Riverside

Wednesday... Scott had a meeting in Riverside and I politely invited myself to join him... What are you going to do?  I had an devilish smile on my face ... "just let me have your key and wallet:)"  LOL... He handed me the key.  "That's okay... I have a debit card:)"

Really though... I had my camera, a notebook and a half read book in tow.  I was set.

Riverside is a casino just south of Iowa City.  It has a golf course and a great convenience store.  Since it was fall... and I am a budding photographer... it was a great opportunity to practice:)  So I grabbed the "Key" and took off.  Just started driving... after all... I had four hours to kill... I ended up in a small neighborhood (maybe 15 homes) with a pond and some trees... I drove around the "loop" a couple of times and decided to park and headed down to the pond.

A older man noticed me too... and was trying to keep his eye on me without looking like he was watching me.  Doing a few things out in the yard... fussing about a tree... it was comical.  I just kept snapping photos.

When I was done shooting in that area... I thought... hmmm... let me put this fella at ease and let him know what my intention was.  As I approached, he was looking up at a smallish tree that had a nest in it.  So I asked the obvious question... what are you looking at?  Are there birds in the nest?  He seemed puzzled that I had asked him... and then said something about having to get rid of one of the branches as it had a split crouch.

I showed my camera as my reason for being there and commented on the lovely neighborhood he lived in.  And that opened the conversation.  We chatted for about 2 hours.  I found it humorous that we ended up discussing both of the taboo subjects (politics and religion) in the first five minutes of our chat.  Of course with Mitt Romney, presidential candidate, being LDS, I mentioned that I was a Mormon too... He shared with me that he had been the Nauvoo Temple Open House and had also been to Temple Square in Utah.  He talked of going to round room that spiraled up with beautiful artwork and at the top, the message that touched him was simply that when he passed on, his ancestors would be there to greet him.  He was also excited to tell me that there was a whole shelf in his office dedicated to Genealogy.

He mentioned to me that his wife of 40 years plus had a really nice camera  and was interested in what kind of camera I had.  Nikon point and shoot... then he invited me to take photos in his back yard... which I took him up on.  It was such a lovely day.  (photos have been posted)

When my battery died... I figured it was time to get something to eat.  I opted for a coney dog and a root beer float.  (My first soda in over a year).  Then I headed back to the hotel... they had an outside area by an indoor pool that lead outdoor pool... and since it was nice out, I grabbed a lounge and my book and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon.  I was reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.  It's a great read and I highly recommend it!

Okay... back to crafting... so much to do... so little time and of course it's another beautiful day:)  Hoping to go for a walk or a bike ride...