Is any trip really great without a massive puking attack?

Ironically, after eating what was probably the healthiest, actual dinner of the road trip so far, I spent all of last night vomiting it and any bit of liquid I tried to keep down back out. It is as if the Gods of the Road are controling my fate and dictating that it is completely, simply not right to eat several whole fresh vegetables and fruits while on the road. And so, they struck back at me for my disregard of the rules. And now, I've gone an entire day without coffee to add to the insult.

However, that said, we did finally manage to find the Fargo Celebrity Walk of Fame. It is as entirely disappointing and sad as one would imagine. First off, despite the city boasting the Walk of Fame as one of it's important visitor attractions, they do not actually invest the time or effort involved in keeping the famed walk free of snow and ice. And so, we spent our time uncovering the famous names that we could, but never did find the most celebrated Man of the City's handprints. Indeed, we were fairly convinced that Jesse Ventura's block was buried under several inches of ice. So, we took our pictures next to the ice block that we imagined overlayed dear Jesse's handprint on the sidewalk. I will note however, that I was happy to discover Stevie Ray Vaughan's handprint on the walk, and had my picture taken next to that one, as an true fan of the man.

So, aside from another vomiting on the side of the highway episode, the trip from Fargo to Des Moines, Iowa was rather uneventful. We are staying here in Des Moines tonight with my Aunt Shirley, and tomorrow, we will trek over to Iowa City to visit my friend Mike Fallon and his family. Anyone who knows Mike Fallon is extremely jealous right now, I am sure.

I am thoroughly happy to be in Iowa. Iowa has a feeling of home to me, despite the fact that I've never lived here. And despite the fact that I would never settle down here (or so I think, but I've learned enough in my life of irony to never really hold to statements of never). And that feeling seems to grow as time goes by. I suppose it is the family connection, because both of my parents were born and raised in this state: my mom in Cedar Falls and my dad on the family farm in Waverly. I love looking at the fields of corn in the summers. I love the way a summer ligthning storm can decorate the expansive wide open sky here. And I love the feeling of contentment that comes from seeing family. Iowa is good!