Buick Club of America visits Jewell (IA) this evening!

We timed arrival in Jewell PERFECTLY this evening, ate our delicious supper (without a line) on the many picnic tables set up in the middle of Main Street, and then the Buicks starting arriving from Ames, and I went to the corner and took pictures of most of the more than 150 cars that made the trip.

Above is pretty much the car our softball coach had to haul us to the field for practice and games (I can't remember what color it was, white or cream??).

This beige one looks like the '70 Torino my Uncle still has!!

These older ones were fancy inside AND out!!!


I took most of the pictures for my dad, who has owned 5 or 6 Buicks in his lifetime, including a '64 that the three of us kids learned to drive with.

The big red truck was a RAGBRAI sag wagon today!

Parkersburg was the half-way point between Charles City and Waterloo (Iowa) today, for RAGBRAI (Register's annual great bike ride across Iowa #38!), and our niece, Rachel, and John's cousin, Maria, are riding in it this year.

Even though both ladies are in phenomenol shape, it's been a very hot, long bike ride, and one of them wasn't sure she'd make it another 82 miles today, so I met them in Parkersburg and drove them to Waterloo.

It was just going to be one of the 'girls', but then the other had technical difficulties with her tire (4th flat, and this one didn't make it even a mile from the repair shop in town), so she rode also.

We made a trip to the repair shop in Cedar Falls, and hopefully the problem will be solved for tomorrow's ride.

Parkersburg is the place where a tornado went through on Memorial Day weekend two years ago, where 7 people died, 228 homes were destroyed, and more than a hundred more damaged. This link contains the summary (and an aerial picture of Parkersburg after the storm) and information in a NOAA report (pdf file).

We drove by bunches of new houses and the new school, and Parkersburg has definitely come back in a big way from that devastating day.

Alex & Allison wedding pictures, page 2

"Just Married" They walked out to the theme from "Charlie Brown"! It was a delightful change from the traditional, and suited them perfectly.

Allison and Alex having their first 'married' dance!

Allison taking that walk down the aisle with her dad, as her eyes got a bit watery....

This was the 'groom's cake', and it was perfect. (Allison's dog, Oliver, took a plate of 'taste-testing' wedding cake pieces off her counter at her house, finished off the cake, and pushed the plate under the couch!!--so this darling cake was based on this story!!)

Now, Oliver is REALLY big, and he's at our house (Camp Stanhope) this week while the newlyweds are on a cruise!