A Visit from Uncle Luke

A visit from Uncle Luke for 3 days can only mean one thing - lots of sight seeing. We continue to fulfill our pledge to be "tourists for a year" by visiting new places in Iowa City. This past weekend we found new restaurants (the best French toast ever!), introduced Luke to the PedMall and Prairie Lights (a popular independent bookstore), walked the University of Iowa campus (their campus pales in comparison to University of Illinois), toured the Old State Capitol, visited the Devonian Fossil Gorge, and traveled to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville.

First some random pics of the kids...

A true Cardinal fan in the making. As this picture shows, Ethan enjoys nursing quite a bit (hence the round face and double chin). As this picture does not show, Ethan has pretty much lost his hair on top - he has kept his sideburns and the hair on the back of his head, and is bald everywhere else. Yes, we are hoping it all grows back very soon!


Olivia and Joe having fun with raspberries.

Uncle Luke arrives to some stormy weather on the first day. Luckily it cleared up quickly.

Joe, Olivia, and I in front of the Iowa Old State Capitol (please note the shiny gold dome that it is famous for). It actually pales in comparison to the IL Old State Capitol - the inside is pretty sparse. Then again, without the Lincoln memorabilia I guess that IL wouldn't have much inside either! Ethan was asleep in the stroller by this point. This building is actually in the middle of the U of Iowa's campus in an area called the "pentacrest".

Olivia making a speech on the Senate floor.

Next was a visit to the Devonian Fossil Gorge. This was discovered next to the Coralville Lake in 1993 after the floods from that year receded. Five feet of bedrock were washed away to reveal fossils dating back about 1 million years. Visitors are allowed to walk on the rocks to find the fossils (mainly seashell and some imprints of various water life forms). Olivia just saw the trip as a chance to walk on rocks and "look for dinosaur bones like the Backyardigans".

Ethan and I on the fossil gorge. I did not know what to expect with this site, so I was wearing platform sandals. Not the smartest choice of footwear when navigating on loose bedrock.

Olivia LOVED this rock and claimed she was riding on a fish.

Joe and Luke drove the 90 miles to Dyersville to visit the Field of Dreams. They witnessed the "ghost players" coming out of the cornfield to play a short game as was shown in the movie. Here is Joe's reenactment of the scene.