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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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Beer in the Barn

Some of the best beer surprises are the ones you find in unexpected places. One of our new Iowa pickleball friends recommended that we try out a bar in St. Donatus for a good burger with homemade French fries. I asked about the beer, and the response was along the lines of “yes, they have beer.”

St. Donatus, population 120, is a very small town founded by a Luxembourg early settler. If you blink at highway speeds, you could easily miss it.

In doing some navigational research, I saw a listing for “Beer in the Barn” across the street from said bar and tucked behind an old Inn. As it turned out,  the burgers and fries at the bar were just okay, but Beer in the Barn was a stunning find. 



The pictures we took don’t do it justice. The stone barn is supposedly the oldest standing barn in Iowa. 


We asked the chief bartender/owner to tell us his story. In doing so, we learned that his wife is the brewmaster. We later learned from her that one of her best friends lives in Lodi. That Lodi woman is one of Julia’s friends and was Justin’s long-time piano teacher. Small world!


Julia’s hazy IPA was delicious. My milk stout was very good. There will be live music on Sunday afternoon. We plan to be back.

Comments

MFH said…
Justin played piano?
May 19, 2024 at 4:52 AM
John said…
He did. He even won a couple of awards at Solo Ensemble in high school.
May 19, 2024 at 5:13 PM
MFH said…
Cool! What kind of music?
May 19, 2024 at 7:15 PM
John said…
They were classical pieces. I couldn’t remember the names of any of the pieces, and neither could Julia. I do remember hanging on every note from the beginning to end, hoping he would do well. Justin would roll up to the piano bench with Elvis the service dog, and I would transfer Justin from the chair to the bench and then back again after his performance. By his senior year, moving his arms and hands became too difficult, and he gave up the piano. Justin had a small electric keyboard that he kept playing for about a year longer.
May 20, 2024 at 9:15 PM
MFH said…
WOW!

What a wonderful memory.

Thank you.
May 21, 2024 at 5:45 AM
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