INTO IOWA

We finally were off to a new state that I had never been to before. Iowa! What's there to do in Iowa?! Well.... honestly not much, but we did have a great time here. We stayed at Sandy Beach campground on Coraville Lake, but I wouldn't say our campsite looked like a sandy beach...

When we got to the campground it was rainy, so everyone and everything was wet. We hunkered down in the trailer for a nice dinner and rest from a good day of driving. We weren't stopping in Iowa too long, so we decided to hit Cedar Rapids the next day and see what the city was all about. 

Once the rain had dispersed, we did a thorough walking tour of the grounds and we did find there is a sandy beach further down the road! It was a nice little campground with two loops and some decent water views. 

After some good exploring and droning, our stomachs were ready to explore the great Cedar Rapids. We headed into the city and discovered the Cedar River actually splits the city into two sides. Since we found plenty of parking in a cute downtown section, we parked big ol' Eugene and explored on foot. There were all kinds of fun outdoor/ sporting good stores, that we couldn't afford anything, some boutiques, a brewery and of course... a pizza place!

Fun fact: Cedar Rapids is also home to the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. The building and artwork was beautiful to look at, but we didn't go inside since it was a Sunday and they were closed. 

After a nice browse in the stores we decided to grab some beer and lunch at Hospoda. Their wood-fired pizza looked and smelled amazing, so we obviously couldn't resist. It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside in the patio enjoying our lunch and admiring the area.

Their pizza did not disappoint, with satisfied stomachs we meandered back to the street to burn our lunch off. We roamed the rest of the town, discovering an old Nash, which we of course had to send to Cameron's dad, since he previously owned one (be sure to ask him about it next time you see him), then decided to walk across the bridge to the other side of the city which is considered the "NewBo" area (New Bohemian District).
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There was so much happening over the bridge, we didn't know where to begin! A large NewBo city market had all sorts of vendors and food places inside. It basically was a massive inside shopping mall. I was able to find an Iowa shot glass for my state collection before heading back to the streets to explore more of the fun shops. We had a blast just roaming the city enjoying the sites; there was live music playing on a rooftop bar, a bikers group had an event at a local brewery, and people just sitting enjoying the nice weather.

Our hot and tired legs told us it was almost time to head out, so we headed back across the bridge and stopped at one final brewery to rehydrate before heading back to the campground. We had a great visit filled with fun memories and next time someone says "What's in Iowa?" we definitely can let them in on a fun place to visit, Cedar Rapids, Iowa!