I may be 'on the road' right now, but this weekend is all about hanging with a great friend. I have missed seeing and talking to Marie Mayer - who I have known pretty much forever - since she retired from the Mensa Foundation board. When I realized I would be going right through Ames, I reached out. Marie & Larry were gracious enough to invite me to stop and stay for a few days.
I arrived Thursday late afternoon. After bringing stuff in and then sitting down to talk for a while - which, given Marie and me, ended up being quite a while - we decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately, the place we tried to go had already closed their kitchen, so we pressed on to an alternative. Then a little bit of a tour around Ames and Iowa State to get a (pretty dark by then) flavor.
Those of you who know me well know that I am always up by about 5:30 or 6:00am. Not quite the same for the Mayers! But that was fine for me, because I could do other things: read, email, volunteer work, paid work!
Over Friday and Saturday, Marie and I talked and talked and talked. I went out walking a couple of times while Marie was still sleeping. We ended up coming up with what we thought was a brilliant idea for the Mensa Foundation (yes, she retired, but you don't think I would let her go entirely, do you!?!?) We toured around Ames some more, this time in the daylight, We went to the restaurant we had missed eating at on Thursday on Friday instead - and it was so good we went back there on Saturday!
I had to leave by early afternoon on Sunday, but we managed to fit in a visit to Reiman Gardens. Pretty amazing place, actually - in large part because of the butterfly wing. Over 800 butterflies, representing about 80 different species. If it wasn't for the temperature and humidity in there, I would happily have spent several hours.
There is also a conservatory ...
And there are multiple other outside gardens... (not all shown here)
A great way to end my visit to Marie and Ames. Maybe I will get back there sometime - there more to do and to see.
Now starts the trek up into Alberta, a little south of Edmonton. I still haven't exactly figured out the best route, but I know I am heading toward Montana to make the border crossing. I'll be back to report more!
Comments