½ Tank #15 & 16

Applebee’s was a nice treat for Hannah and I when we stopped for dinner in Mason City, IA. I even discovered that I like zucchini. Don’t get me wrong, people have been feeding us well. Very well. We were kind of hoping to lose weight on the trip because we wouldn’t have enough food, but so far I think the opposite has been true. Which I’m okay with. I really like food.

It was dark on the last stretch of our drive to Spillville, IA, and the roads took us past many creepy looking cornfields, so we had fun calling each other “Candy Cane” in scary voices. That’s a reference to a horror movie that I haven’t even seen all the way through, in case you’re wondering how random we actually are.

When we first arrived at Hannah’s great aunt’s house, I felt like I wasn’t going to enjoy this stop very much. I was worried that Shelby was just going to focus on getting to know Hannah and that I would be third wheel the whole time.

I was very wrong. Shelby was a blast!! Let me tell you a bit about her: she’s 71 years young, wears pink lipstick, has her nails painted pink, has an accent that I can’t really describe, she’s goofy and friendly, she swears “like a sailor,” just like Hannah was warned, and she will tease you but can take what she dishes out. Shelby also told us that she had been married for the first time when she was 18, and that both of her husbands had been drinkers and the more recent husband had actually come close to killing her one night prior to killing himself. She ended up in the hospital for many days. She used to live in D.C. in a condo where her mom lived a few floors above her, but when her mother died she didn’t feel like she needed to stay there any longer. Her brother (I think his name is John, but I’m not sure) told her that she ought to move out to Iowa, and that’s where she’s been the past 5 or so years.

My first hint that Shelby would be fun was when she called Hannah’s aunt Julie the night we arrived and told her that we had decided to turn around because of snow. The next day started with us going to visit Shelby’s brother’s auto shop to meet his daughter, Lynn, and her son, Jake, (and to catch our first glimpse of Ryan...I’ll tell you more about that in a bit). We also met Colleen, the brother’s first wife, and while we were chatting his first wife showed up, so Colleen, Shelby, Hannah and I snuck out a side door to avoid seeing her.

Next we headed off to a breakfast place for yummy food. Shelby told us a story about how she had been driving once and had to go to the bathroom really bad. She finally came across a place with a restroom, but discovered it was closed. She was so mad that she just peed on the front of the building.

After eating we went to the nursing home where her brother is currently living due to his having broken both of his arms and both of his legs. He was driving not too long ago at night and run full on into a passing train he didn’t know was there. He was also a fun, sarcastic guy.

Our next stop was to see an ice cave and waterfall in one of the nearby towns. Even though it was the middle of the day and we didn’t even go in, the cave freaked Hannah and I out, and at the same time of course captured our attention. So we made plans to go back the next morning with some flashlights and our bear mace. We also got to see a really pretty waterfall that I would not have expected to find in Iowa.

At some point (possibly while we were at the store with Shelby buying us tons of food) it came out that Hannah had thought Ryan (from the auto shop) was cute. So Shelby decided to take us BACK to the shop so she could introduce us to Ryan. Hannah was super embarrassed but we went anyways and he ended up being really nice. We half invited him to dinner with us, but no conclusion was reached. When we rejoined Shelby and Lynn, the first thing Lynn said was, “Isn’t he hot??” haha. The whole rest of the day it became a funny joke between Shelby, Hannah and myself. At one point Shelby even said that she was worried about Hannah because of her “love affair with Ryan.” She’s such a kick.

On our way back to Shelby’s house from the auto shop we stopped at the Bily Clocks Museum. That was actually really cool. These Bily Brothers never went farther than 35 miles away from there Spillville farm and had only a fifth grade education, yet they carved these incredibly intricate clocks having to do with many different people and places. They got their inspiration from books and postcards people sent them. President Ford even offered them $1 million for one of their clocks, but they refused to sell any. Even the city isn’t allowed to sell any of them now.

After having pizza with Jake, the three of us girls went to play cards with Shelby’s friend Alice. We played a game called “65” and I can’t even explain how great it was. The night was such a wonderfully different experience for me. Two 23-year-olds giggling and playing cards with two 70-something-year-olds. And yet it was just the same as any other girls’ night. We had chips, popcorn and candy, chatted about life, families and friends, and then talked smack when we were losing. I’m not sure it can get much better than that, but I’ll keep going to find out. :)

We awoke to frost on the ground Tuesday morning and were a little worried about the cave having ice in it. Knowing my klutzy tendencies, Hannah asked me to please not fall off a cliff while we were exploring. I said I’d try. Me being me, I packed two waters, two Clif bars, and our bear mace to go with our flashlights. Hannah made fun of me but I told her that when we were trapped in the cave waiting to be rescued she’d apologize. Of course, that never happened. After all our anticipation and hyped up fear, the cave combing was very anticlimactic due to the tunnel a little ways back being blocked by a large boulder and a “Keep Out” sign. But it was fun to tease each other on the way there about the evil earth-dwelling deformed people. If you like scary movies and you haven’t seen “The Descent,” you should.

Climbing around the outside of the cave proved to be entertaining enough to make the drive worth-while. Then hopped back on the road and headed up to Minneapolis, MN. One of the first cities we drove through in Minnesota was Harmony, a small Amish town, although we didn’t see a horse and buggy until our return trip when it was dark.

Our first, and ultimately only, stop in Minneapolis was the Mall of America. Neither Hannah nor I particularly care for malls in general, but we thought it would be a nice touristy thing to do. And I’ll be honest, it was a little incredible. There really is an amusement park INSIDE the mall. We definitely got our exercise for the day, too, since we walked around every level. I don’t know how many miles that is, but my feet were sore by the end of the day. Stopping in almost every shoe store we came across may have contributed to that too. Hannah did eventually find the most awesome boots ever, though, so at least we accomplished something. I also managed to find a sweatshirt for only $10, which made me happy.

Around 7:30 p.m. we arrived back at Shelby’s and she put together a simple little meal that was very filling. We also played another game of 65 with just the three of us.

Leaving the next morning was really difficult. We could tell Shelby didn’t want us to go, and we didn’t completely want to go either. She watched us pack up the car, gave us hugs, told us she loved us, and sent us off with a little goodbye note before we disembarked to Wisconsin. Yet another great stop. Thanks, Shelby.

God bless, over and out.
~Marissa