Roadtrippin' to NW Iowa

I'm so mad! I forgot to take a picture with Mary Faber! I thought of it at odd times - when she was driving and when we were eating. Idiot. She looks great for all of you Crestonians out in Blogland.

I went on a trip to NW Iowa with 3 co-workers Tuesday to Wednesday. They are fun peeps to travel with.

• Jeff - is a newlywed (and he's in his late 50's...even older than I am). His husband Nick is a sweetheart who was home trying to get an antique store ready for a big sale this weekend.
• Scott - is someone I travel with quite frequently. He's 35 and is fairly serious and has a sense of humor so dry it needs its own humidifier. Wicked! He's married and his wife is gorgeous.
• Becky is our mommy. Mother of 3 youngsters, I love hearing the stories about the fam as they take me back 20 years. She left her husband home with kids: ages 9, 4 and 8 months! Good for the guy.

Who knew there were this many trees in NW Iowa???

We did a couple site visits on our way to our ultimate destination, Spencer. First we went to a sawmill in Armstrong, Iowa.

sawmill
 

Next we stopped at New Horizons - a sheltered workshop in Emmetsburg. The recently received grant funding to refurbish the belt for their cardboard recycling system. They also operate the can and bottle redemption center - which is tough because those places haven't gotten a raise since the deposit was put into place in 1978.

all have to be sorted by distributor



This Bud's for you - cans awaiting collection by the Bud man
 

I was pleased to hear about the inroads they've made with the casino in the area - they are good recyclers and want to tackle food waste next. I'm betting on them!

We headed to Spencer in the rain after that stop, and Mary came over after that. The McCann children - Jake (Phoenix), Will (Chicago) and Megan (Waterloo) are all doing great. Mary took the DNR gang out to eat at a barbecue place in Spencer as our hope to head to Okoboji were dashed by the rain. I'm a witch and didn't wish to melt, you see...

On Wednesday we met with the folks from the Northern Plains solid waste planning area. They are making progress on their Environmental Management System- yay!

Becky, Jeff and Scott look on as staffer demanufacture electronics

On the way home we all got a bit sleepy and slap happy. We needed to drive 3 more hours...so we played car games. First: car alphabet - name something that starts with an A, but you have to see it. We were lucky when we got to X and were near Webster City. They have Xavier Ave.

Next we played a memory game. I didn't win - but was handicapped by driving. That takes some of one's mental capacity. Right? "I'm going to the zoo and I'm taking" Applesauce, Scott said. Then I had to repeat that and say my "B" thing and Scott's Applesauce - until we go all the way through the alphabet. Doing the alphabet backwards was the hardest part. And remembering - especially when Scott thought of dumb long things for his turn. Jeff was very helpful acting out clues when it was my turn to remember everything. #I'macheater

I got home last night at about 6 p.m. I'm still tired. Next week - 2 day trips and then my sissies (Cindy and Betsy) are coming. Can't wait!