Caffeinated Happiness: Soul Sisters Take Iowa

I am lucky enough to have had three of the most wonderful friends over the past few years. Debbie, Caren, Pam and I use to work at the bank years ago and have grown very close as you may notice from the term "Soul Sisters". These girls have been there for me through some of my hardest days and have also celebrated my happiest moments right along side of me. Whenever we're together we're constantly laughing and I am truly blessed to have their friendship.

L to R: Me, Caren, Pam & Deb)

About two years ago Debbie moved back to her home state of Iowa. We were heart broken when we got the news that their house sold and there was no turning back, but we knew the age old saying is true-- "home is where the heart is". Debbie surprised us last year and came to my wedding but otherwise we hadn't had a chance to see or visit with each other in two years.

The Soul Sisters decided a "shin dig" was well over due and those of us back in Washington really wanted to see Debbie's new home. One quick note about Debbie-- she always has a yard that looks like one out of an HGTV magazine and her home always feels cozy. Dates were picked, plane tickets were bought and before we knew it we were on our way to the small town of Elkhorn Iowa.

We had no plans before we left. In fact I think I can speak for all of us when I say we would've been more than happy with just sitting in Debbie's living room drinking wine and catching up. Well we did that and SO MUCH more. In fact we actually got three states for the price of one. We landed in Nebraska, spent most of our time in Iowa, but also ventured down to Missouri! It was an absolute blast, I think we laughed non-stop for four days straight, and we got to see the beautiful Mid-West first hand.

From what I saw of Iowa, it is made up of miles and miles of rolling hills, corn fields, soy bean fields, dirt roads and windmills.

Debbie's home is a 114 year old farm house that is like something out of a movie. No really, take a look...

Her home is wedged in between soy bean and corn fields and besides the sounds of locusts in the trees above us, it is almost silent. There are miles upon miles of dirt roads and even more miles of corn fields but it was absolutely beautiful. We got in a little late on Thursday so we just enjoyed dinner together and then adventured out on a walk before it got too dark.

We also had the cutest walking partners-- ZZ and Addie followed us the whole way and made sure we made it back safely.

The next morning we had breakfast and were ready for our trip to Des Moines. After a couple of hours and a few pit stops later we were starving! Pam and I pulled out our handy Urban Spoon app and were surprised to find an Ecuadorian spot just a few minutes away with a 98% rating. So off we ventured to Mi Patria.

We started off lunch with a yummy Strawberry flavored Ecuadorian soda which paired well with Llapingachos (ya-ping-gachos) which are potato patties stuffed with cheese and topped with warm peanut sauce and beef Empanadas (turnover stuffed with meat). The Llapingachos were much different than anything I'd had before but they were yummy!

I ordered a Sandwich de Bistec that was Ecuadorian style steak served on the most delicious ciabatta bun with tomatoes, avocado, and lettuce. The meat was a little tough and seemed to be seasoned with a LOT of Cumin, but otherwise it was pretty good.

After our tummy's were full of Ecuadorian we made our way to Historic Valley Junction where we explored cute little shops, did some wine tasting with a store owner who use to live 10 minutes from my house (small world right?) and discovered a cute coffee spot where I got my first peanut butter mocha. Yep you read that right, peanut butter mocha. That's a real thing, and you should try it.

Interesting fact: Wine made in Iowa is much sweeter than wine made elsewhere...

Spending the afternoon "in town" made us all hungry and eager for our next adventure. We were finally going to meet the lifelong friends Debbie had told us about for years and have "the best nachos in Iowa" at a small town bar. And by small town, I mean total population 128. Not even kidding. On our way to the bar we ran into a little trouble. We were so busy chatting and laughing that we failed to notice this object in the road...

And instead ran it over and got it wedged underneath the car...

After laughing until we cried and switching drivers we finally got the mysterious object dislodged and happily continued our adventure to Marne. Oh and by the way, the Nachos were pretty good, and a Friday night Marne Bar (a.k.a Road House Bar/Grill) special!

We went home, tummy's full once again and shared laughs until we were all half asleep. A perfect first full day in Iowa!

Day two started early as we got up with the sun and headed out for a 3 hour drive to Jamesport Missouri, one of the largest Amish settlements in the state. We picked the perfect day and were able to catch their annual Heritage Days event!

After walking through town we decided to go on a self guided tour which included started with a stop at the Amish H&M Market where I happily discovered that the Amish have also hopped on the Pumpkin Spice bandwagon, or should I say buggy?

Next, we ventured over to Countryside Bakery, an Amish bakery where we got to try "Fried Pie". If you ever find yourself in an Amish bakery, don't leave without getting a fried hand pie.

Finally we ended our adventure with a buggy ride, homemade ice cream and shopping at an Amish furniture store where I found my new favorite cutting board. "Photo caption: you know you're married and getting older when a cutting board excites you"

Oh and I can't forget the lovely farewell we received on our way out...

Well played Amish folk, well played.

On our last day we visited the historic Hitchcock House which was built in 1856 by Reverend George Hitchcock and had a secret room in the basement that was used to hide runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad.

The house was occupied by the Hitchcock family for just over 9 year, then farmed for 100 years after that and then abandoned. In 1983 a group of local citizens created the Hitchcock House Restoration Committee to help restore the house to the original state. In 2006 the house was recognized as a national historical landmark and has continued to receive national recognition since induction. The house was an eerie place to be but so remarkable to be standing in the exact place where hundreds if not thousands of slaves stopped on their way north to freedom.

Quilts similar to this would be used as secret maps for slaves to figure out safe houses, churches and other locations to make their next stop.

The underground cellar where slaves would hide from headhunters.

Oh, and we couldn't have left Iowa without stopping in the Danish town of Elkhorn where one can find a real Danish Windmill, a tiny chapel and a viking cave.