First full Iowa day

We made good time yesterday despite snow and wind and bad car wipers and tired and/or sick drivers. It was wonderful to pull up to Julie's home and see her happy face before we stormed in for hugs.

I'm not sure how we all survived dinner, and I'm not including the picture of us so terribly tired looking, but sleep was wonderful and the flannel sheets just right. This morning, we had breakfast and then headed to The Chocolate Shop and lunch with Gae in Marion before heading to Dysart to see Julie's miraculous studio and the stores along their one main drag.

Then we visited Mike's dentistry practice before visiting their home, which looked like it was perched along the ocean because the farmland was covered in snow. We were amazed during the drives by how white everything was: white sky, white ground, no horizon lines at some points. And were excited by the bald eagle sightings!

Arm and legs, all paper, of course. Julie has an amazing collection of art and we also saw a lot of her own work everywhere we went. I'm not sure how I'm still upright but am hoping to get real sleep soon, before our University of Iowa visit tomorrow!