100th Anniversary of the Grotto

The Grotto of the Redemption is 100 years old this year. This past weekend there was a celebration of this remarkable landmark in my hometown.

No celebration is complete without a parade!

Art Show

  

Statue of Father Dobberstein



Baby swans

Botanical Center

Recently I was at the Botanical Center for some meetings and took a tour during lunch. It's been several years since I'd been there. There weren't a lot of plants blooming, but it was beautiful anyway.

Great picture of the koy pond with the dome reflection.

They had pumpkins out for fall but no mums yet.  I've heard that the poinsettia decorations at Christmas time are great, so I might have to make another trip.



My First NASCAR Race

Last weekend I had an opportunity to go to the Iowa Speedway.  They asked for volunteeers at work to help the Tama County Pork Producers grill and give away 5,000 pork burgers.  A free ticket to the Nationwide race was included.  We left Pioneer bright and early.  By 9:30 the sandwiches were being made and put into coolers for us to give away at the tent.  By 11:45 they were gone.

The race didn't start until 6:30 p.m. so we had plenty of time to wander around.  We checked out all of the tents and picked up some freebies.  It's just like the fair!  Even the people watching is like the fair...you never know what you'll see. 

Our seats were waaaaaayyyy on the other end.

Qualifying was mid-afternoon so we watched most of that.  I knew races were loud, but I had no idea just how loud.  After hearing just one car during qualifying, I knew it would be really loud during the actual race.  Good thing for ear plugs!

After a long, hot afternoon, it was time for the race.

After two red flags and a few yellows, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag. 

Can't wait until next time!

Yankee Doodle Pops

 It's been a long time since I posted.  I better get back at it.  We went to Yankee Doodle Pops down at the capitol.  It was a beautiful night...even though it did get quite cool after the sun went down.  It sure wasn't 80 degrees at 10:00 like it's been the past several days.

I still haven't mastered fireworks on my camera. 

The Lion King

Last night I went to The Lion King with Lisa and Mom.  It was absolutely amazing.  The masks and costumes are beyond anything I could have imagined.  And the music...phenomenal.  What a magnificent show!