Dubuque, Des Moines & In-between

Each year, the Voices Gallery in Dubuque, Iowa holds a month-long art exhibit and cultural event in the historic Millwork District.

On Saturday night, I attended a reading by Michael Perry, who wrote (among other things) a book called Truck: A Love Story (P.S.) that was HILARIOUS (for the most part).

New York City?  No, Dubuque.

The next day, I had to drive to Des Moines, for a press conference with the governor (yes, that sounds weird to me too).

I decided to take the scenic route.  

Literally.

The Grant Wood Scenic Byway takes me about halfway to Des Moines from the town where I live.

scenic

The Antioch School Grant Wood attended from 1897 - 1901

At the end of the byway, I took the "2-lane" (as opposed to the "4-lane") to Mt. Vernon, a small town between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City (two other small towns).

Recently, a conversation broke out on Facebook about how cute Mt. Vernon is (it is!) and how cool the coffee shop Fuel is (it is!!).

I had to check it out for myself (such is the power of social media!), and since I was driving in that direction anyway...

I've never heard of a chanchito, but these were super cute!  They're supposed to bring good luck so I probably should've gotten one but I didn't.

Not-so-bright, but super-early the next morning...

View of the sunrise over the Iowa State Capitol from my hotel room

Hopefully the only time I'm INSIDE the Iowa Supreme Court