Thursday was full of our Mexico friends (not to be confused with our Mexican friends). After getting our hearts full with the Hindys, we spent the night at the Schuller's. Six years ago we met John and his son Marcus in Mexico, and the next year he brought his wife Joan and his daughter Abby. We felt a super strong connection with these Iowa friends, and have stayed in contact over the years.
Even though we hadn't seen these friends for 5 years, after spending only an hour with Joan and John, it felt like we had seen each other every day. They made my mom and I feel right at home - putting us up in their beautiful home on the river in Steamboat Rock.
Our first night after catching up over wine, John took me on a night adventure tour. It was pouring down rain, and when we were walking over a railroad bridge, a raccoon started prowling towards us. I was ready to run, or jump in the river or something, but luckily John scared it away.
The next day, John and Joan took us on a tour of their adorable town - right on the Iowa River. John and I floated the river on tubes while my mom and John worked on some decorations for their daughter's upcoming wedding. The river was really fun, super cold, but absolutely beautiful. Being in the land of corn, we got our corn diplomas while with the Schullers. We saw the anatomy of a corn stalk, learned about seeds and tassels, and got the political and economical low down of the fields and farmers.
In the evening, Marcus came home from Cedar Rapids. We had a great dinner, made s'mores at the fire, and star gazed in the parking lot - the stars in the open sky of Iowa were breathtaking! We saw some shooting stars and made lots of wishes.
On Saturday, my mom and I had to say good-bye. It was so hard to leave! They took such good care of us, and fed us such delicious bacon! Bacon is my favorite food, and having farm fresh bacon was definitely a high light in Steamboat for me.
Thank you John and Joan for all your hospitality, for feeding our bellies, for being excellent tour guides, and for all the friendship and love. Ya'll are pretty special people and we already can't wait to come back to Iowa.
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