My Weekend in Iowa

by Frank on September 23, 2008

Here’s the subtitle: “I got wedged in Row 23A on the flight to Chicago, seat 22A rammed his seat back into me, I dripped water on his head, drove 5 hours to Iowa, stayed at a hotel that had a bird cleaning station, went to a wonderful wedding that had 450 people, ate Maid Rites, drove back to Chicago, was way too early, waited at Gate B5 for standby, missed the standby list by 1 seat, flew back in upgraded seats, got home at 11:30pm Sunday night, and started my work week at 5:30 AM on Monday.”

Getting 22A’d is the Worst When You’re Wedged in 23A

That’s an Iowa Specialty: A Maid Rite

Yep, We Had a Bird Cleaning Station at Our Hotel

Megan Looked Beautiful — and 450 Wedding Goers Told Her That

{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

Pax Romano September 23, 2008 at 4:50 pm

On the flight back from LA, I had one of them in front of me. I could not take it, so I just kicked his seat until he moved foreward … and than I thanked him.

OH, that sandwich looks gooooodddd!

And why do they need rooms to clean their birds?

At least the wedding looked like it was fun.

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Marvin September 23, 2008 at 6:03 pm

Sounds like a fun-filled, action-packed, cliché-of-your-choice weekend. Little did you know you could have brought your dirty birds along.

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lruettimann September 23, 2008 at 7:11 pm

450 people? Was that the whole town?

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Frank September 23, 2008 at 7:54 pm

It was Oskaloosa, Iowa, which has 11,000 people, so it was a big chunk. They did a fabulous job….had HUGE tents in their yard, built a gazebo on their lake. It was really something.

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lruettimann September 23, 2008 at 7:56 pm

I want to renew my vows at Maid Rite.

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Frank September 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Marvin, it was a Coen Brothers movie waiting to happen…and it was fabulous. And the birds…I could have…LOL. Check out this link and see how they advertise it: http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-oskaloosa-iowa-...

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Frank September 23, 2008 at 8:00 pm

Pax, like you, my friend, I have a touch of claustrophobia. And that guy had me jammed…so I dipped my index finger in my water glass, then dangled it over his head until the drop hit the top of his head. Then I pulled an Alfred E Newman….”Who, me?”

That Maid Rite is pretty fab. I love local specialties wherever I go.

Dirty, dirty birds, as Marvin said. Truth is, they hunt pheasant and grouse around there…they mean GUTTING STATION.

The wedding was wonderful. 450 people outside on an exquisite day.

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Frank September 23, 2008 at 8:17 pm

Laurie, you are too funny…and I could just imagine that you would tell Mr. PunkRock HR that…lol.

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Marvin September 24, 2008 at 6:14 am

Oh, that kind of bird cleaning — and here I thought you'd visited a locale with abundant oil spills. Doh!

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Frank September 24, 2008 at 6:42 am

Marvin, the only oil they have out in that part of Iowa is corn oil (and ethanol). LOL…yeah, those pheasants love corn fields…I understand the hunting is pretty great there.

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Peter September 25, 2008 at 3:05 pm

I grew up eating Maid Rites – - – back in the 70s in Ames…

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Frank September 25, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Hi Peter…you know 'em well, then. We were in Oksy…and it's great to have the local specialty.

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Pinky Bear September 27, 2008 at 11:58 am

We don't need no dirty birds. What is that sandwhich? Is that pork?

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Frank September 27, 2008 at 1:32 pm

LOL…no dirty birds, there.

The sandwich…it's just crumbled hamburger, minus the hamburger. Interesting, I'll say that.

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Merci September 27, 2008 at 9:22 pm

I'll be heading out to IA soon. We're driving out. Yay. 19 or so hours on the PA Turnpike and I-80. With a dog. Double yay.

I'll have to look up a Maid-Rite while I'm there. Ever have those S-shaped cookies? I think they're Dutch in origin. I forget what they're called. Letters, maybe? Dutch letters?

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Frank September 28, 2008 at 8:09 am

Merci, that's a lot of driving. Wow…we've done that one before…not a lot to see, but pretty cool once you're there.

You'll have to try out the Maid Rites…can't miss 'em. Yep, you have that exactly right, those cookies are called Dutch letters. Love 'em.

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