Friday, October 31
After a successful parent/teacher conference recapping Noah’s first two months of 4-year-old preschool, we were on the road to Cedar Rapids for a mini-weekend getaway. Our first stop was in Newton to handle some car housekeeping plus stop at one of our favorite cheese shops, the Maytag Dairy Farms, located just north of town.
Walking into the Maytag Dairy Farms office north of Newton.
Though the building is mostly offices, a small section is open to the public featuring two coolers filled with cheese. Maytag is most famous for its blue cheese but also makes quality cheddar, Swiss, Havarti, and Muenster. We received ample samples of the classic yellow cheddar, 2-year-aged cheddar, and smoked baby Swiss cheeses. Noah’s favorite was the aged cheddar, while I liked the smoky Swiss. We bought a pound of each.
Noah proudly held the bag (and his mint) following our purchase.
While Cedar Rapids was our final destination, our second stop was in Mount Vernon, where we were looking forward to a meal at Palisades Cafe. The cafe replaced our long-time favorite Iowa eating establishment, the Lincoln Cafe, which closed its doors last December. I’d had a chance to try the burger, fries, and salad once returning from a work trip in Chicago and was anxious to share the positive experience with Amanda, Gee Gee, and the kids.
View from inside the new Palisades Cafe in Mt. Vernon.
The interior looked almost identical to its predecessor, minus a fresh coat of paint on the north side of the dining room. We were happy to see the Lincoln Cafe manager retained her role in the new restaurant, both greeting us and taking our orders. We started with the onion rings, a new addition to the menu. They were thinly-cut, lightly-breaded, and well-seasoned. Everyone enjoyed the large portion, and Gee Gee called them the best onion rings she had eaten in a long time.
I loved their burger special for the day, which was topped with a generous serving of goat cheese and a sweet/spicy bacon-leek-jalapeno marmalade. Amanda thought her Blue cheeseburger was good but didn’t live up to Lincoln Cafe standards. Noah and Emmie split a grilled cheese, while Gee Gee ordered the BLT.
Noah, Emmie, and I made the relatively short walk down 1st Street to the Cornell College campus. We first met up with Leon Tabak, one of my favorite professors from my time at school. After a chat in his office, he introduced me to his current class, Geographic Information Systems. The class was mostly comprised of non-Computer Science majors and was a recent addition to the course catalog.
Amanda and Emmie standing under the iconic Law Hall moose.
Amanda and Gee Gee joined us on campus and we made the walk down the Pedestrian Mall to take our first look at the fully-remodeled Thomas Commons. The iconic orange carpet remained intact, but many significant upgrades had been made since our days on campus, most notably an entirely revamped dining room, better-located bookstore, and an open entryway featuring lounge seating and a cozy fireplace.
Noah rested in the Armstrong building while waiting for Gee Gee, Amanda, and Emmie.
We then made our way to the Armstrong music building where we had a chance to catch-up with a few music professors, including Marty Hearne, who conducted our steel drum and wind ensemble groups plus co-led our memorable trip to Italy, and Jama Stilwell, who taught three music theory courses and led an independent study in popular music which culminated with a student symposium presentation on U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday.
Playing in the leaves on the Cornell campus.
In attempt to increase Emmie’s nap length on our drive to Cedar Rapids, I added an impromptu shop at The Chocolate Shop in downtown Marion. Noah and I picked out a chocolate for each traveler (sans Emmie) plus walked away with a fun chocolate train.
Noah and his chocolate train.
It was then time for some shopping at a newly-constructed center across from Lindale Mall. Gee Gee and Amanda split time between Hobby Lobby and HomeGoods, while Noah and I perused the only Iowa location of The Fresh Market grocery chain. I was a bit underwhelmed until spotting pints of Jeni’s Goat Cheese and Cherries Ice Cream. As far as I know, that’s the only spot in Iowa to buy the nation’s best ice cream flavor.
Emma loved playing “Peekaboo Barn” while we waited in the car for Amanda and Gee Gee to finish their shopping.
We quickly checked in at the hotel before driving to Tomaso’s Pizza for dinner. While we waited for our pizza in the always-busy restaurant, Emmie was entertained watching pizzas go in and out of the oven. Before long, we were served our delicious Detroit-style pie, which featured a thick crust, a hearty layer of cheese which went all the way to the edges, topped with a layer of mild tomato sauce. It’s our favorite pizza in the Cedar Rapids area and undoubtedly the best deep-dish pizza in the state.
My attempt to take a selfie with Emmie at Tomaso’s wasn’t exactly successful.
Gee Gee, Amanda, and Noah spent their evening in the wonderful Collins Road Movie Theatre, watching the “enjoyable but cheesy” Dolphin Tale 2. During the time, Emmie and I meandered through the Lindale Mall before stops at Target, Barnes & Noble, and T.J. Maxx. T.J. Maxx may have yielded the best buys of our weekend trip, as I was able to get Noah five Iowa State Nike t-shirts, spanning sizes 6 to 10, for a grand total of $19.26.
Our evening wasn’t complete without a final stop for the night at Zoey’s Pizza in Marion. Zoey’s serves some solid pizza, but we most enjoy eating the “Zookie,” which consists of a warm, deep-dish, chocolate chip cookie topped with three scoops of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Paired with ice-cold milk, it’s an all-American dessert which we thoroughly enjoyed. Even Emmie was in on the Zookie action, taking some huge, delicious bites.
Brian, Noah, and the Zookie.
Saturday, November 1
Noah was content with the hotel’s breakfast fare, but I wanted to wander out into Cedar Rapids to pick up some kolache, from from the well-known Sykora Bakery, in the heart of the Cedar Rapids Czech village. Gee Gee liked her cherry kolach, but Amanda and I were a little disappointed by our cream cheese and apple varieties.
After dropping off Gee Gee and Amanda off for a massage, Noah, Emmie, and I managed to spend nearly an hour exploring the south Cedar Rapids Super Target. We limited our purchases to clearance Halloween items, including a handful of pumpkin plates, a couple glow stick necklaces, and Noah’s favorite: a large package of green-colored white cheddar cheese balls.
Noah had recently taken over control of the green cheese balls.
We weren’t quite hungry enough for lunch so made the short drive downtown to the NewBo Market. We were not only impressed with the vibe and variety of vendors at the market but walked away with a handful of purchases ranging from a bag of colorful, sugary popcorn to all-natural lotion.
We went with back-to-back pizza meals, choosing Roscoe’s Pizza on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids as our lunch destination. Formerly a Tomaso’s location, the restaurant was similar in style. The one twist was Roscoe’s served a pie which featured the to-the-edge cheese on top of a thinner crust. The service was friendly, pizza was good, but the well-worn interior could use a little love.
Amanda, Noah and pizza from Roscoe’s.
Our trip finished with a long stop at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Williamsburg, where Gee Gee, Amanda, and Noah perused numerous stores and found a few bags worth of bargains. Emmie and I took a short nap before the short drive into Williamsburg proper, where we explored every aisle of the town’s small grocery store. We did buy a handful of treats including seasonal packages of gingerbread Twix and French vanilla marshmallow snowmen.
Noah did a great job sharing his ice cream with Emmie, at the Tanger Outlet Mall.