A lost Generation

This sign hung at my grandparent's home for as long as I can remember.  My grandpa was a train man through and through.  He traveled all over the U.S. chasing trains.  He was my last grandparent...I'm a little sad that that generation is now gone.  Who will now tell the stories of not having a car?  Or what it was like before cell phone?  Surely not my generation. 

I'm so glad little Aiko got to meet her grandpa before he died.  He was a feisty man.  Tough on the outside but very sweet on the inside.  He was also a VERY clean man, the water at his house would burn your fingers off, but that's the way he liked it.  Killed the germs he says. 

We laid him to rest next to grandma and uncle Dennis. 

Grandpa was a veteran.  He would tell you all sorts of stories from the Navy.  He traveled all over the world on a boat.  

My whole family was able to go.  We were able to meet and hang out with some of our cousins we hadn't seen in years.   Even though it was a sad occasion, all the siblings were able to come and pay their respects. 

Until we meet again Grandpa. 

On our way to Iowa

We've taken this drive quite a few times.  It's always long.  One forgets how long a drive it really is.  Sixteen hours from our house. We usually blast through all 16 hours in one shot, but this time, we took it a little slower (because babies make you do that.) and stopped at all the places we wanted. Let's face it, there really aren't THAT many places to stop anyway.

We stopped to see Abraham Lincoln. I feel this monument is noteworthy.

I mean, it's a really, really big head.

She's always stopping to smell the flowers.

The moon that night was AMAZING.  (I think it was the super moon or something?)  I was driving and suddenly realized that the giant rusty orb in the sky was the moon.  We were in the middle of somewhere and there weren't any mountains blocking the view.  We pulled over promptly to try and take a photo of it.  Sadly, this is the best photo we could it. 

Hannah, my mom, two babies and I decided to stop in this city.  I can't remember what it was, but they had a vegetarian restaurant.  Hannah said she didn't care where we went...so guess who chose the place?

It'll probably be the last time she'll let me choose.  The food was pretty good.

My little butternut head. 

Family Time in Iowa

My Grandpa saved a bunch of slides.  Look how handsome they are!

My dad when he graduated high school...he was SO little!

Sweet Grandpa.

Hannah has been doing genealogy work.  One of the lines goes clear back to Adam and Eve!  Grandpa was just baffled.  We are descendants of Kings of Prussia, England and all sorts of Europeans!

My dad's favorite cake!  German Chocolate!

It's always fun going to Iowa, it's amazing how different it is.  We have conversations about trains (grandpa loves trains, he even owned a shop).  We talk about trucking, big machinery and Harley Davidson.  Oh, and about corn and soy beans.  It's amazing how the midwest is so different from our dry desert.

This family is all about the rocking chairs.  In this room we have 4 rocking chairs alone. 

Brothers.

We were able to have a four generation picture!  

Even though we missed our mountains, Hannah pointed out that in the Midwest, there is SO much more sky.  It's so true.

I felt the need to take a picture of grandpa's oven and stove top.  It works like a charm and shines like it was new. 

Isn't he cute!?

We had lots of fun visiting the family. 

the historic park inn hotel of mason city

You'd never know it, but Frank Lloyd Wright designed his only hotel in Mason City, Iowa. 

They just spent 20 million renovating it.  Let's just say, the locals weren't that excited about their tax dollars being used that way.  Mason City isn't very big...

but we toured it anyway!

Apparently, my Great Grandpa used to live in one of these rooms (when they were used for apartments.)  They were only 10x10 rooms!

Auntie LaNaya was excited too!

These are the original doors.  Apparently, the slats that you see used to be the "Air Conditioning" system.  The air would just travel through the slats (which have since been covered.)

They were able to use the original stain glass, which was found in some guys attic.

Our tour guide said to check out the bathrooms, so I did.  All the tile was from the original build, there were some spots where it was just completely torn up, but it was part of the restoration process. 

You can see the Frank Lloyd Wright was a very linear architect.

The hotel is right next to the old Main Street, which is amazing!  I love the old buildings.

haha, i was trying to do a happy pose...but my face says otherwise

Across from the hotel is the Central Park.  They have a VA Memorial there.  Here you can see my Grandpa's Name, Gerald Hesley.

So, my dad was showing us how his Grandpa would stand in the park all day, smoking.  Who would have thought Mason City would have so much to look at?  Oh, it's also THE place where The Music Man was written and based on Mason City.  Yeah, it's pretty cool.