From 1aaadf15d5fedc8d8f3b6cdbadf09ac8c8d5dbea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Blaise Thompson Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 16:03:40 -0500 Subject: refactor --- old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex | 72 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 72 insertions(+) create mode 100644 old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex (limited to 'old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex') diff --git a/old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex b/old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..41928e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ThompsonNancyNielsen.tex @@ -0,0 +1,72 @@ +\documentclass{book} + +\begin{document} + +2018 + +REPORT OF LACEY-KEOSAUQUA STATE PARK TRIP July 27 - 29 + +% for david's 60th birthday + +I found that some state park cabins were available at several places including Lacey-Keosauqua State +Park in Keosauqua. While the cabins usually only rent for a week’s time, one is able to rent them for a +weekend IF they are unoccupied at 8am on Tuesday of a particular week. We were able to rent cabin #2 +at Lacey-Keosauqua for Friday and Saturday nights. Susie and I had explored how to make the weekend +into a celebration of David’s 60th birthday. This was after Susie explored getting more of the +Thompsons together on the 28th. Unfortunately Susie determined that Mike and Lynne could not +participate due to health problems she was having. Mike also told her that about the only think Orv +likes to do is drive around in his truck. So it would have to be something for just the three of us. +This time the packing and preparation was a little more organized than the trip to the Red Oak Cabin. +David made a salad and I gathered home grown vegetables. +We left about 4:00 and were able to see RAGBRAI folks coming into town from Sigourney. We drove +down 218 and then switched over to Highway 1. Susie left from Davenport at about the same time. +We enjoyed the small towns and fields of corn and beans we passed by. We both arrived at the cabin at +about the same time. We unpacked and ate David’s salad made with rice noodles and various vegetable +toppings from our garden. Twinkie and Karaby had to get used to each other, but after about 3 hours +(when food was no longer being an issue) they spent quite a bit of time together rough housing. After +eating a marshmallow or two, we went to bed. While the cabins are very nice the beds are not too +good. They are futons. Putting them into the vertical position was hard and the futons themselves were +heavy and not very conforming. David slept in the truck. +Saturday morning we noticed that we shared the cabin with mice. We learned that we would have to +put food away better. David and Suzie fixed buckwheats and lamagoo. Subsequently we took a drive +around the park to get the big picture. At one point we stopped and took a short hike along the Des +Moines River. At the start point I noted that an Amish family was having a picnic breakfast. A car full of +men arrived later probably post farm chores. Along the hike we came to shelter #2 which has a lovely +view of the Des Moines River and was a classic CCC construction. We also drove into Keosauqua to +check that out. I wanted to look at the Manning Hotel which was built and owned by Brad Gilchrist’s +family for many years. Brad’s paternal grandmother was a Manning. It is located right along the Des +Moines River. On the outside there were marks on one of the pillars noting the height of the various +floods. The flood of 1943 was ~ 5 feet tall. We also looked at the inside which had old furniture and +wall paper. Brad’s father was born in this hotel- in the kitchen on a table. Brad’s father remembers +swimming in the lobby of the hotel in 1943 when the flood was so high that the lobby was flooded with +~5 feet of water. He would jump off the stairs to the second floor and swim in the water. The place is +now for sale. Hope it can be restored well. We thought we could have something to eat or drink so we +stopped at a place called Café Eat. David only wanted a malt and Susie only wanted a piece of pie but +basically we had lunch there. I had one of the best toasted cheese sandwiches I have ever had. It had +provolone cheese and a slice of tomato and red onions for filling. We again noted the presence of +Amish. Two buggies were seen- probably heading for a Misty Malt. David noted that the buggies were +equipped with cup holders for the front seat passengers. +Once back at the cabin, David and Susie went swimming, while I watched the dogs and took a nap. +Then we all went fishing in the lake within the park. It was Twinkie’s first time in a boat but she behaved +well. David caught and released several fish. Sometime on Saturday we played mancala. Susie and +David started and then I entered in. We have misplaced the gem stones which go with this game so we +used black beans which are a little too small. I hope to find the gem stones some day. For dinner we +had hamburgers. For dessert Susie fixed a pineapple upside down cake which was cooked in a skillet + +2 +over the fire. We all retired and were able to sleep in spite of the poor beds. It was a full moon but we +were too tired to take a good look at it. That night it rained heavily for a long time. +Sunday morning Susie fixed an omelet while I dressed and began packing. Subsequently Susie suggested +that we all take a stab at doing a 5 minute water color painting. Since Susie is taking an art class she had +the supplies and some basic directions. Naturally David’s painting was the best. It was a depiction of +the five of us in the boat fishing. Have a photo of it in the album. Unfortunately Susie got a water mark +on it in the process of taking it home with her. After cleaning the cabin we took a short hike on the way +out of the park. We also stopped in Keosauqua to see if the “open by chance” antique dealer was there. +He was not but we shared a little more Kringle and bid each other goodbye. David found the Racine Wi +Kringle at Aldi’s. It was very good. On our way home we stopped in Fairfield. A church service was +being held in park in the center of town. The service included preaching and a brass band playing +popular music from the 80s. Around noon we arrived back home and had time to nap, unpack and +regroup. An album of photos taken by Susie and myself is in Google photos. Some are labelled with +Blaise’s name but those are actually Susie’s. + +\end{document} -- cgit v1.2.3