Ames, Iowa -- Home of the World's Largest Concrete Gnome

Day 1 of the road trip started out fairly low-key, with a not-too-early departure time and the not-quite-soothing sounds of Isaac's playlist.  Being a road trip planner extraordinaire, I had done some research beforehand and discovered a children's museum in Kansas City that looked like a fun diversion about halfway through the day's journey.  Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research and it wasn't until we pulled into the empty parking lot that we learned that -- contrary to the information on the website -- the museum was actually closed indefinitely.  Womp womp.  Never fear, however, because as a road trip planner extraordinaire I also had a back up activity!  Hahaha.  We turned our KC stop into a lunch-and-fill-up-the-tank break and then got back on the road, heading towards the pitstop of the day -- Ames, IA.  (Cue the first of many "we are from Ioway!" refrains.)

Reiman Gardens are associated with Iowa State University in Ames.

Thanks to the non-children's-museum-outing, we got to Ames with plenty of time to explore Reiman Gardens and flit around in the Butterfly Wing.  Although, true story -- every female in the family (myself included) freaked out any time a butterfly swooped too close.  Hahahaha.  Botanical gardens always seem to be a big hit with our family, and this time was no exception.  {I'm pretty sure that by the end of the day (and the end of the road trip as a whole), my propensity for whipping out the plant identification app on my phone was a running joke.}

I always get a kick out of taking a picture of someone taking a picture.  Hahahahaha.

In what would become a running theme, this is the first shot of many where Isaac refused to cooperate and get in the picture.

This display area used all kinds of recycled items to create the scene.  The "rainbow" is made of empty water bottles.  There were also discarded appliances and other things that were used as planters.  I loved it!

After snapping lots and LOTS of pictures, posing with the world's largest concrete gnome, and hitting up the gift shop, we were ready to call it a day and crash for the night.  All in all, it was a pretty successful day 1!  If only Day 2 were able to make the same claim.  Dun dun dun.  Tune in next time to hear all about the now infamous river tubing adventure of 2022.  Hahahahaha.

This planter had kaleidescopes attached to the sides and aimed at the flowers inside.

A peek into one of the kaleidescopes.

I think Alex and Isaac spent most of their time in this little section of the "Children's Garden."

There were all these cool art installations throughout the gardens.

In case you can't see the inserted "c-o-n-c-r-e-t-e" in this picture, it is important to note that this is the world's largest CONCRETE gnome, which therefore must mean that there is a larger gnome somewhere else in the world.  Hahahahaha.