A Fair Weather Day in Storm Lake, Iowa

Last weekend, my husband and I spent two days in a quaint little town called Storm Lake in west central Iowa. Their town motto is "Jump Right In!" and we did.



My husband had a conference in Storm Lake, but I was free to play and relax.



We stayed at a Victorian B&B called the Metcalf House. The owner is a wonderful cook and served us tea on arrival. The apple crisp was still warm from the oven and topped with ice cream.



The first thing we did was to take a drive along the lakefront. Storm Lake (the lake itself) is over 3000 acres.



It was a very windy day - on one side of the breakwater, the water was white and frothy from whitecaps crashing against the rocks.



On the other side, the water was as smooth as butter.



There were benches at the end of the piers just waiting for fishermen to try their luck.



A gaggle of gosslings were having trouble leeping up with Mother Goose in the choppy waters.



We saw a pretty statue of an anchor with an American flag.



And a large tern/ egret/ heron? flying in the updrafts.



The next thing we did was to spend some time wandering down Storm Lake's old-fashioned Main Street and checking out the shops. Each one was unique and seemed to be privately owned. A refreshing change after chain stores at the mall!



We found a candy shoppe with delicious homemade goodies like Strawberry Daquiry Delight covered in dark chocolate and Amaretto Balls. We bought a "Welcome to Iowa" bag for my sister-in-law, Becky D, who's coming to visit from California next week. It's tied up tight with pretty ribbons so I can't eat it before then. We're hoping she'll share... :-)



I bought some homemade onion rolls and an almond - paste filled pastry at a local bakery. (Please don't tell Weight Watchers...)



The smells from the restaurants dotting Main Street were sumptuous.



After checking out a wonderful quilting and fabric store, we headed over to a heritage park with an old log-cabin.



As I connected to the local wireless internet from the car so I could check my email (and Gather), it seemed that the door to the log cabin led to another world.



The cabin was surrounded by flowers.



And of course, I had to get a nice macro for Gather.



There was also an old schoolhouse.



And a very striking water tower.



By then, the skies were starting to get stormy and the wind was howling ferociously, so we hurried back to our B&B.



When we next emerged (at 10 p.m. to go to Walmart to buy me a new nightgown... I'd forgotten mine, and didn't think I should sleep in the buff in case the tornado sirens sounded in the middle of the night) there were huge branches and leaves littering every yard in town.



The next day, Mark went off to his conference, and I set out to explore the old houses along the lake -- some in sunshine, and some in rain.





Of course, my eyes were peeled for peach since I knew I had to write my Rainbow Connections Top Ten article when I returned home.



As you can see, I wasn't disappointed!



I loved this bungaloo with a front porch made from river (lake?) rocks.



I fell in love with this one.



Then it started to rain, and I dashed down to the lake, hoping to get a photo of a rainbow. Although I never spotted a rainbow, the lake was beautiful with the rain pounding down on the water.



A short while later, the sun was back out.



Our last stop heading out of town was to snap a photo of this beautiful lighthouse. I had the camera on TV and didn't realize it, but my unintended special effects (and a little creative editing) turned out rather well, don't you think?



Our trip home is another story altogether... suffice it to say we may have tempted the fates going to a town called Storm Lake on a stormy weekend...