Rose's birthday road trip

the Iowa barn welcome center

For her birthday, Rose wanted to see a friend's show in Iowa. JT found a fascinating stop along the way... the site of Buddy Holly, Rickie Valens and the Big Bopper's plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. The site is marked with a pair of giant Buddy Holly glasses. We then stopped at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. The venue of their last performances.



Buddy Holly crash site marker



Buddy Holly glasses with Buddy Holly glasses

Friday night we met Megan and Michael in the New Bohemia section of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. New Bohemia was originally the Czech-Slovak neighborhood. It was devastated by flooding in 2008 and is now being rebuilt and renovated.

We ate at Bata's. An eclectic restaurant with a blueberry burger on the menu. It was a blueberry compote and a jalapeño relish. It was outstanding. There were also caramelized sweet potato fries and another appetizer that sounded like way too many ingredients but was fantastic and also unrepeatable.