Despite the fact that Iowa is about 95% farmland, it manages to convey its own distinctive personality. The corn and pigs and farms are definitely a big part of it, but another part of it is that the residents seem to know their art—not something you would expect from a bunch of country bumpkins. Holly and I visited a couple of art museums here, both of which included works of Iowa native Grant Wood. His most popular work is American Gothic—that’s the one with the farm couple standing in front of their farmhouse, the man holds a pitchfork. We also ran across the coolest little salvage store in Des Moines that sells eclectic antique architectural signage. They had funky neon letters from an old restaurant, a massive illuminated clown head from a defunct circus and vintage sculptural McDonalds characters. I’m lovin’ it!

A trip to Cedar Rapids was needed in order to check out the Czechoslovakian community—that’s my heritage. The Czech and Slovak Museum provided a good place to start and when we weren’t sidestepping the overly clingy docent, we learned a good bit. If you’ve never seen a Czech hand-painted egg or hand-cut crystal vase, they had a nice selection to introduce you to the amazing craft. And if you’re wondering who’s Czechoslovakian among famous people, you can reference the museum’s file and see that Ansel Adams, Tom Selleck, Ray Kroc and Andy Warhol (formally “Warhola”) top the list. No self-respecting Czech neighborhood is without a bakery. Once we made our way past the Czech meat market, Czech winery, Czech tack shop, Czech pub and Czech restaurant, we arrived at the bakery and partook in a couple of kolache. These little delectables are to sweet rolls what Krispy Kremes are to Dolly Madison donuts. I suppose I’m partial, but the Bohemians really do make the best bakery items.