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Ann and Tulips
Ann In A Field of TulilpsLast week I wrote that traveling can be done in your backyard so this weekend I traveled to a potpourri of events within 45 miles of my home in Ankeny; Pella for the Tulip Festival, Des Moines for the Farmers Market and to see Cloris Leachman’s “One Woman Show”. I asked myself “how do I make this trip interesting as compared to my trip to Omaha? “ After fretting a bit, I told myself to give it up. From lessons learned, I reminded myself to just own it and travel with good friends.
First , what is the big deal with tulips in Iowa? The long story short here: in 1847, 800 Holland citizens left the Netherlands for religious freedom under the leadership of Dominie Scholte They settled in Iowa and created the town of Pella, the "City of Refuge". They brought their heritage, food, religion and the sense of family along with tulips to Iowa.
The Tulip festival began in 1935 and for three-days (Thursday through Saturday) the town celebrates their Dutch heritage with 2 daily parades, street washing demonstration, street vendors, naming of the tulip queen, music, Dutch food
Town Of Pella
Yes, Pella Looks Like Amsterdam and a chance to see 300,000 blooming tulips. To some, this is a sign of summer.
I opted out of the Saturday all-day activities for the Friday night parade. Tonight I’m going with my DrakeSmart friend Susan and her posse; sister Be, son Derick and daughter April. The drive to Pella was short, east on highway 163. For the first time I marveled at the landscape of the fields along the highway; the rolling hills, the curviness of the road, the beauty of the landscape along the way and as we approached the Metro Waste Authority Landfill, I commented about the beautiful landscape (yes, a landfill can be beautiful) and thought of my friend Sara K. She is so passionate about her work at MWA and their initiatives in recycling. As we passed the MWA Landfill, the rain gods was smiling on us with a beautiful rainbow. This was a sign that the evening would be perfect.
We arrived in Pella at 6:15 pm and hunt for a place to park. By experience, I know to park on the west side of town and watch the parade near the starting point (by Central College). This makes an easy
Canals of Pella
Canal In Pella, Size Does Not Matter in and easy out of Pella. Let me remind everyone that there will be about 50,000 or so at the night parade.
After a few trips around the block, we find a spot on 2nd and Union. A quick 10 minute walk and we are in the city center and see people mulling around. I immediately smelled the aroma of fried foods and I think to myself, “this is a sign of summer to come; corndogs, waffle cones, hamburgers, walking tacos and so forth.” We took a couple of pictures and then walked to find dinner. While I wanted to eat something fried, I so wanted to sit down and have someone wait on me. That’s one of the few pleasures in life that I enjoy (even a frugal girl needs a treat now and then). We ate good old comfort food at the Pizza Ranch; salad, pizza, chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. For dessert, soft serve ice cream. After stuffing our face, and I mean literally stuffing our face, we took a minute to use the restroom before we head out. A lesson for travelers, grab a bathroom break whenever you can.
Before the night parade starts,
Large Tulilp
This Is The Largest Tulip You Will Ever See we walked uptown to see the canals of Pella, the foot bridge, the tulip court, the old time fire truck, a sun dial and the carillon clock. The beauty of this city is so remarkable, it’s truly something to treasure. I tell my friends all the time that if you never plan to travel to Europe, get a feel of Europe by going to Pella. I’m not sure they believe me.
One last treat before the parade, find some Dutch Letters (an S-shaped pastry filled with almond paste). As Rachel Ray would say “yum-o”. Rule here, you can’t come to Pella without eating a Dutch Letter. That would be like going to the State Fair and not eating a corn dog, or going to the circus and not having cotton candy or Thanksgiving without turkey.
It’s now 8:30 pm and we’ve eaten dinner, seen the sights of Pella, ate our Dutch letter and the parade is about to begin. You might be asking yourself, a parade at 8:30 pm? Think of the Disney night parade on a smaller scale. The parade starts with the mayor followed by two dozen or so floats with a mix of high school
Bird Houses
Neat Bird Houses At The Market marching bands. The floats ranged from the tulip queens of the past, present and future, local businesses, local civic organizations, and this one, the largest tulip you will ever see. The night was picture perfect, cool, clear, no bugs and dry. Yes, it did not rain on “our parade” and a good time was had by all!
Iowa Trivia: Must Love Dogs and Kids In Iowa If it’s Saturday in Iowa, it’s market time. Up and out by 7:30 am with my Dad for the downtown farmer’s market by way of McDonalds. And yes, my daily ritual of “3 creams in my coffee please”.
To fight the crowds, I like to get there by 9 am and leave by 10:30 am. We make it there by 8:15 and I may run into Angela (she’s on her way to Southern Iowa). I walk my usual route; walk west from Second Avenue towards the county courthouse. The morning is cool, barely 50 degrees, and I so wished that I dug out my European dress wear, my cuddle duds and blue cap. During my walkabout it was nice to see the usual vendors and their many crafts and goods. I
Train Day
Train Arriving In Des Moines Carrying Governor Culver have to pace myself for the summer but I did breakdown and bought two healthy perennials (bleeding heart) and a cup of warm rice pudding.
It was nearing 9:30 am and I remembered that in honor of national train day, Governor Culver was traveling from Valley Junction to downtown via locomotive. Not a train lover, but traveling via tram, train and subway has reminded me of the convenience of train travel. I waited for a chance to see this old locomotive and as the train approached, it came to a halt one block from the stopping point. Why? A car was parked too close to the tracks, blocking the train. Imagine one car halting train travel. The Des Moines police came to the rescue by way of a tow truck and ticket for the car owner. Go figure, a staged event and no pre-planning was done to ensure an uneventful train arrival. I took the obligatory picture and headed home at 10:30 am.
Here’s what I observed at the farmer’s market: The market is a place to hear a variety of free music. Today, there was a small rock band, a bluegrass band and a steel band
Pink Puppy
My Puppy Is My Baby group. If I had the time, I’d love to sit and listen. I’ll have to put this on my to-do list.
The market is a perfect time for all to get out and smell the flowers, buy some treats and take their babies out for a stroll. And by babies, I mean kids and dogs.
So what’s up with all the Cadillac strollers? It’s just an hour event, isn’t there a smaller version of a stroller for kids? Like this one. As I was walking to see the train, I noticed this cute pink stroller, it looked odd like a smart car (short and stubby). I went up to the woman to ask to see her baby and to my surprise it was a puppy. I had to laugh and the woman reminded me that “puppies are their owners babies”. All I can say is, “must love dogs and kids in Iowa”.
Iowa Trivia: Must Love Cloris In Iowa In honor of Mother’s day my good friend Carole took me and a mutual DrakeSmart traveler, Robin, to see Cloris Leacham in her “One Woman Show” at the Des Moines Civic Center. The show showcased her life
Cloris Leachman
Cloris "Hottie" Leachman In Des Moines growing up in Des Moines, her journey to New York via Chicago to her 60 plus years in Hollywood. Cloris was personal with the crowd and the show was much like a conversation with us. For an 80 plus lady, she did a great job and the show was not to benefit her, it was to benefit her alma mater, Roosevelt High.
Here’s some trivia about Cloris:
Her father was co-owner of Leachman Lumber
After graduating from Roosevelt High School, she went to Northwestern College in Chicago
She was Miss Chicago, and she was a real “hottie” in her younger days
She won an oscar for "The Last Picture Show"
She closed her show with an Argentine tango dance with her “Dancing With the Stars” partner, Corky Balas (his dad invented the weed eater). She was so cute in her red dress strutting herself.
To sum up this weekend, “get busy living” as summer is right around the corner. Get out of the house, plant something green, visit the many festivals around the State and enjoy the beauty of the summer markets.
Where do I go next? My short list for the Summer of 2009 include
Good Friends
Ann, Robin and Carole At The Civic Center : West Bend Grotto, Dubuque to ride the cable car, The Iowa State Fair, somewhere to see The American Idol Tour, Toronto to see my Trinidad relatives, Chicago to eat in Chinatown and shop at Crate and Barrel, Kansas City to see my good friends Lex, Nat, Judy, Greg and Molly and maybe a drive out east to Maryland and New York City. Boy this will be one busy summer!
Above The Best,
Ann
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