A Meet-Up

Image courtesy of Kuat Rack

 That Kuat Piston Pro rack I bought wasn't going to fly from Chicago to Waterloo, Iowa by itself, so a meet-up was planned between Ari and I so I could get it from him. I mean, the whole buying a rack thing was pretty much based on seeing Ari. 

Not really, but kinda......

Anyway, I bought it from the shop Ari works at and that was in a suburb of Chicago, so I had arranged with Ari to meet him on Saturday in St. Donatus, Iowa to pick it up. Mrs. Guitar Ted came along, and as a surprise, so did Ari's wife. After Ari and his wife gave us a nice pair of flowering pots and after we moved the rack into the back of my 4Runner, we took a little walk at Ari's suggestion. 

Ari wanted to show me the Catholic Chapel and cemetery there up on top of a short, steep hill not far from the cars. So we hiked up on a beautiful late April afternoon to check it out. Things like this are not heard of or seen much in Iowa. You wouldn't think Iowa could be this pretty, or have this rich history, since it is "corn country", fly-over territory, and is "boring". But if this is you, you don't know nuthin' about Iowa. So, I thought I'd share some images of the St. Donatus Catholic Church which is on the list of National Historic Places.

 

After enjoying the beauty of the church's interior space we walked out back to take in a view of the cemetery. Ari said further on up the hill there is another small chapel, but we didn't hike all the way up to see it. 

 

There was another church across the valley up on the next hill from the one we were at. 

The St. Donatus area is VERY hilly and gorgeous right now with all the green things on full display. We walked back down the hill and entered Kalme's Restaurant in St. Donatus. It has been around for 150 years or more there. I described it as a restaurant which is everything Cracker Barrel wishes it could be. 

Anyway the meal was fantastic and the company was even better. But eventually it was time to go back home. Ari is a dear friend and seeing him on the traditional weekend of Trans Iowa was a treat. We spoke of plans for him to come visit in Waterloo sometime so I could take him out on our local gravel.  

So, that was the trip to go get the rack. Now it will be unboxing time soon and I'll get around to my impressions of this thing soon enough. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more on the rack.