the Grabers: Des Moines to Wisconsin

I am so glad we took this trip a couple of weeks ago - before the virus hit and has made us homebound! Well, I am sequestered in my home, but Allen has gone to work. He may stay there longer and become busier and busier if this virus gets out of control, as he works at the hospital as Director of Pharmacy. I listened to church on-line this morning. I should say 'churches'. I listened to our church, our son-in-law's church AND son's church too. My heart is full!!

"When I am afraid, I will trust in You." Psalm 56:3

"When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple;

the Lord is on His heavenly throne.

He observes the sons of men." Psalm 11:3

We praise Him in the suffering. He is still King over all the earth! Now, continuing our journey....

We spent the night in West Des Moines where we had points for a free night's stay at a hotel. This side of town is all new.

As I was getting ready the next morning, I realized that I had forgotten some of my make-up at home so we made a stop to get some. There was a pretty fancy Walmart closeby.

As we were leaving town, the traffic going west was backed up. There must have been an accident. We didn't see it, but perhaps it just happened.

I wondered what sort of town What Cheer was. Seemed like an Amish sounding town, like Charm, Bird-in-Hand, or Harmony.

I looked it up and here is what I found:

Once a thriving coal mining and agricultural town of over 5,000, What Cheer, Iowa stands today at a dwindling population of 646. Largely abandoned, What Cheer’s rusting infrastructure today seems incongruous with its peculiar name. But a deeper look into its etymology reveals an absurd and widely disputed naming history.

There are a wide variety of theories as to how What Cheer was the name of choice. Some believe that it stems from the 15th century British saying “what cheer with you,” often simplified to “wotcher.” Or perhaps, some believe, it originated when a Scottish coal miner exclaimed “what cheer!” upon striking it rich. What Cheer was founded in 1865 under the name of Petersburg, named after its creator, Peter Britton, who staked his claim for 14 acres of Iowan land in the mid-19th century. But the Post Office rejected this toponym, forcing a name change December 1, 1879. “What Cheer” was chosen by store owner Joseph Andrews, and his exact reasoning is unknown to this day.

A more elaborate theory proposes that Andrews got the toponym from the saying of “what cheer, Netop” (translating to ‘what cheer, friend’) that was popularized in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. The phrase was first uttered by the Narragansett Native Americans, who combined English with their native language to greet the British colonists. An image of that encounter and the phrase, “What cheer?” appear on the seal of the City of Providence. "

So, not Amish. I sure enjoy the internet where we can look things up and satisfy our curiosity!

We ran into a little snow.

This is Dubuque and the bridge that crosses over to Wisconsin. We found a Starbucks on the Iowa side and then and crossed over.

Crossing the Mississippi

We look for this barn each time, expecting that we will see it crashed into itself one day.

We got to the kids' house around 2. The girls were at school. Jill and Adam were at church. Jill had a HUGE women's conference she was preparing last minute for. So we were picking Claire up from school while Adam would get Sophia. Hannah was going to be at school for awhile yet.