Get Away Girls Get Away

Behold the get-Away-Girls as they prepare for yet another summer adventure. the Get-Aways are left to right: the lovely Ms. Kim Wilson, the former secretary from Roosevelt School, Diane Campbell, the happily retired Sally Gordon and the daring and bold Cathy Hoffman.

These gals, who met because of their jobs in the wonderful field of education, formed the Get-Away-Girls a long time ago. I say a long time ago because I wasn't paying attention to the last memo.

Every year they plan a summer excursion, some exotic, others not as exotic. Last summer it was New York City. this summer its The Amana Colonies down in Iowa. (See what I mean?)

It's funny, I was just prowling through the dictionary looking up the spelling to "irascable" and I stumbled on that capitol letter to the word "Iowa" and got a chuckle out of the definition: It originally is from a Dakota Indian word "Ayuba", which literally translated is "sleepy ones", a scornful appellation and one wonders if that is why Iowa is so laid back. All this time it's been the Iowa Ditch Weed!

Having worked the glorious state as a performer from Dubuque to Sioux City, Decorah to Iowa City, I held my tongue when not asked what I would do if I was going to Iowa for vacation.

(I know the Getaways are eventually ending up in the Amana Colonies.)

I would have suggested an overnight in Iowa City, that Isle of culture in a sea of corn, and a stop in Stone City to get a real taste and feel for the hilly section of Iowa, and a whiff of Grant Wood.

I know they are hugging the Mississippi as much as possible on their way down which is good thinking as there are some magnificent views of the grand lady all the way down. I am pretty sure that The Field of Dreams outside of Dyersville is not part of the tour.

If you build it, they will go shopping.

I would, of course, be much more interested in where and what they would be eating in Iowa. The famous Iowa pork fritter, a pork loin mashed flat and then rolled in egg and bread crumbs and deep fried is required cuisine and Iowans present the definitive: golden crispy brown and uncontainable in even a steak bun.

I would also make certain to seek the hamburger joint that trumpets "In sight, must be right", Steak n' Shake". The Steak n' Shake restuarants are like stepping through a time warp and returning to the 1950's with their black and white checkered floors and broad windows.

I loved their sturdy coffee mugs so much that I purchased a dozen. That was back in the 1980's and I haven't lost one to disaster yet.

I hope that the Getaways have a lot of fun and no matter where they go, I hope they laugh a lot!