We planned to have our classmates go with us, but at the very last minute, they cancelled. But oh well, let's enjoy another part of Iowa! It's now the time for Tulip in Pella, Iowa with a touch of Holland!
Chris arrived a little late than what he promised at 10 AM. I was sitting at the front porch of my apartment building, with big bulk bag and my backpack. Our travel in his car went smoothly. We chatted about our plans for summer and he gave tidbits about places we passed along the highway.
We arrived in his parents’ house at 11.30 AM, just like what he told his mom through cell phone. The house was in the outskirt of the city of Pella, about 1 mile from the city limit. It was a two-story brick house, looking really elegant overlooking a valley. I met his mom, Cheri, for the first time at the house’s kitchen plus living room. The room was nicely decorated with antiques, sort of like the Hertz’s living room. I could tell that the family is well-off.
After talking about our plans for that day, we left the house for the downtown Pella. The Tulip Time, the name for the festival, was waiting! Chris parked the car in his grandmother’s house, a short walk to downtown. We brought two lawn chairs and a blanket for sitting during the Volks parade. We expected to meet Betsy, our classmate, and her boyfriend Luke, who happened to be a TA too at the English dept., somewhere. Chris said that he would call and find them. After about three blocks walk, we reached the main street area, which was swarming with people of all ages. I did not see many Asians, and never saw a black person. This is Midwest, what do you expect?
We passed the historical village, which houses a house where Wyatt Earp spent his childhood, a tulip garden (of course!) and Vermeer windmill. It was the first time I saw a windmill and it felt like in the Netherlands. We set for a place on the main street and we found a place at the sidewalk in front of Pella Opera House. We decided to get something for lunch first and we headed to Pella Christian High School’s tent, Chris’ high school. We bought Dutch Spiced Beef and pops. Dutch spiced beef is a sandwich with minced beef between the bread.
Pella Opera House
Chris called Betsy and while we were sitting on our lawn chairs, they showed up. We decided to look around and grab something. We went to the canal (yes, they actually have a miniature size of canal) in the Molengracht Plaza and looked round the shops around the canal. Luke bought pancakes because he said that he always had pancakes for breakfast when he resided in the Netherlands. After sitting for a while in our seats, we were heading for Dutch Pastry letter, a kind of local pastry of bread and pie paste in it. Cheri told us that an acquaintance had a stall somewhere across the post office and her homemade Dutch Pastry letter was the best. So we walk for two blocks and grab the sweet tasty Dutch letter. Chris told me that the reason why this pastry was called Dutch Pastry letter was because in the old time the pastry was formed in the letter “M” that stands for “Mother” as a gift for Mother’s day (btw, today is Mother’s Day in US). Well, all of us got the letter “I”! Now what that means???
Tulip Toren (the Tulip Tower)
Another view of the Molengracht Plaza.
When we were back in our seat, waiting for the parade, Chris asked me if I wanted to meet his grandmother who was working in a gift shop just two doors from the Opera House. Jan Vos was a nice elderly lady, and she worked as a cashier. I bought a refrigerator magnet, in the shape of a windmill, made in Delft porcelain. Hmm, Pella is indeed a touch of Holland!
The parade was on! It started with a flock of families, dressing in traditional Holland costumes, brushing the street. Fathers brought waters on neck, Mothers and Children scrubbed the street with a scrubber (looks like our ‘sikat WC’ but with long handles). Floats depicting tulips, wagons of traditional commodities (cheese, sausages), marching bands from high schools around the area, the mayor, the burgermeester (in Dutch!) were passing and entertaining. Some even still used the vocabulary from Dutch language. Awesome!
The boys in Dutch costume, ready for the parade
We had such a great time and the parade ended all too soon. Chris and I were heading back to his parents’ place. We were planning to have dinner with his parents and his grandmother. While waiting for the dinner, I took a stroll around the house. Everything was so quiet in the countryside. Chris was calling his sister in Florida. He has two younger sisters: Julie and Leah. I also chatted a bit with his mom. At 6.30 PM, Chris’ grandmother arrived and we had beef burgers, beans, and carrot for dinner. A true Iowan meal!
After the dinner, Cheri, Chris and I were out to downtown for the evening parade. It would be full with lighted floats, and I was excited about it. The weather forecast predicted that a severe thunderstorm was coming and there was a probability that the parade would be cancelled. But we went anyway, who knows that it might still be on. On the way to the parade, the radio announced that it was indeed being cancelled. Oh, darn it! So we decided to go to Jan’s place because she asked Chris to check some problems with her laptop. Wow, she was almost 79 years old and she was into email and internet! I wish my grandma is like her with computers!
Jan was not home because she said she’s going to buy something after dinner. So we went into the house and Chris was busy fixing her grandma’s laptop. Then, Jan arrived and Chris found the problem in the laptop and fixed it. Oh, guess what, I found Chris’ picture when he graduated from high school. What a good looking lad he was! Beautiful blue eyes, nice great smile! Wow! He looked so different back then!
We were heading home and made a quick stop to Hyvee. Chris, the coffee addict, had to purchase a bag of coffee because they ran out of coffee and I bought a thank you card for his parents. Back home, we spent the night watching TV, again. This time we watched “Law and Order”. Cherie and I made a guess of who the killers were and Chris was just lost! Of course women always have that sense of something happening!
We all went to bed because we were so tired that day. Besides, the next day Chris had to drive me to Cedar Rapids. I felt asleep instantly. What a long day....
Sunday, May 9, 2004
We planned to go at 10 AM, but things were just a little late. Everyone woke up late. Well, after all this is Sunday. After his parents left for church, we left for Cedar Rapids too. Of course, Chris had to get his coffee, so we went to get some coffee and donuts for breakfast in Hyvee.
The landscape of Iowa, farms, farms, and farms. Chris pointed out some interesting places, old farms houses, a lake that he used to go biking and swimming. We passed several small towns, very quiet in Sunday morning, probably everyone went to church. We took I-80 highway, as described by Barb Shreve, my host family in Marion. I got bored so easily and dozed off dozen of times. Sorry, Chris! I guess I was not a good navigator!
We arrived in Barb's and Bob's house at 12.30 PM, just as we expected. When we arrived, they just got back from church and I immediately was touched by their hospitality. The house was comfy and their pets (Jasper the dog, Zeus and Leech the cats) were friendly.
Here comes my internship days......
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Pics and links courtesy of Tulip Time, Pella Chambers of Commerce, Pella Opera House, Molengracht Plaza.
