Just returned from an awesome trip to Iowa (and Nebraska). First stop, the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. What an awesome place – worth every moment and every penny to get there. If you have any interest at all in the history of any kind of musical instrument, this place will blow you away. And they are expanding! It took us 3 hours to go through the collection on display, and that’s only 7% of what they own.
We love the “half-planned” vacation. We usually research a destination or two, but mostly we just head off “that-a-way”. Plenty of time to explore, get off the beaten path, and improvise as new opportunities present themselves. With the help of a GPS navigation system and wireless internet, it’s easier now than ever. Usually we experience awesome coincidences when random things from the trip seem to magically connect together (like the McCormick House below). At the end of the trip, we’re often struck by some “theme” based on what recurred. One trip to San Antonio turned into our “Masonic” trip, and other trips have had other themes.
Finally got the next “Frank & Ludwig” sock puppet video finished last night. Grace and her sister Laura chipped in and really helped raise the production values. Grace created a “Sally” puppet that is as goofy and loud as I imagined the character would be, and Laura provided the perfect voice and puppetry. Grace also engineered the horn prop we needed, as well as the initial idea for the story…
