Nothin Runs Like a Deere

I recently returned from a long overdue visit to The Heartland. It was my 15 year HS reunion, the town's annual Sturgis Falls Celebration, and a chance to see neglected family and friends. Oh, and an opportunity eat lots of brats and salted nut rolls. Yum-o.

Started out in Clear Lake, Wisconsin. It's a village (for real) so you have to venture out a bit for things like Subway and deer sausage, as seen below.

I love this picture. Yep, that's a dead end, allright.

Me in said lake. Obviously, I didn't pay attention to the sign, and look what happened to me. I had to cool my feet off, the bottoms of my shoes were melting from the pavement. Also for real.

I love the town water-tower and bakery. How cute and retro is that sign? I want one in my house.


Ah...another childhood favorite. The lion drinking fountain where you have to stick your head in the mouth of the lion to get the water. We loved this thing, and always made out Aunt Heidi stop for a sip.

Why, yes, I *do* think it's root beer float time. In fact, I think everyday deserves this special kind of break. Nummy-nummy.

Snuggled with Dobbie's cousin, Clooney. She crawled into bed with me to snug.

This is our family's traditional eating place--Bona Casa. It's been in business since the 40's, and it's this tiny little roadside restaurant with the greatest Italian food in the world. I swear by it! They even sell jars of the sauce to take home. I wish I had some right now.



But how can a Celiac/wheat free gal eat Italian? Like this, suckas. BYOP.

Mix with sauce, top with cheese, pair with sausage (not deer) and viola!

And we always have their traditional spumoni for dessert--sans cookie for me

K-so I saw this Bush-Cheney hat in my Aunt's closet, and then saw the Civil War rifle on the wall--my Uncle is a well-known Civil War era buff/collector/cannon shooter. And I knew I had to take some pictures with the two of them, since I shall never find either object in California.


Totally off the subject, but I ate like 8 of these salted nut rolls. I am paying for it now.

One of the best things about The Heartland is their fabulous antique stores. As I a kid, I hated being dragged to these places, but Lance and I both have an appreciation for old things as adults. I especially like retro finds. Look at this cute tin I bought!

And this cool wooden Kraft box to match my vintage drinks crates. I can use this for silverware, and the other large crates for glasses and plates.

I also picked up these cool old cement bags for $4 each--I am going to make a vintage runner for my table outside.

Oh, Menards. I grew up on Menards (it's like Osh) and never thought the name was funny. When Lance visited he was all "Me Nards??? There's a store called "Me Nards??" As a family of girls, I apparently missed this. Judge for yourself, peeps!

Oh, I long for the days when I almost blew off my hand, ear, face, or arm in the name of 4th of July fun. So glad to see that the large fireworks stores are keeping the magic alive for kids these days!

Haha..I had to take a picture of this. It's the "healthy" menu. Do you see anything that doesn't belong? In their defense, it *is* a vegetable. Not in their defense, so are potatoes.

Ran into the world's largest rotating root beer. Um, I want this too. I have a fascination for all things gigantic and miniature:

This is a real drive-in, home to rotating root beer mug. They homebrew all of their own rootbeer, and it's sinfully delicious. They also have real car hops that bring your food out to you on a tray that clips onto the side of your car. I was in heaven.

My sister Eriika and I did a riverboat cruise. I also love gimmicky and old-fashioned things, so I was all over this business.





Stopped by the land of the gigantic rootbeer for a frosty float post-ride. It was as delicious as I had dreamed it would be. On the way home, Eriika and I heard on the radio that Michael Jackson had died. We just looked at each other and didn't say anything. Thriller was the first record we ever bought, and spent hours in the driveway roller-skating to it while the neighborhood boys played tennis rackets like guitars. He was such a huge part of our childhood--I hope he has found the peace that long eluded him in life.

On to Iowa! I took pictures as we cruised down the two-lane backroads on the way to my homestate! I always forgot how spacious, green, beautiful, and sprawling Iowa is. It was so relaxing, and the air was so fresh. I wish I could bottle it up and bring it home with me, just like the tasty sauce at Bona Casa!

A few sights you won't see every day 'round these parts. Let's start with tractor dealerships.

Hy-Vee grocery stores

Dollar General

Fareway--love the vintage sign!

2 pump stations--I wish I had a picture, but a guy pulled up to a gas station on his John Deere. It was awesome.

Ziploc bags of fresh green beans from local farmers on store shelves--yum:

The largest selection of bratwurst outside of Germany--it's very Bubba Gump. We have pineapple brats, cajun brats, mild brats, hot brats, beer brats, cilantro brats...you get the idea.

RC Cola...

....and his friend Mellow Yellow!

More fields, great weather--minus the humidity-my hair was a bit of a hot mess, nothing I could do but embrace the volume. Which is ironically how most HS classmates remember me, anyway.



Mmm...turley legs. Did I mention there's a Jenny-O turkey farm nearby? These babies were cooking on the grill at Sturgis Falls. The entire town--no really--comes out for 3 days to party, dance, socialize, eat, ride on rides, and just enjoy the town. It's small-town Heatland fun at its finest.

Rode on a whiplash-inducing ride with my cousin Ashley

This is a shot of the Cedar River, lit up by the tents and food vendors at night.

We got to do a school tour, and see the many improvements. They added a new wing to our school, and it's so rad it even has air-conditioning. How nice for the current students to enjoy.

It was a multi-reunion weekend. Lots of CF alumni coming back to party! We had to watch out for those class of 64-ers. They were crazy.

Here are some pics of Cedar Falls High School. It looks very similar, but also has some cool improvements. Like these awesome bleachers that spell out Tigers. Ah, yeah.

This was my history classroom with Mrs. Engle

That's my locker on the left. I shared it with Amy Restad, one of my besties. We still call each other Beavis after "Beavis and Butthead," which we used to watch daily afterschool while eating raw cookie dough and talking about boys. We also shared this locker, which was a no-no. We were certainly rebels!

The cafeteria--I was sentenced to a semester here for tardiness, and had to give up the life of friends and McD's at noon. It was torturous, and I learned my lesson. Until college.

On to the pig roast/outdoor party/keg. You read that correctly. I took a picture of the keg, and no one thought it was funny. I just haven't seen one since grad night (hi mom!!) and I thought it was funny. It was also empty by the night's end.

Tasty piggie

Hanging with the ladies, talking about NKOTB, who we married, who we went to prom with, why we hated Geometry, etc. After dinner, we went down to the river and re-grouped, staying out unutil 2 am catching up and eating brats. It was really funny.

And that's that--my visit to The Heartland in pictures. So much of who I am is the result of this place and these people. I may be a California girl through and through now, but deep down I am just a corn-pickin gal who wants to laze down the Cedar River on an innertube. Looking forward to the 20th!