Chrysa and I have now lived in 6 different states. We get to share our amazing adventures with each other and it has been one hell of a ride. But if you are keeping track, there is one person who has visited us 3 different times over the last couple years. Ladies and gents, making her 4th trip to see her son and daughter-in-law as they wander the country, I give you Mary, our honorary travel companion.
Chrysa and I were both surprised to find out that my mom’s favorite location to visit us was Lafayette, Indiana. She loved that we were in a college town that had a distinct Midwestern feel. When we found out that she was coming to Mason City, we wanted to make sure she felt the Midwest vibe, while racking up some new experiences. I think we did pretty well, but I’ll let you bee the judge, here are the highlights.
You want the Midwestern feel, complete with hidden gem historic places? We got you covered. We started the visit by giving the obligatory tour of the town. The weather was fantastic, so we took a nice walk through East Park, and also checked out some of the fabulous houses and architecture. Mom really liked the tour and exclaimed how cute and cool Mason City was. She got the whole rundown on the area and we quickly decided that we would also have to give a tour of Clear Lake the following day.
Visiting Clear Lake lead to the highlight of the visit. Chrysa noticed that there was a concert going on that night at the Surf Ballroom. The lineup was not to be missed, so we stopped into the Surf, bought our tickets for the concert, made our plans for the evening, and checked out the museum.
After a delicious steak dinner at a swank restaurant, we headed back over to the Surf for the show. Let me tell you… it didn’t disappoint. All the old timers still knew how to rock and really had the crowd in the palm of their hands. All the baby boomers (including my mom) in the audience knew every song and were having a great time singing along. Happily, Chrysa and I knew most of them as well, and were able to song along too.
Midwestern charm and throwback concerts are great, but we also wanted to show mom something a little different. After all, it’s good to challenge the status quo once in a while. We decided to do this by taking mom to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I was a little nervous when we suggested this outing. It did require a couple hours in the car, and strangers dressed in fictional historic costume aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but mom said yes immediately. What can I say? She’s a trooper.
If you are a rookie Renaissance Festival goer, this is the one you should attend. It was huge, and a very eye opening experience for my mom. Should couldn’t believe that many people would be interested in going. However, she said that she was having a great time and understood the appeal. We had an absolutely fantastic time taking her to the joust, showing her the different acts, eating food on a stick, and explaining what the different costumes were (side note-she thinks steam punk is called stein mart. A- for effort). I think the festival ended up being very enjoyable for mom. I’m not sure she is gonna go to Minnesota yearly to attend, but I won’t be surprised to get a text saying she’s going to a smaller local one.
All too quickly the visit came to an end. My mom has now visited us in 4 of our six locations. The visit with my mom got me thinking while I was writing this post. What’s the best part of traveling the country for a living? Is it meeting interesting people and celebrating our cultural differences? Is it seeing the great diversity in geography that our country has to offer? Is it just having the freedom of the open road ahead of you? All of those things are great, but one thing trumps them all. The ability to share your journey with someone else. So… cheers to you mom, we are thrilled to share our adventures with you. We can’t wait for visit number 5.
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