Cedar Rapids

We are winding down our multi-day stay in Cedar Rapids. I don’t have any particular fond memories of this city, which is also known as the  City of Five  Smells: Captain Crunch cereal, cooking oats, ADM/Cargill food processing, the Cedar River, and wastewater treatment. 

However, it was a lifelong home for my grandparents and great grandparents. It’s where my dad lived his final days and where my mom has chosen to live for church and friendships. 

During our stay, we took a day trip to Mount Vernon to buy my mom some local honey and to walk the campus of Cornell College (the Iowa Cornell). We (Julia and I) also managed a beer at Big Grove Brewery, a lager house. My amber lager was quite good. 

We also toured the Czech Slavic museum. My great grandmother was Bohemian and part of the large Czech community that formed in this part of Iowa. The clock tower goes off every hour from dawn until dusk. The characters represent different types of Czech workers/members of society.