Another assignment is coming to a close. I can not get over how fast time goes. It feels like we just arrived here in Iowa and now it is time to head off to the next location. Where to next 4 us you ask? Palatka Florida! I wanted to spend the winter in a warm climate since it is starting to get cold here in Iowa and I don’t like it. Plus after making Jesse spend a winter in NY I promised not to do that to him again. We are a team afterall.
We did love Mason City though; it is not a huge city but it is just the right size with everything you would need. We found a few restaurants that we really liked plus some other fun activities to do when we had a day off from work. One restaurant that we went to many times was The Boulder Tap House. They had a veggie burger that I loved and their homemade chips with some fabulous sauce will be something that I will crave. We went there with my coworkers one night and ended up saying many many hours because some of Jesse’s coworkers joined us for a drink and some snacks. We also ate at The Quarry a few times and it was very good. I even found pizza that I really liked at Pasta Bella. We really had all we could ask for and more. Jesse and I even made it to the 1910 Grille inside the Frank Lloyd Wright hotel in Mason when we had a nice date night. One other time I went out with my wonderful coworkers we went to a Mason City restaurant that has been around for decades, The Northwestern Steakhouse. It was really good.
One of the few late night places in Mason was Lorado’s, a great earthy place that attracted all different kinds of people and it was a fun place to hang out and have a drink. There was even a place to get to sushi, Thai Bistro. They had some struggles but the food was good. We ate really well in Mason City and even frequented the little brewery in town, Mason City Brewing. They had a little place with tables and chairs and you could bring in food. Some nights they had trivia and since it was walking distance to our apartment Jesse and I would enjoy ourselves and not worry about driving. That was my favorite part of Mason, I loved being able to walk into town for dinner and drinks and then walk back home.
Other than walking we had to do some other exercise to help offset all the eating we did! We found a wonderful gym to join that was less than a mile from our apartment. It is called NIP Fitness and it was one of the top gyms we have ever been to (the one in Oneonta beats it out because they had a pool and hot tub). But it had everything you would want to use plus classes and treadmills and a smoothie bar! We had enough smoothies to fill up a card and get a free one. I don’t think we will find a gym as awesome as NIP. The owner was a very nice guy and it was affordable and worth every penny. I enjoyed going to the gym for the first time ever. The running in Mason was OK. I am more into hills and trails and Iowa is pretty flat. We had a dirt/gravel/paved/cross one street trail that was a total of six miles and it took you to the Nature Center. I ran on that fairly often and it fed my need for a trail run since it went along the Winnebago river and once you got to the Nature Center property there were fossils and some informational plaques.
We did more than eat and exercise during our 4+ months in Iowa. Each area we live in we really try to explore what is around. A trip to Des Moines, Backbone State Park, Mall of America and Minnehaha State park in MN were some of our other adventures. When Mary came to visit we did the Frank Lloyd Wright hotel tour which was very informative and Jesse and I took a walk to the MacNider Art Museum that has a large display of famous marionettes (albeit a bit creepy) and some other lovely bits of artwork. Mason City is kinda known for the musical The Music Man and they have a museum all about it and also Meredith Wilson’s childhood home that Jesse and I toured. It was very well done.
Having a fun time is a priority for us but we also do have to work. I enjoyed my job quite a bit. I spent some time outside of work with several coworkers and I hope to keep in touch with them as I travel. It makes an assignment so much better when you get along with and become friends with coworkers. Jesse had a good time as his job as well and he was sad to leave. This place is in the top three favorite assignments.
It is the smaller out of the way towns that we really enjoy. There is so much to see in this country; it amazes me every time we drive to a new area how much is there to see and do. We have criss crossed the country and hope to keep doing it over and over again, seeing and doing as much as we can as we go. For now, onward to Palatka Florida!!
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