Decorah Memories

My post about Homecoming made me think back to a wonderful trip this summer, when my mother and I went to Decorah, Iowa for a weekend visit. When I was in college, we often talked about things we wanted to do around town. But whenever she and my father were in Decorah, they were busy picking me up, dropping me off or or attending some Luther event that didn't leave time for exploring.

A couple Christmases ago, I got my parents a gift certificate for a night at Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah. They didn't get around to using it, so finally my mom suggested that she and I go down for the weekend, which we did in July.

It was pretty jam-packed! Let's see...we:

• Ate at Mabe's...best pizza in Iowa!


• Walked around the Luther campus and saw the new union


• Went to Dunning's Springs


• Drove around Decorah and up to Phelps Park


• Got coffee from the Oneota Co-op


• Shopped at Van Beria, where I got the first blue and white tea cup for my collection


• Had dinner at the always-fabulous Rubaiyat


• Drank a few drinks at Albert's


• Enjoyed the night in our beautiful room at Hotel Winn

On Sunday, we headed home with a few stops...first off we went to Seed Savers Exchange on the edge of Decorah. Really a cool place. They are devoted to biodiversity and collect seeds from all sorts of heirloom fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. There were even a few rare chicken breeds. Mom bought some really cool tomatoes there...green, orange, yellow and red. I wanted to get the black tomatoes too...maybe next time!

We drove on to Burr Oak to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum there. I love the Little House books, so it was awesome to see a place where she lived...and I can't believe that many people crowded into beds at hotels of that era!

Lastly, we stopped in Lanesboro for lunch at this 50s-style diner before heading back to the Twin Cities. It was an amazing trip with my mom, and I am looking forward to doing it again next summer!