PGI - Round 2

Because I'm  city girl, I never realized before how much an ear of corn looks like Diana Ross before it gets hoovered up by a combine.  Such luxuriant locks!

There was a lull in the list of things that interested me at the convention on Monday, so I spent a good part of the day working to improve my nest at the North Iowa Area Community College dorm room where I'd be staying for the week.  It was spartan, but I had the luxury of spreading out for almost a full week to compensate for the lack of amenities.

NIACC, as they call it, is the second oldest community college in U.S. history and opened in 1918.  They had offered convention goers cheap lodging on the western outskirts of Mason City, and I went for it - I like an adventure.

The campus is hidden, sitting far back from the road like an island in the middle of acres and acres and acres of corn and and soy fields  There are several nice ponds and baseball diamonds and such on the island, but  it is completely surrounded by corn.

I grabbed my camera when dusk began to assert itself and went for a nice long walk around the deserted campus.  When I tried, I was able to imbue the baseball diamond with a little bit of a creepy vibe since Field of Dreams was filmed about 150 miles from where I stood.  But I didn't see anyone else about, ghostly or otherwise.

Even though the campus was a mess with large scale construction underway, the velvety quiet of the place combined with the golden light gave it that distant kingdom look

When I got back to my room, I made the most delicious room cuisine, inspired by my ingredients.  I started with two slices of bread that I slathered in mayo I snagged from a Walmart deli counter and then topped one slice with shredded bacon jerky and the other slice with fresh sliced tomatoes. Served on a bed of Fritos Scoops with an ice cold Topo Chico on the side, that's a little bit of heaven right there.  It totally rocked.

I had scored the excellent bacon jerky at a place north of Toledo where I stopped after the Tony Packo debacle.  Bob Hickey had informed me as we strolled about Twin Days that jerky is a thing in Ohio.  He coached me to keep my eye out for a place that specialized in it (especially the bacon variety) and have at it when I found a place. 

It was really pleasant to just relax and catch up on my chores a little bit.  I was glad to have this quiet day.