Fair to middlin'

The title of this post alludes to the Iowa State Fair, but also to the status of my existence. Cannot complain, I suppose.

Since returning from Ecuador I have had two fun adventures. First, my cousin Mike and his girlfriend Genevieve swung through Iowa en route from Minnesota to Wisconsin. Second, little Pete had overnight adventure #2 at Aunt Bess's. Yes, he slept in the drawer again. Yes, he enjoyed it.

A few details for those who haven't already heard them...

Mike and Gen's visit:

• Mike is from New Jersey (just about all my cousins are), but is not completely unaware of the promised land that is the midwest. He spent four years at Notre Dame and is now in Milwaukee, half-way through a two year master's program. His girlfriend Genevieve is from San Diego, but also spent four years at Notre Dame and is now in Delaware, half-way through the same master's program.
  
• Mike had been to the Iowa State Fair once before when his family made a pilgrimage to Iowa to visit us. Genevieve had never even been to Iowa before!
• We spent a good four to five hours at the fair, and due to my fairgrounds prowess we were able to make the most of that time, taking in all the obligatory stops without wasting time wandering aimlessly. My only regret is that we didn't go down the Big Slide. But I guess they had to save something for next time... :-)
• Crazy coincidence... While taking a short rest to listen to some music, Mike spotted a classmate of his brother's from Princeton! Talk about a small world.
• Here are two fun pics from the day:
  

• After the fair we swung by Smash in the East Village for some ironic/sarcastic/clever Iowa T-shirts. At Mike's request we stopped at The Principal to show Genevieve the Last Breath (funky permanent art installation in one of our lobbies). And we had dinner at Fong's Pizza downtown. If you've not yet experienced Fong's, let me set the stage for you. It's an old Chinese restaurant that has become a pizza place, but maintained the old decor. It's also got a tiki bar vibe and you can drink crazy drinks out of a monkey's head. And the whole time the music was set on a bluegrass station. You can imagine the crazy feel of the place. I love it, and the pizza is delicious.
• It was during this dinner that Genevieve exclaimed, "I love Iowa!" I can't remember what prompted that, but it was lovely to hear! And they both have said Fong's is an experience they won't soon forget.
  
• The next day I went to work but caught up with Mike and Gen for lunch at Palmer's Deli on Ingersoll. Palmer's has become a Des Moines institution. Great food - morning, noon and night. I invited my friend Matt to this lunch because Matt runs the Maynard Ferguson Web site, and my cousin is a trumpet player from way back, so they had recently become Facebook friends and had lots of things to discuss. For a while, Genevieve and I just chewed and smiled while they exchanged trumpet-oriented stories and connections.
• And then it was over, and Mike and Genevieve took off to visit the rest of my family in Grinnell and Davenport.
• It was a great visit! When I told my friend Scott where I had taken them, he said, "Wow, they got a tour of the cool, hip Des Moines!" Yes, that was my plan. Impress, impress, impress. It must have worked. At Smash my cousin bought a shirt that says: Des Moines! The greatest city in the world. :-) I hope he wears it with just a smidge of belief, even though I know it's a ridiculous shirt.

The following weekend, little Pete came to spend Friday night and most of Saturday with me. When my sister told him of this plan she said he got very excited and said, "It's my second time!" Yay, he likes me.

We had all kinds of fun building towers with the blocks from my grandparents' house, playing indoor horseshoes with a set I bought at my friend Francie's garage sale a few years ago, playing smashminton in the yard, playing cards and listening to music with Pete mishearing almost every single lyric. "Why does he keep saying 'iguana'?" "First of all, it's a she, Pete. Secondly, she's saying 'never gonna.'" "Oh." He also became fond of Green Day's cover of "I Fought the Law," prompting me to offer a long rambling explanation of what "fighting the law" means. Despite that, my sister said he still thinks it's "I Thought the Law." So much for imparting my wisdom.

Pete and I also ventured out to the Des Moines Farmer's Market, where we met up with my friend Kristie and ran into some family friends from Davenport. Pete rode the little train that's pulled by a tractor... and while it was no Big Slide, he seemed very pleased with the experience. We also enjoyed some caramel/pecan popcorn and Pete got a big chocolate chip cookie.

I'll wrap up with two funny Pete quotes:

• "What if we come home and everything is in slices?" Pete said this while we were finishing breakfast and preparing to go to the farmer's market. My sister thinks perhaps he misheard/misunderstood something. But I prefer to believe Pete to be a very existential thinker. He did add, "That wouldn't be very good for my toys..." :-)
• When Pete woke up Saturday morning, I was in my bathroom doing my hair or something. Not knowing where I was, Pete wandered downstairs. I heard a noise, so walked to the top of the stairs and said, "Pete, what are you doing?" He was walking away from the window where he had clearly been peeking out the blinds. "Oh, I was looking for you!" he said. "I thought you were out in the garden." Now if you know me, the idea of me having a garden is laughable. But the idea that Pete thinks of me as someone who wanders through her garden in the morning is divine. I will now aspire to be such a person, if only for Pete.

And there end the tales of my post-Ecuador adventures. I wonder what's next!? I can only hope it involves funny quotes, good people, delicious pizza, more Pete and no big pigs.