My sister Kristin (yes, we both have sisters by that name) visited Ames from BC this summer. One fine summer's day, she, my mom, and I packed up the car and drove down to Adel. We spent a ton of time in a great little shop called The Atherton House. It was kind of a cross between The Octagon and Worldly Goods--basically they had art pieces for your home or gifts from all around the world. It's very well organized and the shopowners can tell you stories about all the artists and artisans who created the pieces. I definitely plan to go back for Christmas shopping--every piece is tasteful, interesting, and reasonably priced. Not cheap, but reasonable. Highly recommended.
We had lunch at Cafe in the Park, which required us to walk through the cemetary department and was housed in an old Parks and Rec building. The food was a cross between an Iowa church potluck (jello salad on the salad bar) and a women's club--we had croissants, quiche, and strawberry soup.
We also went to a great quilting shop (http://www.adelquilting.com/; cute little blog here http://www.adelquilting.blogspot.com/).
On the way home, we visited the Benton Arboretum and saw the sights above. Mom especially loved the Grant Wood-esque rolling hills. The statue is of St. Francis. And Kristin is examining what makes the tree so silver--its name plate was in Latin, so we don't know what it is. We hope to go back in the fall--I think it would be beautiful. There are driving and walking trails. (We decided to save Picket Fence Creamery and Prairieland Herbs for another day.) If you decide to go to the Arboretum, get a detailed map. Ours was not so detailed, but the lady in the post office was very helpful. We love small town Iowa!
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