Author: jfwerth

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Floods, Jobs, and Houses… Oh My!

Yikes! It’s been quite the summer. If you haven’t talked to us recently, this post will get you caught up on some major changes. Here it goes…

We just spent the past three weekends travelling: a week and a half on the east coast and a weekend in Omaha (see previous posts). Not wanting to have a relaxing summer, Elise had (after applying) received two offers for job interviews in Minnesota; one in Prior Lake and the other in Rockford. As a result, her and the boys headed up Thursday night (after spending the past two days at a work conference). While the boys hung out with Mary, Elise interviewed and by the end of the day had not one, but two, job offers. So.. now what? I (Jon) hop in the truck and head up to Eden Prairie late Friday night.

Elise and I decided to spend Saturday checking out the two towns and deciding what would be the best fit for our family. Coming to a decision that night, we decide that Rockford would be the best fit for Elise’s job (middle school science at an Environmental Studies magnet school) and for the family (small town).

After having made this decision, I get a call from my parents… Glencoe received a major dousing Saturday night and their house was filled with three feet of water. So…

While Larry heads to Laura’s house (out of power for 3 days and some water in her basement) and Elise calls the schools to finalize the decision, I head out to Glencoe to aid in the disaster recovery. Needless to say, after three feet of water, it was a very emotionally and physically draining time. We pumped out the remaining water, saved what we could, and started to clean up the mess, mud, and ruined belongings. It was quite the experience of digging through your history and tossing a lot of it into the trash. I took Monday off of work to stay one more day before heading back to Iowa City with Elise and the boys.

To keep this giant narrative moving along, I came up the next weekend to help finalize the gutting of mom and dad’s house, who are now living temporarily with Grandma A until they can get a new house. The next weekend, Fred, Cathy, and Teresa came down for a four day weekend over the fourth of July. Why? To finish up the basement remodeling of my house in order to get it on the market! Meanwhile, Elise traveled to Minnesota with the boys for the annual Mouse party and to allow us more construction hours in the day.

So… It’s currently Sunday, July 14th. I have been in a different state 5 out of the past 6 weeks (not including this one). Elise starts a new position Aug 19th, at which point I will continue to work for UIowa, albeit remotely. We’ve started to look (tentatively) at houses in Delano, MN and have arrangements for daycare. Our house is going to be listed tomorrow (Monday). Fred and Cathy have an accepted offer on their new house, and Teresa just took possession of hers. And while I write this, I am at 35,000 feet over New York headed to Boston for a work conference.

Needless to say, it’s been one hell of a summer. Hopefully, my next post will be from Minnesota 🙂

Best wishes, – Jon

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Camilla’s Birthday

Upon returning to Iowa City only a few days ago (5) from our East Coast vacation, we thought it would be a great idea to hop back in the car for another road trip.

This time we headed west to Omaha for Camilla Degen’s birthday celebration on June 15th. Elise, the boys, and I stayed with Mary, Larry, and Laura in the guest suite of Camilla’s residence. The party was held downstairs in a large room where nearly all the Degen’s were present. It was a good chance to see everyone and catch up on stories and current events.

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After a long day of celebration, we drove back to Iowa City on Sunday, making a stop at the Baker’s Square in Des Moines for a Father’s day meal.

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East Coast – Day Six – Newport

On Wednesday morning, we packed up our belongings and said goodbye to Cape Cod, Nickerson State Park, and our sweet little yurt. We drove back west and pulled in to Newport, RI a little before noon. We decided to make a stop at the visitor’s center to determine what our  options were for the next 24 hours.

After the visitor’s center, we went and checked in to our hotel: the America’s Cup Inn.

Once we were placed in a room, we grabbed some lunch across the street at Busker’s Irish Pub. With full stomachs, we hit the town to see the sites. We took a scenic ocean view drive around the south end of the island and parked to start our cliff walk. The cliff walk is a paved path with the ocean on one side and large estates on the other.


If you want to see really cool mansions with scenic views of the ocean, the cliff walk is the place to be. After a while, we had to turn back due to storm damage, but we headed via the surrounding neighborhoods.

At this point, we were feeling a little tired, so we traveled back to the hotel for a quick rest. Feeling refreshed, we walked down to the wharfs to catch our evening sailboat ride that we had booked earlier. It was an enjoyable experience, motoring out into the open water where the crew of three raised the sails and started off on our small voyage. We enjoyed Narragansett beer while watching the sun go down and hearing stories about the sites we were seeing. It was a great end to our vacation and headed home the next day.

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Fun in the park

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The local playground recently received a splashpad, so Jacob had to test it out.

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East Coast – Day Five – Cape Cod

After the first night in our yurt, we hopped in the car to explore Cape Cod. If you look at a map if the Cape, it looks like an arm flexing. Our state park was in the elbow, and we drove up the forearm to get to the fist (the point). We quickly discovered that recent storms had done a number on some of the beaches (namely, the wooden staircases accessing them) as they were closed.

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After visiting the site of the first transatlantic telegraph signal, we found an open beach and spent some time enjoying the sun, waves, and sand. Finishing up our picnic meal, we hopped into the water for a brief and rather chilly splash. While the sun was out, the temperature was only 70° and the wind fairly strong.

After a few hours, we continued north and found Race Point, spending some time learning about the Life Saving Stations that had dotted the coast line and the men who were stationed there.

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Next, we stopped in Provincetown and took the opportunity to walk around the docks and downtown area with shops and art galleries in abundance.

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After we had an ice cream treat, we headed back to the state park to shower before heading out to dinner at Laurino’s.

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East Coast – Day Four – Sam Adams

Today we packed up our stuff and checked out of the Hyatt Regency in Boston.

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We grabbed breakfast at the Boston Coffee Company and hopped in the car to once again brave the Boston streets (although we had a fairly easy time doing so). Our destination was the Sam Adams brewery just southwest of downtown.

After searching for a parking spot for quite some time (it was street cleaning day!) we eventually parked and we’re able to hop inside. Waiting for the tour to start, we had a chance to discover some of the history behind the brewery.

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Once the tour started, we were informed about the brewing process and the ingredients used with the highlight for me being able to taste and smell the grains and hops. The rest of the tour included a look at the equipment in the brewery, which was pretty sparse.

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We found out that most of the brewing happens in larger facilities elsewhere (Cincinnati and Allentown, PA) whereas the Boston brewery is used as an R&D test kitchen, with most of the original brewery being used as office/retail space. The “tour” ended with a tasting of some of the beers (Boston Lager, Summer Ale, and a ‘Baby Saison’) while our host explained the tastes.

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Afterward, we headed to Doyle’s Cafe, the oldest Irish pub in America, where we ate a late lunch.

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With plenty of beer and food in our stomachs, we began our drive to Cape Cod.

We arrived at Nickerson State Park and spent some time driving around, checking in, and getting some supplies (food, blanket, toiletries). Once we had all we needed, we made our home in the yurt (yes, a yurt) and played cards while eating cheese and hummus with some red wine before heading to bed.

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East Coast – Day Two – Wedding

Day Two: Friday

The big day had arrived for Chris and Karen. As one of the groomsmen, I arrived at the church (St. Thomas More) at 9:45 am. The morning was filled with putting on tuxes, a debate on how to fold a pocket square, and plenty of pictures interspersed with some waiting and joking.
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After the cameras had enough, we went back into the church for last minute preparations and some food.

The ceremony started at 1pm and went very smoothly (although I was happy to return to the air conditioning of the gathering area – it was once again over 90°).
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Following the ceremony, we all hopped in the cars to travel out to the reception, now being held at Water’s Edge Resort since the original location had gone out of business! The resort was a picturesque setting located right on the ocean.
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After a delicious cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, we headed inside to eat dinner and to dance. The celebration ended at nine, and we headed to the hotel where we chatted with friends. Overall, it was a great wedding filled with good times and good people.

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East Coast – Day One – New Haven

Elise and I arrived in New Haven late Thursday night and, upon getting our rental car, proceeded directly to our hotel (Premiere Inn and Suites). It was a nice place with small living room and kitchenette, but it was in a slightly strange location nestled amongst a business park.
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On Friday morning, we headed north to the suburb of Hamden to pick up my tux. Afterward, we drove to Sleeping Giant State Park and went for a sizeable hike on the many trails. The trails were beautiful and ranged from wide and level to fairly rigorous. The park is named for due to the terrain representing a giant lying on his back. As a result you could hike up his shoulder, head, etc. and be afforded a very nice view of the surrounding area.
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After a lunch at one of the peaks, we headed back down to the car and returned to the hotel for a refreshing shower (the temperature was a balmy 90°).

Late in the afternoon, we drove to downtown New Haven to meet up with Chris for the rehearsal, followed by the groom’s dinner at Geronimo’s (a tex-mex restaurant with delicious food and good margaritas). All went well and we were prepared for the big day.

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East Coast – Day Three – Boston

Yesterday was an exciting day of discovery in Boston. Heading out from Sandy Brook, CT we dropped the tux off at a Men’s Wearhouse and ventured toward Boston. On the way, we stopped at an outlet mall and picked up some great watches (via a recommendation from one of the groomsmen). We rolled into Boston around 12:30, parked, and checked in to the hotel (Hyatt Regency).

Afterward, we hit the streets in search for a brief bite to eat and then some sightseeing. We toured the Boston Common (giant park) and started out on the Freedom Trail (a red line in the sidewalk that directs you to a plethora of historic places that were important in the American Revolution.
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Following the trail, we ended up in the North End and found Mike’s Pastries (another recommendation). We purchased some amazing cannolis and enjoyed them while watching a softball game next to the harbor.
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By this point our feet were rather tired so we caught the ‘T’ (subway) back to our hotel.

After a brief nap and shower, we hit the town for some late night sustenance. We ate some wonderful ahi tuna and BBQ shrimp (with beer) before heading to an Irish pub (Emmet’s) for some drinks. After a long, but great, day of sightseeing we walked back to the hotel and hit the hay.

Tomorrow, it’s off to the Sam Adams brewery and then to Cape Cod.

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Circus

On May 9th, we decided to go check out the traveling circus.  The circus was brought to Iowa City for two days by the local Shriners, and held an outdoor event at the Johnson County circus.  We thought it would be a great opportunity for Jacob to see all of the animals that he knows from his books.

It was a great event featuring tigers, elephants, flying ladies, a hilarious clown, and other stuff that we didn’t see (we left at intermission due to the lateness of the hour).  For the majority of the time Jacob sat with this awed look on his face, never really moving or talking other than to request some water.

Enjoy the photos!

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