Iowa, Anne Frank, and Herbert Hoover

It was time for me to leave Aaron and the pups to fly to Iowa and visit my mom, my brother and his family, and take my dad to his doctor appointment. Aaron, Murphy, and Lola dropped me off at the Shreveport, LA airport, and I began my day of flights. Shreveport to Houston, then to Chicago, then, finally, the Moline, IL airport where Chris (my brother) and Brenda (his wife) picked me up and drove me an hour and a half to Iowa for a week of family.

Mom and I spent most of the week checking out museums. Who knew that Anne Franke had a connection to a small town in Iowa, Danville? Before the Nazis invaded Amsterdam she and her sister started became pen pals with two sisters in Danville. They only exchanged letters once, then the Nazis invaded and the Franks had to go into hiding. The museum displayed copies of the letters and a timeline of what was happening in Europe, the US, and in Danville. It was a thoughtfully put together museum with some intriguing information.

Mom and I learned a bit more about our family’s history as well. She had a very old suitcase full of documents that belonged to her grandfather. It had all kinds of tax documents, receipts, ledgers and letters pertaining to the farm that was in our family for over 200 years. We also found out that he was most likely an Odd Fellow. The Order of the Odd Fellows is a fraternal order similar to the Masons. It was an interesting look into what life was like for a farmer and his family in the 1930’s.

About an hour or so from Burlington, IA (where I was staying) is the Presidential Library of Herbert Hoover. He will always be remembered as the President of the Great Depression and for the Hoover Dam. I had no idea that he was born in Iowa.

He was born in this tiny two room house, orphaned, moved to Oregon to be raised by relatives, became a world renown mining engineer and international humanitarian before becoming the 31st US President. He and his wife were also Quakers. He traveled the world, including Australia and China in his mining career before he ever got involved in politics.

Another afternoon, Mom and I checked out the local museum in Burlington. The city sits on the Mississippi River and has a rich history with steamboats and the railroad. It also had a nice display about the Native American tribes that used to live in the area.

While I was immersed in history, Aaron and the pups were hanging out in Ville Platte, LA. Aaron got to play with his drone, the dogs chased balls, and they had some nice walks in the woods.

For my last night in Iowa, Mom, Chris, Brenda, my nephew Will, and I grilled some steaks and had a great dinner together. The next morning, it was time to fly back to Aaron and the pups and continue our adventure. I will be back in Iowa in about three months. I wonder what adventure awaits when I go back. But, until then, Aaron and the pups and I will be having more adventures in Mississippi, and wherever the road and mood takes us.