Let's visit Iowa part 1

Instead of taking you through a current day of my life in Iowa, I thought I would send some photos of things, places and events that seem to represent a part of what is Iowa. 

Iowa as you know is a mid-west farming state.  It has numerous industries and is one of the top 5 states with the highest amount of insurance companies.  We have a definite four seasons for weather.

They have hot air balloon races out of Indianola, Iowa about every late July/early August for one week.  It is pretty neat to watch.  The sky becomes filled with numerous balloons and as you can see by the photos, when they land it looks pretty unique also.

 

This one is a picture of kids trying to push a plow like it was done when the prairie was originally plowed.

The Iowa Living History Museum that is located in Des Moines,   is a free museum with several hands on exhibits. 

Living History Farms on the edge of Des Moines, is a location that has farms set up and operating based on different time periods.  When one visits there you see how they cooked, worked and played as far back as 100 years ago.  It is a very educational and fun place to visit.  In the town at the local store, they have what sold at that time: herbs for medicine, leeches for medical care, material for clothes, etc.  There is also a location that shows how the Indians in Iowa lived.  One of these photos showing how the buffalo hides were scraped as part of the tanning process of the hide and also how they used the hide to build their tepees.

The Des Moines Science Center is a location that gives hands on projects to explain and play with science.  One was a fishing game for very young children that was working with magnets.  The other photo shows kids getting ready to shoot off the paper rocket they made to see how far it would fly.

Flat David visits Nebraska

We didn't manage to get over there to get a picture of Jake making a shoe or putting it on a horse, but David accompanied us to "school", doing chores, riding our ponies and picnicking in the woods.  We're not real exciting folks out here, but that's our life in Nebraska!  Thanks for asking us to participate.

 Taking care of the chickens...

 in the garden

 Riding the ponies

 Nebraska picnic

Flat Stephen Spotted in North Carolina

 We had such a fun time with Stephen! On his first day he helped my mom and I paint the kitchen. Second day He helped give Echo a bath!  Lastly we went out to eat sushi with Fable, mom, Alexis and me. The one in the car is our way back from dropping Alexis off at the airport!! He was very productive while he was here!!

Painting the kitchen

Giving Echo a bath

Meeting Fable Rose

Eating Sushi!

In the Car

Flat Bethany takes New York!

Here are pictures of Flat Bethany. She is now on her way  after visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with me and having a NY hot dog and a NY pretzel!

Washington DC, Pensylvania and Delaware meet Flat Bethany!

Welcome to Washington DC Bethany! You're here for Memorial day weekend and our trip to Philadelphia and then to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In this pix you are by our window in Georgetown looking SE.

Mike and Mary Jo

Here we are waiting for the 44 bus to downtown Philadelphia.

The 44 drops us at 30th St Station - the a nice walk along the bank of the Schuylkill River to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Here we are at the museum. The Rocky steps are in the background.

Pretty hot today in Philadelphia so we're stopping at Reading Terminal Market to have an ice cream. Bassetts (est 1861) is the oldest ice creamery in the USA!

We're on a theme here. Lunch is at the 2nd oldest Italian restaurant in the USA (but the oldest operated by one family-Dispagno). It is in the Italian Market neighborhood. The oldest open air market in the USA still in operation!

Ralph's

We're heading South from Philadelphia - now in Delaware. At this rest stop we bought paper poppies - a traditional symbol of Memorial Day and in honor of Vets since WW I.

Now we're getting ready to kayak in MD. This is the outfitters. Their shop is in the oldest store on the eastern shore. It is near Harriet Tubman's birthplace. She was a slave and was hit by a slavemaster in this store and developed epilepsy. She later worked on the underground RR.

This is our kayak route-the Transquaking River. We paddled 5 1/2 miles and saw bald eagles, golden eagles, herons, osprey and other birds.

We're visiting the old Delaware State House. It is on a square designed by William Penn. Delaware auto licenses say "First State" because it was the first state to ratify the Constitution.

 

We're almost back home in our Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC. Thought we'd snap a picture of you visiting our neighbor at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

OK, now we're home -- on 30th St Northwest between M and K streets. We are right next to the C and O Canal that runs from Georgetown to Cumberland Maryland. It is now a park but used to transport freight on canal boats. This is one of the locks that let boats go up and down grades.

                          

"Flat" Stephen in Denver

The Palmer Ridge High School girls tennis team stayed in Denver at a hotel
for the Regional Matches instead of driving back and forth on the bus.
Because our son, Alex, is manager of the team and is a male, his parent must
chaperone (with all of those girls).  Michael headed to California to drive
home with our eldest, Jeremy, who completed his first year of college at
California Baptist University which left me to chaperone Alex (and his
harem)! These photos are from our trip, "flat" Stephen was able to travel
with us and see a bit of Denver, Colorado.

Head Coach Sherri of the girls tennis team talking about Alex's
contributions to the team and the season

7am Alex helping to warm-up the girls at the regional tournament

driving a couple members of the Palmer Ridge High School (Monument,
CO) girls tennis team and our son Alex who is managing the girls team to
Denver for the Regional tournament

I am driving back to Denver after commuting down to Colorado Springs
to work...kind of a long day but beautiful

Me in Northern Colorado

our son Alex at the PRHS girls tennis banquet signing thank you cards
for the coaches

Flat David Visits the Tri-Cities in South-Eastern Washington State

Flat David and I had a blast while he visited the Tri-Cities in south-eastern Washington state.  We hover right above the Oregon border and our largest landmark is the Columbia River that flows to the Pacific Ocean from the north.  The Tri-Cites, which include Kennewick, Richalnd, and Pasco, are an agricultural based township that uses the Columbia River for much of its irrigation of crops such as potatoes, grapes, alfalfa, along with an abundance of cattle.  Also, much of this area has been used for massive orchards where cherries, apples, and even oranges are seen throughout.  There are very few trees considering its proximity to the ocean and offers an arid climate with over 300 days of sunshine each year.  Because there are not many trees, the wind blows and blows which is used and converted to energy via our wind generators on the hillsides around town.  It is a great place to visit and there is much to do with the river running right through town.  Fishing, boating, and water skiing are all parts of the citizen's everyday life during the summer months.  Not far away towards both the coast and the Idaho border mountains are located and alpine skiing is enjoyed by many.  Flat David and I visited some of the surrounding areas where the wind farms are as well a great photo of our infamous Cable Bridge that connects Pasco to Kennewick and Richland from North to South.  I hope Flat David enjoyed his adventures here and learned a lot.  He is more than welcome to come visit any time and maybe next time we'll try some fishing and other water sports! 

 

Good luck in class and have a great summer!

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Ryan Liebscher