A Christmas lights adventure

Last week I read about a really neat Christmas light display near Vinton that has been going on since 1965.  I thought it would be fun to take the kids to see it.  Vinton is an hour away, but La Porte City is right on the way.  Since both of our husbands were out of town for work, my friend Sarah & I did a play date and supper at her house in LPC.  Then we piled all four kids (she has two girls the same ages as our kids) into our van and headed south in the dark.

According to my printed Google map it should have been relatively simple to find the place.  However, when you're driving down unfamiliar, curvy roads in the dark with a DVD going and kids hollering/fussing in the back, it makes things a little more difficult.  I knew something was wrong when we actually entered Vinton.  By the time we got to the high school on the south side of town Sarah called her BIL, who used to live in Vinton, to ask for directions.  He sent us north on Hwy 150.  After we crossed the Cedar River and started winding through the Dudgeon Lake State Wildlife Management Area heading toward Independence I knew something was really wrong.  Where's a Garmin when you need one?!  We pulled over, studied the map again and headed back into town.  By this time the DVD was over, the preschoolers were yelling all kinds of questions from the back and both toddlers were fussing up a storm.  Sarah & I were just laughing our heads off about how this was going to be great blogging material (check out Craft Tales in my blogroll).  As soon as we crossed the river again we cut back to Hwy 218, found our turnoff and could soon see the glow of lights over the hill.

As soon as we turned off the headlights and rolled down the windows to hear the music, all the kids fell silent with only the occassional squeal of delight.  There is about a quarter mile of lighted wooden displays of every sort, including many classic cartoon characters.  There is a sign challenging you to find all 101 Dalmations.  Many of the displays are animated by homemade mechanical devices.  All the large trees in the grove behind the display are strung with lights.  It was a pretty cool sight to see.  After another loud, but direct, ride back to LPC, we dropped off the Crafts and the kids & I headed home.

On a somewhat related note, I was probably more excited to drive by and see the lights on in the brand spanking new Fareway that opened today in Waverly.  I have been salivating for months as we watched it being built directly behind the old one where we have been faithfully maneuvering the car car around the cramped and crowded aisles every week.  I can't wait to see the inside.  I got my groceries at the Cedar Falls Fareway this week based on the fact that last week the shelves were already half empty in preparation for the big move.  I may just have to come up with something I "need" yet this week to check it out. ;o)