Singing in the rain...

Ely is a great small town.

We hope everyone had a happy Easter!  We have taken 2+ weeks off of our travels for a family "vacation."  We headed to Ottumwa, Iowa to spend Easter with Pat's family.  We parked our RV in Pat's Mom's driveway, spending time with her and traveling to see others.  A big thank you to Mary!!  

From Ottuma we traveled to Ely, IA and spent a week with our youngest son Chris.  We took Mary on a couple of day trips.  One to Pat's brother's house and another south to visit family, and to see the farm where the had lived prior to Ottumwa.  I was happy that my brother Mark and his wife Mary traveled from Davenport to spend a day with us.  It included an order from the Canteen.  I set my camera aside, for the most part, to just experience this family time.

Ely (pop. 2,328), just south of Cedar Rapids, lies in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridor.  Chris made the, now annual, hand-cranked ice cream for us and his neighbors.  Of course Braxton and Carter are getting old enough to do a good share of the cranking.  Amber and Tyler had us over for delicious homemade pizza, and prepared a BBQ night.

Celebrating 150 years in 2022.

Chris did a fantastic job refinishing his basement.  Loved the hidden bookcase door that leads to his utility and storage area.  

Mount Vernon is a small town near Ely and Cedar Rapids.  Excellent food and beer at Big's BBQ.  Lincoln's Wine Bar also had good wine and wood-fired pizza.

Part of the Czech Village and New Bohemian area.

The NewBo City Market houses and supports area small businesses and local craftsmen.

Located in NewBo is Shawniecakes Bakery, which was mentioned on Stephen Colbert's small business segment.

1916 Bohemian-American Hose Co.

Dan and Debbie's Creamery is always a must see.  We walked up one day for fresh squeaky cheese curds.

This Story Walk, by the Ely Library, was located along the bike path that runs through Ely.  I hadn't seen one before.  There were 14 signs illustrating the book "Singing in the Rain," illustrated by Tim Hopgood.  Beautiful pictures. Funny thing was, I took these pictures on a walk in the rain.  No singing though.

 Where are the Piepers now?  Ottumwa, IA