Iowa - Our Liberties We Prize...

"I'm from Iowa, we don't know what cool is!" Ashton Kutcher

After a last minute change of training plans, I ended up spending last week in Iowa rather than Montgomery, Alabama. I had already mentally prepared myself for a week in the sweltering heat of the South - I just had to do a quick readjustment and ask myself "What the heck am I going to do for a week in Iowa?!" Then - I had the most amazing thing come to mind - Brenda lives in Iowa! Yes - it's a big state with miles and miles of cornfields but as fate would have it, my long lost basic training buddy lives 30 minutes from the lovely Fairfield Inn in Ankeny, Iowa!

My perception could be totally off but it is my viewpoint - therefore my truth of what I learned about Iowa in a week is this:

They have good, cheap food.
They have lots of corn.
They are really, really nice.
They are patient.
It's impossible to get lost.
And, they speed in parking lots.

We learned about the good, cheap food quickly. My traveling buddy was Molly and together we hit a few local eateries featured on Food Network to include the Highlife Lounge (thehighlifelounge.com) where for under $10 we had an entree size plate of homemade mac n' cheese that really hit the spot, the best fried chicken I've ever had and a drink. We loved Cactus Bob's BBQ Corral (www.cactusbobs.com) where I tried sauces like "Rattlesnake Venom" and "Blackbart's Desert Death" that I thought was going to burn a hole through my tongue. Our new friend, Gina (a local) and Molly were smart and stuck to the original sauce.

There were lots of cornfields. I took pictures, Molly took pictures, and then Molly broke out with a crazy rash from rubbing up on the corn. Who knew?

It really is impossible to get lost. I had printed out directions from the airport to my hotel but probably could have made it without them. I didn't use a GPS or my cell all week to get to from point A to point B. And aside from them speeding like crazy people in parking lots, the traffic is light. If you happen to be late for training one morning, do not try the line "Traffic was bad." This is not going to work in Iowa. So - perhaps next time - "I was helping farmer Joe slaughter a pig?"

And - they are really, really nice. I reunited with Brenda and ended up meeting her whole family who made me feel right at home. I guess I made them feel right at home, too, as "Aunt Mary" felt comfortable enough to ask if Brenda and I had any pictures of "when we were skinny". It was hysterical to me. Not so much for Brenda and the rest of the family who all echoed "I can't believe she said that!" It was funny.

And it's true. Brenda and I used to be really skinny. And tan. And in fabulous shape. We were tough little blondes. So - now we're not so skinny, definitely not tan, healthy but not buff, but much tougher than most probably know except for those closest to us.

I knew I was excited to see Brenda but I didn't expect to have my eyes fill up with tears and my heart overflow when I saw her sitting at that Olive Garden table Tuesday night.

We went through a lot together along with the other incredible girls I met in Alabama that summer. Slowly but surely we all changed and grew as individuals and friends that time and distance will never separate.

So - next time I'll make it a point to see Cari-Lynn (a Stafford native), try Jethro's BBQ and maybe even go try to find some of those covered bridges on the backroads.

"Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain."

Thanks for a lovely week, Iowa. I bloom where I am planted. Even in places where the heat index is 114 degrees.