Thursday, September 20, 2007

To Iowa and back

Well it finally happened. I have been BUGGING Nick, for about what? 12 years to go back to Iowa and visit his family. We finally went. Now to most people, a vacation to Iowa doesn't really sound that exciting, but you have to understand something... Everything about the Schrunk family revolves around Iowa. Both of Nick's parents were born and bred (one happily and one not so much) in Iowa. Nick was born in Iowa, and major events in their life happened in Iowa. I heard the stories and met some of the cast members, but most of the family still lives and will remain in Iowa. I wanted to see with my own eyes everyone and everything. You have too. Stories are great, but you need to see it for yourself.

Wow, and see it I did. We were gone from Tuesday to Tuesday and on the road for a lot of it. We were staying with Marilyn's best friend Sharron in Dubuque and most of the places we were going to were 30-45 minutes away. I swear even though we went to most of the same towns (Colesburg, Guttenberg & Earlville) Rogberry found a new way to go (my head was spinning, where's the 405?) so I couldn't get my bearings! Although I had no idea which direction we were headed, I got to see some awesome scenery. Eastern Iowa is really beautiful with the rolling hills and TREES, lots of trees! I had no idea that there were than many green things sticking up out of the ground in Iowa. I was anticipating flat land with lots of corn fields and red barns, which there were plenty of by-the-way. Fall is my most favorite time of year and it was nice to actually experience it.

Now, I saved the best part for last... the family. Geez, just thinking of everybody makes me want to cry. Talk about good people. Everybody was so nice and friendly, I immediately felt like one of the family (someone even said I was a true Iowa girl, a label I wear w/ pride!) They welcomed us into their homes, allowed my kids trample through their picturesque crick, gave us the shirts of their backs, let us ride their ATVs and horses, got the grand tour through golf carts and boats. We lived it up by drinking lots of Busch light and eating a ton of red meat and experiencing pie made from scratch... as a result my pants are tight, but it was worth it. We were in heaven. Although it was a whirl-wind, it was hands-down the best vacation ever... I miss IOWA!!!
To view more Iowa photos go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/mschrunk/IowaTrip


4 comments:

Erin Hoskinson said...

Ahhh! sounds like a wonderful trip!

Anonymous said...

Melanie, That was a great job. I emailed sisters and brothers in Iowa telling them to log on! MS

Anonymous said...

Hopefully this site will bring many visitors to allow for a closer relationship within our greater family, which includes the Von Handorfs and Sabins historically. There have been Schrunk/Sabin(Combs)/Von Handorf reunions in many past years, and with the addition of new names coming on board, due to marriages, I am hopeful that, perhaps, these reunions can, once again, develop into regularly scheduled events. Are you listening (younger generation)?

Anonymous said...

Melanie, What a Fab Job of the trip to Iowa. Everyone in Iowa enjoyed having you and the rest of the family here in IA. All of us hope you, NIck, the kids and the rest of the CA family come back to IA more often. All of us miss all of you and the fun we had when you were here.