We look forward to this race every year in Iowa City, Iowa. It’s a challenging event-over 9 miles downstream. The river can be very different year to year. We also look forward to seeing family living in the Iowa City area. Sometimes they even come out to cheer us on!
We left Friday and found a coffee shop to visit in Galesburg IL. We always seem to slip by Galesburg but not today. We found The Beanhive in the downtown area. This is a classic old-school shop with a theme of music, and a touch of motorcycle racing.
I ordered the house light coffee, Mary ordered the Americano dark roast. She said it was really smooth. It was a little after 1:00 so we ordered the turkey biscuit sandwich, and artichoke and kalamata olive quiche. Both were very tasty.
After checking into our hotel in Coralville, we met family at a local pizza restaurant, Wig and Pen. They have a couple of locations around central Iowa and serve thin, thick and deep dish style. Also on the menu are sandwiches and pasta. What got my attention was a specialty pizza.
Now one immutable truth I have learned about eating out; never order food not in the restaurant’s wheelhouse. Don’t order a hamburger at wing joint, a hotdog at mexican cantina, or chinese at a pizza place. Wait, I could be wrong about that last one.
Among other pizzas on the “Wig” menu was the “Crab Rangoon”. Cream cheese, crab (well, imitation crab), mozzarella, topped with fried won-ton strips and sweet chili sauce. We figured let’s give it a shot but just to make sure, we also ordered a 16″ sausage, onion, and mushroom. Just in case.
I have to admit, the flavors worked. The sweet chili sauce was a little spicy but tasted great. I still won’t get a burger at a wing store but maybe I’ll be a little more daring next time I order pizza. Definitely worth a try!
The various races we do can have different personalities. By that I mean the type of paddlers and general vibe. We do a couple of events each year that are pretty high-level. You drive into the parking lot and every boat seems to be a long, sleek carbon fiber surf-ski-design kayak. Typically, these races are supported by clubs and focus on speed and distance. There are very few, if any, new or entry level paddlers attending these types of events.
On the other hand there are races, that while there are some fast boats, mostly cater to the casual or recreation-type paddler. The Great Iowa River Race is such a race. The race is organized by the Johnson County (Iowa City) Conservation Environmental Education Department. They fundraise for community outreach and actually use the proceeds from the race to buy boats and boards for public use. The vibe of this type of race is much different. More small recreation boats, a little more relaxed.
There were over 130 paddlers for Saturday’s race–pretty decent sized. Since it’s downstream, you first unload your boats at the start area, then drive to the finish area and park. Then you catch a ride back with someone or on the shuttle.
The race was set to start at 10:00, we arrived around 8:45. We unloaded the boats, got registered, and headed south to Hills, Iowa where the race would finish. We waited for about 15 minutes and got aboard the shuttle which took us back to the start.
We were supposed to start getting in the water at 9:30 but that was delayed because another shuttle had to be sent for some late arrivals. We listened to the pre-race talk and got in line to launch our boats.
The day was absolutely perfect – 70 degrees, sunshine and a slight breeze. The river level was a little low but still had a good current.
At the end of the race there were volunteers helping paddlers with their boats. And the after-race meal was catered by Hy-Vee. Burgers, chips and drink. I worked so hard, I had two burgers. They were delicious! We waited around for the awards, packed up and were on our way home. But not before a to-go cup of coffee from our go-to shop to keep us alert on the drive.
We went back into Iowa City to The Java House on First Avenue. Now, we’ve written about this place before and we need to try other shops in Iowa City, but their pour-over brew is some of the best coffee we have found. I had medium roast “Giant of the Earth” and Mary had the dark roast “American Gothic”. Very smooth and rich!
An hour later on the drive home, we needed a boost for our final leg home. So we visited another regular stop for us, Coffee Revolution in west Davenport, IA. We have learned that if we can find a coffee shop open at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon and it’s good coffee, stick with it. So we did. We ordered coffee and were on our way home.
Awesome trip! The Galesburg coffee shop and Davenport coffee shops were good finds! Will have to try. I was in Davenport a couple months ago, and could NOT find an open coffee shop, on a Friday, at 3 p.m.!
Ever visit the church north of Riverside?
No we didn’t get the chance that weekend. We should make another trip to Riverside(future birthplace of James T Kirk) to the Star Trek museum. We can take a look at the church and all the family connections.