Adventure: A Love Story

This dispatch comes from the "When it Rains It Pours Department."

Sunday afternoon, after a long brunch catching up with busy friends, Billy, my darling companion, and I found ourselves with no agenda, no plans, no commitments. Yes, the house needed cleaned, and we could have shopped for the upcoming week, but the mid-October sunshine called and the promise of an unplanned day of adventuring whispered sweet nothings in our ears. We hopped in the car, pointed it east, and were on our way.

First stop: An open house. Don't you just love open houses? Even when you are not in the market to buy a house, it is so pleasant to imagine you are going to buy a house. The simple act of poking around in a stranger's abode and mentally arranging my furniture is an entire Sunday afternoon's worth of entertainment. The house we stopped at, on Chickasaw Drive I believe, featured a pretty swinging downstairs boudoir complete with wood paneling and a jaguar sculpture. When we left there was an enormous tabby cat seated on the roof of the car, like one of those lazy-ass lions you see in National Geographic movies that relocate their lounging to the roof of a safari jeep, to the delight and then dismay of the travelers inside. We took it as a good sign.

Next, the Majestic Lion antique store. It's probably good that I don't have all the money I could spend, because I would have left the Majestic Lion with a massive oak fireplace mantel, an enormous bust of Ab Lincoln, and a taxidermy alligator head. I kept my wallet in my pocket, but Billy found some Ben Franklin coins.

Then Billy wanted to go the country, so we drove to Polk City, where I had never been.

Third Stop: Big Creek State Park. It was a breezy autumn day so the busy beach was empty, the parking lot abandoned, and the stands all bundled up for the winter. But, there were a handful of people wind surfing, can you imagine? They zipped and glided back and forth across the choppy water just as easy as you please. Who knew you could wind surf in Iowa in October?

Fourth Stop: The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad in Boone Iowa. Billy, I don't know if you know this, is all about trains. We snooped around the train station, and Billy, climbed aboard one of the engines. He fears nothing and he's not afraid of getting kicked out of places. He invites us. And, it's that attitude that gets us into some great adventures.

Fifth Stop: Wilson's Tap in Boone. They advertised games on the front sign. And Billy loves, loves, loves pinball, so we had to stop. We had a beer, played pinball and then pool (which I hate, for the record) and put some beloved songs on the juke box.

Then, after a big day of both nothing, and everything, we pointed the car towards home. Billy made dinner. I washed the dishes. They say compatibility is the most important feature in a relationship. For me, that means, having someone who doesn't mind seeing what's around the next corner or getting into a little trouble. If you've got someone who can enjoy a cold beer and pinball in a dive bar forty minutes from home, just because it's there, you've really got someone.