Quite a few weekends ago we took a day trip with the Graff's to the Amana Colonies. They are these German colonies about two hours east of Des Moines that are famous for their food and little shops. We are very glad the Graff's invited to come along because I don't think we would have made the trek otherwise. Such a fun day. Luckily the weekend weather was overcast which made it a lot more bearable.
Lots and lots of meats and cheeses in the shops. We didn't buy any of it and I didn't even try the samples. I'm a total wimp, I know.
They had their own root beer brewery. I thought it was delicious.
The lily pads were in perfect bloom while we were there. Honestly couldn't have been a more perfect time to go.
They had this gigantic rocking chair and cute wood shop right next to it.
On to the food...always one of my favorite topics. We ate a German restaurant (the name is leaving me right now), but we ordered the spaetzle noodles and the weinerschnitzel. I haven't had either and I was a little afraid of the meat. The name in itself frightened me. I was thinking it would be meat in a casing like a hot dog yet I was pleasantly surprised. The meal also came with delicious broccoli salad which to this day Rich can't stop talking about. This kills me because we had better broccoli salad at our wedding reception and he has no recollection of it! So funny the things they remember.
On the drive back, there are some shopping outlets right off of the freeway which were nothing short of amazing!! Of course Ashley and I planned on stopping and in reality thought the shopping was just as important as the Amana Colonies. I had warned Richard beforehand and he had agreed to it saying he would just sit in the car. The stores didn't let us down and the boys didn't stay in the car either. Rich ended up getting quite a few things which was surprising but made me feel a lot better about buying a few items.
One of the things he purchased was a Drew Brees jersey. I know, I can't believe my life partner owns a jersey - however he only wears it on Sundays (the second we get home from church) and isn't allowed to wear it out of the house. Strict? I don't care - jersey's are ugly and trashy unless worn to a sporting event. When we finally wrapped up the shopping Richard mentioned he has never been shopping for soooooo long in his entire life. We are talking like two hours people - not really that long at all (I could've spent the entire day there)!!! He was a really good sport and didn't complain at all which I love him for. After a long day of traveling, sightseeing, and shopping we treated ourselves to Mcdonald's lovely chocolate dipped cones. One of our summer obsessions. All in all, a fabulous weekend!
