More Gems

Today promised to be a partly cloudy and showery day through eastern Nebraska and half of Iowa, with no interesting distractions except perhaps when we thought an airplane was going to land on our roof as we passed by the Lincoln Nebraska airport.

Once again, however, we were saved by the AAA tour book, our maps, and the occasional roadside conversation piece.

According to AAA, Coon Rapids, Iowa was the location of the American farm, owned by Roswell Garst, that was visited by Premier Nikita Khruschev in 1959 (it's too bad Nikita didn't go to the Corn Palace in South Dakota!)  

(See the story at  http://www.carrollspaper.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=8145&TM=51093.31) 

We also drove through a corner of Madison County, Iowa - famous for the book and movie "The Bridges of....", as well as the birthplace of John Wayne.

We saw signs for the Iowa State Fair, famous for deep-fried butter and its election year straw poll of presidential candidates.  Fortunately for us, we saw neither the butter nor the candidates.

Adair, Iowa greets visitors off of the interstate with what appears to be a butter-coated smiley-faced lollipop...

...and the Iowa rest areas boast of something called "Wireless Internet Vending Machines" - either the Midwest must be one step ahead of us with their junk food apps, or it's a way to buy additional bandwidth without having to slow down on the highway, a type of EZ-pass.  Wonders never cease.

Tonight, we're staying in Newton, Iowa (population 15,000) - home of Mr. Frederick L. Maytag  who - as you would guess - introduced a hand-powered washer that eventually evolved into the washing machines we know today (apps or no apps). 

Tomorrow, the map says we'll pass by the location of "the future birthplace of Captain James T Kirk" in Riverside, Iowa - on March 22, 2228:

The caption on www.roadsideamerica.com reads "Captain Kirk's ancestor, Bob Wieland-Kirk, watches the skies above Riverside for possible Klingon sneak attack."

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