put to rest
May 29, 2007

Spouse and I picked up my uncle, my cousin Dr. J, and her husband Jase at Midway on Friday, and it went pretty smoothly. We got there as their plane was on approach, met them at the end of the ramp, got their luggage quickly, made a restroom run, and zip! into the truck, parked just outside in short-term parking. Took about half an hour. Aside from the fact that we had to drive most of the way to Indiana to get them, Midway makes an insane amount of sense for Uncle. What with the artificial leg, deafness, vision impairment, and the post-stroke issues, the guy is not up to the multiple marathons required by O�Hare.

In order to revive our weary travelers, we met them with bottles of ice water and quickly shuttled them across town to Elmwood Park, for a barbeque lunch at
Russell�s.
They were madly grateful for both.

Once we got on the road, it was a pleasant run out to �Pearl City�. I really enjoyed the chance to have a talk with my cousin�we�ve never in our lives ever felt like we�ve had enough time together. And it was nice to get to know each other�s husbands a little, too. We�ve never gotten that chance in the past. I think we approve each other�s choices.

Once we got to my brother�s house, Jase and the Doc picked up their new(ish) ride�the Suburban they bought from my dad. That gave them some freedom. After we all sat around and visited for a while, the Arizona and Illinois contingents headed further down the road to my hometown, while the Wisconsin delegation ran some errands and then checked into our hotel.

Once we got checked in, we were sorely ready for another meal, so we went to check out the hot new place in town�a converted button factory called, obviously, The Button Factory.

We were lucky enough to get there a little later than most people in Iowa eat (7:30!), so there was an open spot on the screened outdoor balcony, overlooking the Mississippi, and a lovely park that runs along its bank.

The staff was �Iowa Nice�, the restaurant was charming, the house wines drinkable, and the food?

Wow.

After a generous salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and warm and crusty whole-grain rolls with sweet cinnamon butter, I had the Grilled Salmon Picatta--Wood-fire Grilled Salmon filet served atop saut�ed linguine, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, prosciutto ham, capers and finished in a lemon butter sauce. And let me tell you�that salmon filet was huge.

My verdict? As good as Emeril�s Fish House. Top points for innovation, preparation, and presentation. It. Was. Divine.

Spouse had the prime rib special, with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled veggies, and French Onion soup to start. They actually allowed him to A) substitute French Onion for the D�Jour, and B) Mozzarella for Provolone on top, for only a dollar more. Catch any place around here doing that for you!
He declared that his entr�e was every bit as 4-Star as mine.

Now here�s the kicker. Each of us had enormous, impeccably prepared entr�es, top quality in every way. And they were each $14.95. We were dumbfounded, I tell ya.

The manager came by to greet us, and mentioned that they have to price competitively with (GAAAH!!!!) Appleby�s, in order to stay in business. Well, that�s Iowa for you.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel, which was extremely quiet. The pool was open until 10:00, so Spouse and I decided to refresh and relax with a short swim. We had the pool to ourselves, and found it to be just the thing for working out the road kinks. Between the swim, and the utter silence of our hotel room, we both crashed quickly and gratefully.

Saturday was not so nice. After a lengthy drought, the heavens opened and dumped a big old rain on Southeast Iowa. An old-fashioned, one-storm-after-another, gully-washer of a rainy day. NOT a fun day to drive out gravel roads to a rural cemetery, and huddle under a canopy to lay a soul to rest.

But we did. It was well-attended, brief, to the point, and it�s over. The minister looked like Inspector Gadget, and was kind of a dweeby guy. But he seemed nice. I didn�t exactly stick around to chat, given the force of the rain.

My parents had a �small� reception at the motel community room, and it overflowed onto a covered deck outside. All my aunts and uncles, bunches of cousins, classmates of my brothers my parents, and me, and assorted good friends. It was nice, but wearying. I need a long nap after any good cry, so I wasn�t at my best. And the noise and crush of a large crowd makes me stressy, anyway. After a couple of hours, the crowd dispersed, and the smaller, core crowd of my family went to my mom�s hometown just down the road, since my hometown doesn�t have a restaurant big enough to hold us all for lunch.

After another blurry couple of hours, and a tenderloin sandwich, Spouse and I dispensed hugs all around and hit the road.

We headed north instead of east for a change, following 61 all the way to Dubuque, and crossing the river there to pick up 11 across Wisconsin. Aside from running in and out of countless thunderstorms and downpours, it was a pretty ride up through Iowa. And crossing Southern Wis on 11 is another very scenic trip. We cut down to highway 50 about Delavan, in order to miss Burlington and the Chocolatefest crowds. We stopped for a late supper at the old Lake-Aire diner in Lake Geneva, then rolled on down into K-town about 11:00. And to bed.