Anna gets a welcome sign from Baba on arriving in Des Moines

We just arrived back from visiting Marcy’s family in Iowa. Due to work commitments, we couldn’t manage a trip with all four of us together. So, Anna went out 10 days ago and came back last Sunday. Marcy visited from last Saturday until today. And then Jude and I flew out on Thursday and came back today.

Anna stayed at Baba’s house, so she spent most of her time there, playing games, bowling, swimming in the pool, and enjoying good food. Marcy had to work most of the last week, but she took Friday off, and they all went bowling.

Jude driving the MG with Grampsy providing instruction

Jude spent the afternoon on Friday learning to drive a stick shift on Grampsy’s MG. There was a car rally for the British Car Club of Iowa, and we were taking the MG and the Jaguar (and Baba had her beloved Smart Car).

Jude mastered the MG by the end of Saturday

We drove to a British Pub for lunch and then visited Iowa State’s campus in Ames, where we went to the botanic gardens and then ended with ice cream. Jude then drove all the way back from Ames to West Des Moines via the backroads and by the end of the trip he had it down. I drove the MG around Ames and it is not an easy car to drive, so if he can master that, he can do any stick shift.

Enjoying our dinner at Simon’s

On Saturday night, we had a delicious dinner at Simon’s. It provided a wonderful end to our summer trips to Des Moines.