Before we left the Magnolia Hotel, we wanted to share some of the historic property's views. Built in 1923, it served as offices and apartments and keeps a 1950's directory in the lobby directly across from the brass doored elevators. 
An interesting feature is the enclosed courtyard which, with the weather when we first arrived, reminded us of hotels in New Orleans.
It also contained ornate light fixtures laden with crystals. Not our typical hotel.
There were metal doors attached to the fire stairs side of the door from the second floor to the ground floor - not sure what they were originally intended for.
Great staff, good food, nightly happy hour for guests with free house wine and draft beer, and milk and fresh baked cookies at night (which we did not sample).
Along the route we saw an unusual grouping of wind turbines - all in a row looking like some kind of modern sculpture.
Also saw a brightly gilded dome of a cathedral as we motored along I-80.
We diverted from I-80 as we crossed Iowa in order to visit two quilt shops in Winterset and the recently opened quilt museum there.
Winterset is in Madison County - the location for the movie highlighting its bridges (and people). Nice small town atmosphere.
It was also the birthplace of John Wayne with a main street named after him.
Not sure what these businesses were named before the movie, but you will find Covered Bridge Realty,
Madison Mercantile, and Bridges Financial.
Kathy visited two quilt shops - one of which would have been right at home in Philadelphia due to its name.
The other shop had previously been the Fons & Porter shop in Winterset - familiar to quilters who can continue to watch the duo give quilting tips on PBS' Create Channel. The current owners are Iowa natives who lived in King of Prussia for over a decade. We spend about 20 minutes finding out about them and updating them on the changes in K of P since they left.
The Winterset Quilt Museum was a little gem. It was housed in a former JC Penney branch with their logo still on the tiled entryway.
The space has space for a couple dozen hanging quilts exhibited in changing exhibits throughout the year. The current exhibit highlights "Three Centuries of Red + White Quilts." A couple of the currently exhibited quilts are pictured.
Kathy helped in this endeavor.
Quilters may recognize the staffer working with Kathy as Marianne Fons.
Along with her other quilting endeavors, Ms. Fons mentioned that she was on the board of the Quilts of Valor foundation, of which there was a display in the museum.
Based on the time we finished in Winterset, we decided to only go as far as Cedar Rapids, IA, just north of Iowa City, today. We found another local BBQ spot where we enjoyed the familiar aroma as we entered and the great flavor of our dinners.
Tomorrow we expect to get near the Illinois border with Indiana or just into Indiana.
Marty
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