Iowa

I wrote earlier about my trip to Iowa for the ordination of one of the men from this seminary, but I failed to comment about the trip, other than to note where I stayed. I intend to remedy that oversight with this post.

I left Friday morning with two other men. After a brief stop in Lake City to collect a fourth who was visiting his parents there, we proceeded down the Mississippi River Valley toward LaCrosse. We stopped for lunch in Winona, and then, if my memory serves me right, we did not stop again until arriving in Dyersville. While in that town, we visited a toy store (I have nephews to help spoil, after all) where I purchased a miniature of a South Dakota Highway Patrol Cruiser. It now sits proudly on my window sill. All in all, it was a pleasant drive down.



The return trip was a bit more crowded as we added a fifth person to the car. To the great dismay of one of the car's passengers, we decided to stop at the "Field of Dreams" (the field about which the movie was made) to have a look around. It is a small field surrounded by corn. That particular day, it stunk like mad as the local farmers were fertilizing their fields. As we walked in the stench, I was struck by a quote from the movie (USCCB Rating, A-II):

Shoeless Joe Jackson: "Is this heaven?"
Ray Kinsella: "No, it's Iowa."



That night, we stopped in Winona again, this time to see our younger diocesan brothers at the minor seminary. We spent the night there, joined the community for Mass and a meal the following morning, and then made our trip back to St. Paul. In total, it was a restful, enjoyable weekend that helped prepare me to return to classes and continue my studies for the greater glory of God.