Day 15 Around Anamosa

A few little things I keep forgetting to tell you. When I was at the college in Platteville, just leaving the alumni office with Susan, who was ushering me out, the fire alarm went off. Oops, she said, we have to go out, so we did, into a drizzly rain. I had an umbrella with me so put it up and offered to shield her too. Her car stood at the curb but she did not have her keys; she had several umbrellas in the car -- no good to anyone. I couldn't offer my car as it was too full and too far away. We must have stood there close together for at least 10 minutes before the "all clear" sounded, getting our backsides damp because the umbrella was too small to cover all of both of us. A little awkward but she was pleasant and we chatted some. We weren't the only umbrella "grouping" getting damp.

Last night, after supper at the Bamboo Garden, right in Anamosa, I went for a walk in the large and well-cared-for cemetery that is only a short distance from the Park. It has a rather large hill in the center and as I crested the top of the hill, I came face to face, not 20 feet away, with a fawn. I stopped still. It looked at me; then I noticed another fawn and a doe about 12 feet to the side. They all just looked. I saw a tail flip once and was sure they would leave but they didn't. The fawn closer to me moved over towards its mother a little and the other two went back to grazing. But the little one I had surprised just turned and looked at me. I thought it was curious, but then it stamped its forefoot and gave a snuffling snort. At that the other two startled but they still did not run. The fawn repeated it's stamping and snorting three more times and I decided I was being told to "bug off", so I started walking away from them towards my car and I heard one more parting snort as I left. After I had gone 300 yards or so I looked back and they were still there in the same place. Evidently they considered that their turf!

The first night I arrived in Anamosa, I could not find anything. Usually when I get into town, the courthouse and the library are in the center of town. This town did not seem to have a center. I saw a sign for the penetentiary, which amused me because it kind of expressed where the emphasis was. The next morning when I went into town, though, I saw the courthouse up on a rise, nearly hidden by the trees at street level. And it is directly in front of the penetentiary. But the reason for the sign, I figured out, is the pententiary's unusual architecture. It looks for all the world like an old castle or keep, complete with a turret! It's probably considered a tourist attraction. They even give tours. Not for me.

The other "first night" experience was trying to find a decent place to eat. My GPS wasn't coming up with anything interesting locally and for the promise of a good meal I was not adverse to driving a little ways towards Cedar Rapids, but when I got to the promised eatery, it was closed. So I stopped at a fast food place. Ugh! The next day I passed the Bamboo Garden and it looked like a nice place and had lots of cars so I ate there last night. Good Choice! By far the best Chinese buffet I have ever had. I shall plan to eat there every night as long as I am here. They had lots of vegetables and had them fixed in four different ways, all good. And they had a wonderful egg-drop soup which I love. And fruit, and pot scrapers. Yum! A great meal for under $10. Can't beat that.