Observations in Iowa

Well, it's been a couple months, and so far I LOVE Iowa. Oddly enough, it reminds me somewhat of home -- a very agricultural area. Des Moines is great because it has capital city amenities -- nice restaurants, cultural activities, international food ingredients available (!) -- but is still pretty small for a city. There are lots of farms around and many people seem to hold to more conservative, agricultural community values.

With that said, I thought I'd share a few things about Iowa (or Des Moines, really) that have stuck out to me as DIFFERENT.

1. POP. Not "coke," "pop." I thought it was kind of a joke that people farther North called all soda "pop," but they REALLY DO. Nobody says "coke" unless they mean brand-name Coca-Cola. I asked a store associate where I could find the store brand Coke last week. He gave me a really funny look and told me, "All of our pop is over there." I don't know why I find this so funny.

2. HY-VEE. Speaking of stores, I love this one. It is a lot like Iowa's brand of Kroger, and the stores are EVERYWHERE here. Tends to be a bit more expensive than Wal-Mart, but they usually have really good sales going each week. AND the one close to our house comes complete with a Helpful Produce Guy.

3. ALCOHOL. This sounds kinda bad, but coming from a dry county, it is REALLY COOL to be able to go to Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, or Target and choose from at least a whole aisle each for wine, beer, and more serious alcohol.

4. TATTOOS. Since we're talking about Wal-Mart ;) Seriously, there are a lot of tattoos here. I didn't really notice till Mom came to visit and remarked on it. And she's right. I'd say I see a good four times as much tattooed flesh here as "back home." And I was listening to a Godless Rock Station on the way to work and apparently there is an Iowa Tattoo Festival coming up.

5. SKINNY PEOPLE. Not everybody is skinny, of course, but there are a lot MORE people walking around who are NOT significantly overweight. I guess what they say about the South is true.

6. CORN. Yep, corn. I shouldn't be surprised that fresh corn tastes SO much better here.

I have a couple more, but DH tells me that our salmon is done, so I will close, with love to my readers!