Iowa’s For Swimming

If Vermont is for Lovers, Ella is convinced that Iowa is for Swimming. Listen up Chamber of Commerce/Iowa Tourism Bureau, she might be on to something.

Last weekend, we took a family road trip in search of warmer weather and no snow. We did achieve the no snow part in the lovely vacation destination of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We basically wanted a place that was within driving distance, had a nice Hilton hotel where we could use a couple of Loran’s reward nights, in a place we’ve never been…and they had to have a pool.

Turns out, Cedar Rapids, about 300 miles (five hours) was possibly a little too far for our girls. They were very restless the last hour of the trip. I can’t blame them, there wasn’t much to see. Once we got into town and there were shops and other cars, Ella was very content to give us an audio tour of everything she was seeing. Apparently four hours of never-ending farm field wasn’t exciting enough for her. And, even though we were far from home, we walked out to the car the next morning and who should be parked next to us? A van with Minnesota plates and a White Bear Lake decal on their car…of course.

The girls loved running down the long corridor between our room and the elevator.

The trip was monumental in our potty training trials. Ella stayed dry the entire trip, except one of two overnights. She became fascinated with public restrooms and wasn’t afraid of these non-familiar potties. It seemed the sketchier the restroom was, the more she enjoyed the adventure. We toured McDonald’s, a small cafe in Owatonna, a Target, a pizza restaurant and the hotel potties. Typically, I wouldn’t judge the level of vacation enjoyment on the number of bathroom trips taken, however, in this case, we were quite happy to hear the words, “sit on potty seat” as this was also the first time she’s ever really asked to go, and then performed. Hooray for vacation!

Our hotel had a nice, albeit, cold pool. Ella was obsessed with swimming. Our first night, we didn’t make it to the pool, but promised her we’d go swimming Saturday. And, Ella was sure to hold us to that promise. In fact, we heard the words, “promise swimming” over and over again. She was all decked out in water wings and ready to swim. Lily wasn’t so sure about swimming, as it is like bath, and she doesn’t like bath. We did all make our way over to the hot tub, “hot pool” and spent some time warming up.

The biggest reason we chose Cedar Rapids was the Maple Syrup Festival being held at one of their local nature centers. If there is one thing our girls love, it’s pancakes. So, why not drive five hours for some pancakes and fresh syrup? Truth be told, the festival was great! Big snowflakes were falling as we loaded our plates with pancakes and sausage. There were folk musicians which the girls adored. So we sat eating pancakes drizzled in delicious syrup, listening to fun music while Ella and Lily devoured their food while bobbing to the music. Totally worth it! We loved it!

We explored Cedar Rapids and the surrounding area. They were hit by a major flood in ‘08 and the damage was still very evident. We stopped at a popcorn shop and bought a bag of deliciously tender flavored popcorn. We stopped at a Czech bakery for treats. Had Detroit style pizza that was delicious. Visited several Hy-Vee grocery stores. Wrestled and played. We even enjoyed a family movie night in our hotel room.

       

We were fortunate to have a suite (which was probably the same size and Loran and my first apartment when we were newlyweds) with a kitchen and separate bedroom. Lots of room to spread out and play. Ella found the drapes to be great for playing “where’s Ella?”

 

 

 

Even though it wasn’t a warm weather destination and the drive was about one hour too long for the smaller contingent, Cedar Rapids was a great stay. We had a fabulous, family filled weekend. And best of all, Loran realized how much work these two little “angels” are and understands why I’m completely psycho on the nights he doesn’t get home until after 7pm…

And really, who doesn’t love the belly laughs that break out when you say, Hiiiiiiii-Veeeeeee!!!!