|
After our Day with Wayne yesterday, we decided to check out his hometown's Fall
Fest. Keep in mind, this is a town with a population of about 1,600
(in 2000 anyway); it's no Emblem, WY (population 10). In Des Moines, for
comparison, there are over 500,000.
Dallas Center, IA (8/25) |
Small town Fest has big town fun! |
|
And away we go with the Dallas Center Fall Fest parade, which lined the
streets with people waiting to see these young bikers burning up the lanes! |
Clowning around at the Fest |
|
 |
It sure is! |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
The parade continues... |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
...and continues... |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
So true |
 |
|
Everyone enjoys the parade, even this cutey petutie - or is it a cutey
petutu?! |
 |
|
Part of the charm of this small town parade is the tradition of the parade
members, in this case Wayne's daughter, Susan, and his grandson, throwing
candy at the hungry onlookers |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
These folks aren't moving their
seats to get a better view of the parade - they ARE the parade! The
final "act" of the parade was this chair-wielding and chair-twisting crew. |
|
 |
|
Mr. Wayne's claim to fame, bottom
right of this plaque... |
 |
|
My sparring partner prior to the
start of the Dallas Center Fall Fest Chess Tournament. That smug look
on Jonathan's face would ultimately be the death of his chess trophy-toting
dreams. |
The first game, won. |
|
For those chess fans out there,
notice the pieces on the board. Doesn't look good for the big guy!
Second round, lost! |
Oh well. Maybe next year! |
|
 |
Jonathan and Ed |
|
Josh, sporting the state
rivalries, Iowa and Iowa State |
Wayne getting ready to kick off his shoes for the Long Distance Shoe Kicking
Contest. |
|
Wayne helps his grandson prepare
for the ever-competitive potato sack race |
|
 |
 |
|
And as quickly as the race
started, it's over, but not without a valiant effort |
 |
|
The dodge-ball competition |
The ever-popular tractor pull |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
A local Christian rock band |
|
Candy-striped tap dancers |
|
After a long day of fun, Josh
calls it a day |
|
The next morning, we're off to
the Lutheran Church of Hope for the 11am morning service. (8/26) |
Despite appearing quite awake as
we were leaving for services (as evidenced by the previous picture), Josh
appears less-than-awake about 10 minutes prior to the church service (as
evidenced by this picture!) |
|
After services, we make a quick
stop for some sweet corn |
Aw, shucks! |
|
Sweet corn, or more specifically
in this case, "peaches and cream" corn (with the mixed yellow and white
kernels) |
After lunch, we went to the pool,
where Josh entertained and amused us with his diving and jumping form (as
evidenced in the next few pictures) |
|
 |
 |
|
The Diving Board Strut |
 |
|
This one reminds me a little of
Elena's "hotdog" off the pier in our Napa campsite at Lake Berryessa (back
in Week 15) |
|
After the pool,
we drove to our Mission Navajo reunion at Steve and Suzanne's house for a
BBQ. This is not Steve and Suzanne's house, but rather a
space-ship-looking house on the way to Steve and Suzanne's house.
(Looks like a big mushroom to me!) Very interesting indeed! |
The world-renowned Des Moines
Flying Cat |
|
Unfortunately, no pictures were
taken at the Mission Navajo reunion, though we had a great time seeing
everyone again. Fortunately, we did take pictures of Josh doing some
manual labor, something he loves doing in his down time |
Josh was very thorough, as you
can see how clearly his image appears through the glass |
|
Our gracious hosts: Ed, Josh,
Mary, Lindsay, and Jess |
This is how nice the Nichols
family is: It was late in the evening when I realized that we had no
family pictures of the Nichols. Since we were leaving tomorrow, and
the kids were leaving for school early in the morning, they all obliged us
for a quick family shoot |
|
Josh preferred to lay down on the
job... |
...and then enjoys a soothing and
calm... TICKLE FEST!!! |
