoyed watching the antics of Maddie, the cat, and Atlas, the dog.
The five humans went out to eat and spent the rest of the evening talking and watching the new version of Arthur.

Another high-point of the day was the fact that we got to sleep in the apartment for the night, out of the heat!