Iowa, or how I turned 30 without throwing myself into the Mighty Mississippi.

Now that I've had a few days to decompress, let us now talk about Iowa & turning 30.

First, Iowa.

Now, far be it from me to knock anyones home state. I, too, am from a state that is frequently a mystery to people. Many don't actively seek it out, they drive through it to get to their destination. Sure, you may stop in once in awhile to enjoy our tax-free shopping or our charming and clean beaches, but try explaining to people where you were. "Delaware? Isn't that a part of [Maryland, Pennsylvania, a county in __, a suburb of ____, etc]?" In actuality, Delaware is a lovely state. It was the first state to ratify the constitution; there were, or maybe still are, 300 chickens for every person in the state (I mean to give an idea of the actual number of chickens, not to imply the government hands out chickens); and is generally a great place to live or retire. Wait, i'm losing focus on my point. For more info on Delaware, check it out here

Where was I? right. far be it for me to knock anyone's home state. many do not seek out Delaware, just as I did not think I would ever end up in states like Iowa, or even Ohio, ever. The middle of the country is a mystery to me. A mystery that I was more than comfortable living with, without ever solving. It's one of those things I sort of promised myself around the age of 18--I would only live on one of the coasts, or at the very least, be in one of the outlining perimeter states near some body of water or a university. It's the sort of closed minded thinking that I happily held on to. Maybe it's an east coast thing? Looking at those landlocked states and thinking, "poor saps". Iowa, it turns out, was actually quite charming. There was a part...I believe it was called east dubuque, or galena, that was the epitome of Americana. Downtown Dubuque itself was quite nice as well, and it reminded me a lot of home--small, but cute, independent boutiques & eateries over big commercial chains, all right near a large body of water. It was the getting there that was the kicker.

Nine and a half goddamn hours. You look at a map and it's like, "Oh, it's right there, no worries we'll be there in no time." Wrong, sir. Wrong. Those are hard road hours, especially with a lil jellybean in tow

what's an Iowa?

At one point, both MK and I joked about preferring a drive to the center of earth than our current destination...and I may or may not have said that I would rather rip off 2 appendages & set them on fire before making that drive again, but in our defense, I believe that was around hour 8.5 of our trip and roadsickness had officially set in.

I didn't have huge plans for my birthday, though I never really do. I would've liked to have spent the day sleeping & crafting- Because I am old, and my loftiest goals involve being left alone with no big hubbub. Honestly I believe I am only 2 or 3 birthdays away from turning into the old woman on the block who shakes her fists at kids and calls them whippersnappers. But I digress...if you'd asked me in the beginning of the year what my bday plans were, it wouldnt have been getting up at 3:45am, hitting the road at 5, and sitting in the car for 9 or 10 hours to a state that was somewhere in the middle.

So why did we do it? why did we embark on this road trip?

To see two lovely people get married ♥

was it worth it? yes. it was a great wedding & reception and by the end of it, I was actually glad I came to Iowa. Hell, I was even taking pictures of the city. such as this one:i have no idea what that is

My point is I was feeling good enough to document the fact that I had been there, and that it was actually a nice place to visit. Though that feeling didn't last too long once the reality of having to get back home set in, for a few minutes there I was unexpectedly happy to be in Iowa, but still very ready to leave.

30 doesn't feel that much different than 29...or 28 for that matter. I think my turning point birthday was 27 to 28, and that was probably because 27 was my favorite age. I didn't have some magical moment when I realized everything needs to change, because nothing does. I still like the same movies, I'm still going to collect and covet toys, I'm still going to burp and giggle about it. Not that much has changed. Well, that's not totally true, I used to go to more shows, but that's different now because if I get pushed or even slightly nudged, someone is getting decked. I don't care what the music is, don't touch me.

I don't wish I was younger because the ages between 21-26ish are hell. There's some "what does this all mean" soul searching to be done during that quarter-life crisis that now seems laughable. I'm a lot smarter than I was when i was, say, 24 or 25, especially when it comes to selecting who stays in my life and who is toxic. The only thing I guess that I'd want to retain from that age was my metabolism and alcohol tolerance.

I'm sure there's some Doogie Howser-like lesson buried all of the chaos that was the road trip that can be applied to getting older and hitting a so-called landmark birthday. Taking things in stride because happy surprises show up in unexpected places? Wherever you go, there you are? Your life could be worse, you could live in Iowa? [kidding]. I don't know, I'm just glad to be home and not dwelling on being another year older. Or to sum it up it one picture, i think lil jelly bean does it best with this look during the ride home:

over it.