What a treat to see the NYC Ballet for the first time in ages – and the first time in Iowa. Apparently, this was the company’s first visit to Iowa City, so I’m guessing it’s the first visit to Iowa since Iowa City hosts the state’s best dance performances (although Des Moines is improving!). The company was superb, as always, and it was a particular treat to see Iowa City native Miriam Miller dance – including in a sensational, sensual duet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon (who choreographed The Joffrey’s new nutcracker, which we saw last year during our first visit to the new Hancher.) Speaking of which, the new Hancher is stunning — I like it better than the old one. It feels smaller, more intimate, more vertical than horizontal, more peaceful with calming colors (seafoam green, grey, tan wood) and plush upholstered seats. Having sat in the balcony and on the floor, close to the stage, I’m not sure there is a seat with a bad view. (Our floor seats were way off to the side but we saw the vast majority of the stage.).
Dinner was a Takanami– for sushi and tempura, which was a nice change from all the heavy food we ate in the Deep South. We couldn’t deal with more burgers, ribs or fried chicken. We were tempted to try the new (or new to us) Szechuan Chinese restaurant, Bashu, that opened where the Linn Street Cafe used to be but it looked a little too authentic for a before-theater/meal. Didn’t want to get an upset stomach. Locals seem to be loyal to Szechuan House.
Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations
NYC Ballet at Iowa City’s new Hancher
Gorgeous fall day for a “Farm Crawl” in Southern Iowa
We drove an hour south of Des Moines on what turned out to be a lovely fall day (after a few initial sprinkles) for the 11th annual Farm Crawl — a driving (not crawling) tour rural in Marion, Lucas and Warren counties of five farms plus a local pottery place and a sale on the grounds of an 1850’s country church, where FFA (Future Farmers of America) kids set up shop, selling their iron works and meat from their “Cattle Project.”
Such a great way to see the Iowa count side and out-of-the-way small family farms, driving up and down hilly gravel roads, tire wheels kicking up dust, flocks of birds suddenly flying in formation from a telephone line, lots of open land and then suddenly, a rare round barn or a tidy red barn or a ramshackle farmstead or the sun-dappled lawn of an old country church at a rural crossroads.
The Iowa we love.
Filed under Agritourism, Iowa
Wilson’s Orchard/Iowa Grown Market/Yotopia in Iowa City; bike trail and Heyn Ice Cream in North Liberty
Iowa Grown Market
Iowa Grown Market
I would not advise doing what we just did – riding the strenuous bike trail in North Liberty, near Iowa City – in 94 degree heat. But it was Sept. 23 and we were thinking “crisp fall day,” even after weather reports forecasting near-record heat.
The roadside trail had its pretty moments as we cycled south from Penn Meadows Park on Dubuque Street, past high dry corn and rolling, wooded properties near Coralville Lake. There wasn’t too much road traffic but when we turned right onto Oakdale Avenue, we were deep in new subdivision land – not my favorite scenery. We found much the same heading north on 12th Street back toward town. There were also some killer little roller coaster bits, all the more killer in the heat. So not sure we’ll be doing this trail again. My quest to find a great trail in the rural countryside near Iowa City continues….
Wilson’s Orchard
We did appreciate the cold AC and sorbet inside Heyn’s Ice Cream, locally-owned and made, inside a charming corner store with an old-fashioned counter, in North Liberty.
We also took a very pretty drive to get to North Liberty from Wilson’s Orchard (a pretty place just north of Iowa City off Highway One that was packed with sweaty families with sweaty kids trying to pick apples on a ridiculously hot fall day. Good cider, donuts and, of course, apples. on trees in orchards lining a deep valley with weeping willows). The drive included a section of RAGBRAI we rode a few years ago (very scenic but rolling, with lots of gentleman farms with white picket fences, perfect barns and big new houses that reminded me a bit of horse country outside Nashville).
Turning west off Highway One past a party barn, onto country road F8W/Newport Road, we stumbled upon a picture postcard perfect farm stand, Iowa Grown Market, (open June – October) where we could not resist buying some carrots, cherry tomatoes, a mottled pumpkin and a few other things we thought would survive sitting for hours in the heat in our car. (They did survive.)
Wilson’s Orchard (and sadly, the kids are looking at cellphones, not the view…)
In Iowa City, we had another very good lunch at the Bluebird Cafe (splitting the pulled pork sandwich, our favorite from last visit, and a good Greek salad) and stopped for frozen yogurt with “popping juice pearls” (kiwi/green; strawberry/red, passion fruit/yellow) at Yotopia (also locally-owned and made) before braving Kinnick Stadium to sit with thousands of other hot football fans (quite a few inebriated – this was a 6:30 p.m. game) watching the University of Iowa Hawkeyes lose (narrowly) to Penn State.
Filed under Agritourism, biking, Iowa City
Check out my story in Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s magazine: the Raccoon River Valley Trail
Here it is! Click here! (This is the photo taken by my friend Denise…that was used below. And yes, that’s me riding….)
Filed under bike trails, biking, Des Moines, Iowa
Latest London suspected terrorist bombing hits close to home: Parsons Green
On Hammersmith Bridge near Fulham, July 2017
Parsons Green was my tube station when I lived in London’s Fulham neighborhood in the 1980’s and remains a place I regularly visit old friends as I did again during my trip to London in July. The news of what appears to be a terrorist attack there jolted me this morning. Parsons Green is near a little park in a quiet southwest London neighborhood that has gentrified into a posh place since I lived there. It feels almost suburban although it’s not far from bustling urban areas. I’m trying to think of an equivalent neighborhood subway stop in Chicago or New York. Maybe Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood or Chicago’s Lincoln Park? Yet again, I’ve emailed my London pal Francine to make sure everyone’s okay and she responded: Yes. But what a world we live in….
Filed under London
For future reference: how to go glamping in Moab
I used to love to camp – but my bad back makes sleeping in a tent on the ground, even with a pad, out of the question. So glamping – which presumably mixes glamour and camping but most importantly, offers the promise of a firm bed inside a tent – seems like the way to go. Our friends Denise and David went glamping in Moab and report that: “It was just great! Love sleeping in a tent, AND in a bed ;)” Denise’s photo (above) of the tent at sunrise has me in heavy daydream mode…
For future reference, here’s the appropriately-named glamping outfit they went with: Under Canvas
More information on how to glamp (including in my beloved Ithaca) is here.
The NYTimes is also on it….
Filed under Adventure travel, Ithaca
Captain Roy’s – a new spot to stop while biking on the Neal Smith Trail in Des Moines
Good thing Dirck remembered that there is a new place to stop, as we were riding our bikes on the Neal Smith Trail near Birdland Marina on Des Moines’ East Side Sunday. We rode right past Captain Roy’s, without noticing it, but backtracked and found a pleasant little clearing with outdoor tables and a deck overlooking the Des Moines River, as well as a food truck serving burgers and chicken and waffles and a small building with a takeout window for beer and other drinks. We sat in the sunshine, watching the occasional boat go by on the Des Moines River, enjoying a late summer/early fall day.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Des Moines
Nice surprises in the giftshops at ABQ airport (frozen green chiles, Kei and Molly tea towels)
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a way to take home frozen green chiles in your carry on luggage from Albuquerque – if you remember to bring a cooler or cold pack to the airport. My sister-in-law who lives in town found several places to buy the chiles but we weren’t sure if I would be able to keep them frozen so they’d get through airport screening. Turns out they are sold in airport gift shops located past the security screening point – although they’re kind of pricey. A container costs only $5 but it’s the cooler carrier that gets you – it’s about $30, although if you buy 6 containers, it’s free. Next time, I’d consider bringing my own cooler carrier and buying a few tubs of the stuff – which is great for many dishes Mexican, New Mexican and not (meatloaf etc.)
The gift shop located before the security screening also had Kei & Molly tea towels made in Albuquerque but now sold all over. I had hoped to find the New Mexico-themed ones at the Saturday morning Farmers Market in ABQ (where I first found them) or at the Sunday morning Rail Yards Market in ABQ but didn’t so I was pleased to spot them unexpectedly at the gift shop.
Filed under New Mexico
Tesuque Village Pet Memorial Park and Chimayo Santuary – near Santa Fe
I finally made it to Chimayo Santuary, a small old church in a rural village in the mountains north of Santa Fe (about a half hour drive) and it was worth the trek. Lovely, quiet, peaceful place. I tried several times to find the remains of a colonial plaza in Chimayo but despite driving up and down and around a narrow rutted dirt road that supposedly went to the plaza, I never got there. I did pass by the restaurant in Chimayo that we ate at a few years ago, Rancho de Chimayo, and Ortega’s Weaving and Marketplace.
Earlier in the day, I ended up in Tesuque Village, picking up a cup of coffee at the funky cafe/market at the crossroads (the breakfasts looks great) and then wandering down the shady, narrow Bishops Lodge Road, dotted with the occasional impressive stucco homestead or ranch, sculpture foundry or gallery. I landed in surprising place, a little pet cemetery/memorial called All Creatures Memorial Park, a tranquil spot at the edge of the road (before the entrance to a private estate) with pretty tiled walls with honorable mentions of pets past.
Filed under New Mexico
Rail Yard Market, La Luz Trail and surprise encounters (Sam Donaldson and a rattler) — Albuquerque
As expected, The Rail Yard Market in downtown Albuquerque blew me away. Open seasonally, only on Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm, it’s a farmers market and crafts market inside a fantastic old Santa Fe Railroad building – an enormous brick, metal and glass structure with some busted windows to keep things authentic and almost seaglass-colored glass panes here and there — in various shades of green and yellow. 
I found some great gifts (Ecuadorian jewelry, southwestern tea towels, green chili seasonings) and killer sticky buns and chili cornbread muffins at Burque Bakery.
Perhaps the best part was the people watching, lots of alternative types – multi-colored dreadlocks, vintage clothes, lots of tattoos and pierces, a Great Dane wearing booties.
Today we drove northeast (I am directionally challenged in this city) to the Sandia foothills, where we went on a great hike on the La Luz Trail, once we found the trail head. Therein lies a tale. As we were driving in the foothills on a narrow winding road past a few large stucco homes, I spotted a silver haired man watering his lawn and asked if he knew where the trailhead was. He didn’t but he looked so familiar. I suddenly realized that he was a famous former TV reporter but couldn’t remember his name. In a few seconds as we were turning around in his drive, I blurted out. “Are you Sam Donaldson?” “Yes I am,” he responded. I mumbled something about appreciating his reporting and off we went. He covered the White House for years for ABC so I probably should have said I wished he was covering Trump.
Our other big encounter was with a rattlesnake, fortunately at the end of our hike. Another hiker spotted the rattler slithering across the trail and gave us a heads up that it was in the brush at the edge of the trail but did not appear to be coiled or in strike mode so we assessed the situation and quickly walked past the brush. The terrain reminded us a lot of our hikes in Tucson, with desert vegetation, orange and purple wild flowers and a glorious view of the mountains on our left and the valley spread out below, with downtown in the distance. One pleasant difference: the weather here is not as scalding hot as Tucson, 80s vs 100 plus weather.
One thing that has been irritating here is all the road construction, especially on Central Avenue. Driving is like an obstacle course at times with clogged streets, hard-to-discern rerouting, traffic jams. My relatives here are not happy about it and I can see why.
Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico
TakeBetsywithyou 