Cornfest 2026

Our Iowa trip was different this year. Normally we spend a full two weeks in the homeland in order to maximize time with both sides of the family. But with Grandma & Grandpa Z's house on the market, we had to rent an Airbnb instead of stay for free at Casa Zimmerman. That coupled with Allen not having a lot of vacation time, meant we limited our Iowa time to just a week (and Allen worked for most of it).

The Airbnb was interesting. Across from a sorority house in downtown Iowa City, it meant that we spent far more time exploring campus and its surrounding areas than we have in all the years we've visited. And while the house itself was not nearly as comfortable as Mom and Dad's (and also probably not up to code), the kids got a kick exploring a college town (even if Noa is adamant that they have no intention of attending said college).

While we had to work a little harder (and plan a little nore), we were able to see a lot of family this visit, though we struggled to integrate them (more on that later). The first day there I visited with Grandma & Grandpa Z (and ran some errands for them) while the rest of the crew rested. Tuesday, I took the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa's new place while Allen worked (which of course meant not a single picture was taken of the visit). Afterwards we spent some time at the pond. 

Wednesday, the Fawcetts were having a Field Day for the Practical Farmers of Iowa, which was just enough work adjacent that Allen decided he could go with Owen and me and learn all the of the new technology that Fawcett Farms was adopting... and then hang out with the Fawcetts and finally get some pond time of his own. Afterwards, I headed over to visit Mom and Dad (while also surreptitiously doing laundry) while Noa spent the entire day relaxing at the Airbnb.

Thursday, I visited my parents, Allen worked, and the kids decided to spend the morning exploring downtown. They managed to hit Raygun, where they both made some purchases; Nodo, where they enjoyed the cuisine of a fellow Roosevelt alum; a comic book store; and a Cat Cafe (which Owen bowed out of – I'm told Noa did take pictures, but just didn't share any of them...). Afterwards, we all met up with Mom Mom, who had flown out for what was supposed to be the grand re-opening of the Hoover Library, for a private tour of the not-yet-open library with a lot of new and re-imagined exhibits using multi-sensory technology in order to evoke the sights, sounds and smells of the Hoovers' work and lives. Afterwards, we headed to Ken and Helens for a lovely meal utilizing Helen's extensive garden (and some really fancy wine from their sommelier friends). 

I had reached out to Pete, Jeannine and Ellen to see if we could plan another lunch meet up, similar to last summer (albeit with out Bernie, RIP). Everyone was amenable... except mom. She didn't want to leave the her apartment and didn't think she could manage the 3 hour drive round trip, even if it meant seeing her siblings. Dad was willing, but we decided that abandoning Mom for that long would not go over well, so I drove out and met up with Pete, Jeannine, Ellen, and Ellen's friend Janine for a lovely lunch while Allen borrowed a car from Ken so that he and the kids could hang out at the pond for dinner (which meant, of course, that there are not pictures from that visit either). Afterwards I joined them for a pre-cornfest hangout.

The morning of Cornfest we headed out to the pond early for an extended day of celebration. This year, the sweet corn was actually grown at the pond, which made it easy to harvest, but also made it easy to cross pollinate, which resulted in not the Fawcett's finest sweet corn. It clearly threwAllen off his game, resulting in his first year of not making the podium (which was dominated by the under 20 crowd).

I had planned all along to take Mom and Dad to church on Saturday and then stop by Cornfest  afterwards for dinner, so that they could see everyone (similar to what Allen and I had done over Memorial Day). I even brought Leanna with me, thinking that she could persuade Mom to leave the apartment. But Mom maintained that she wasn't feeling well and that she didn't want to see people like this, so Leanna and I took Dad back to the pond for an hour, so he could see everyone and check out this years's project (a fully renovated outhouse with running water -- which made it particularly sad that Mom missed it given she had painted the original for our wedding). Dad had a lovely, albeit brief time, and then I took him back and said goodbye to Mom and Dad since we had to leave early the next morning. Then I headed back to the pond for a last hurrah before we packed up everything, headed back to our Airbnb, in order to head home (over the course of two days) after a brief but well spent Iowa visit. Hopefully next time Grandma Z will be feeling better (and more social).

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Pitstop in Pittsburgh

While I love seeing the Mettenburgs, I placed a moratorium on visiting them in the winter months years ago after getting trapped in their driveway multiple times (a minivan is no match for the snow and steepness that is Pittsburgh between late October and early March). While this limits our trips to just late spring and summer months, it does make it for a lovely break when driving to Iowa in the summer.

Usually we spend 2-weeks in Iowa during the summer, but given Allen's limited vacation leave and no longer having Casa Zimmerman at our disposal, we only booked an Airbnb for seven days in the homeland. This meant, however, that we were able to spend a few days in Pittsburgh hanging out with Joe, Cate and the rest of the crew.

We got in late Friday afternoon – shortly after Joe finished work. We hung out for a while and were then joined by Elise Pearson, who was working in Pittsburgh while the rest of her family was in the DMV. Elise stayed for dinner so we were able to spend several hours catching up before crashing. It rained for most of the day Saturday, which leant itself to a leisurely breakfast, a series of games and cat naps.

When we originally reached out to the Mettenburgs about visiting, they suggested several potential activities for Saturday evening. Noa immediately shut down Picklesburgh – they have an irrational hatred of all things brined. However, we were all intrigued by the prospect of seeing Danny Elfman perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. And while attending meant circumventing pickle enthusiasts who'd been reveling in dill all day and navigating a packed and under construction parking garage (props to Gigi for driving the kids and finding a spot first), it was all worth it to hear pieces from Batman, Beetlejuice and Milk, as well as see Elfman perform live, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The next morning, we packed up the van, said our goodbye, and smoothly exited the Mettenburgs' driveway before making our way to Iowa.

Danny & Millie

 

We've often lamented that we don't get invited to many weddings anymore, so when Danny Rowe reached out to see if we'd like to come to his and Millie's wedding we enthusiastically said yes! Now I'll admit that we were hoping that the old SXSW crowd would all make it to Boston for Danny's nuptials since it would be incredibly fun to hang out with Brandon & Anneke, Charles, Wolfe, McCarthy, and of course Jeff, plus some more of the old Psi U crowd. In the end only Jeff made it from the SXSW crew, but we had a wonderful time none-the-less with Paul & Michelle, Wilson, Tim Shaw, and Jeff & Cat. Plus it gave us an excuse to buy Elaine a new dress and a new suit for me. 

We had a great time exploring Salem with Jeff & Cat in the morning, the wedding itself was beautiful, the reception was a blast (despite Danny's carefully trained DJ not showing up and the replacement not playing Pulp when we all really wanted to dance;-) and Millie & Danny are a wonderful couple.

(click here for all the pictures)