Southeast Iowa bucket list cards and 2026 summer adventure #2

It was time to use the Iowa adventure bucket list cards. Mindy and I set out on an adventure in mostly Southeast Iowa. Our first stop would be Kalona, which neither of us had visited before and was a last-minute addition to the trip. Unfortunately, we could have used more time there. We went to the Kalona Historical Village and museum. It was super interesting, and they had so much stuff. Admission to the Kalona Historical Village and museum is $15.00, which is a good value for what they have, and I would recommend 3 hours. You can leave and come back during the day. I think we might have made it through half of it before we had to leave.

Keeping in mind we had to be at the Amanas for our van tour. The next stop was the Amish Bakery, except for the sale barn, the bakery is the place everyone said to visit. They had so much, and everything was reasonably priced. The car smelled like bread after that stop. We also stopped at the Kalona Creamery, hoping to get lunch, but instead we sampled fresh cheese curds. They were the best curds I have had. They weren't dry, but they were squeaky. Yep, that is what they advertise, and they are squeaky. So we went back into town to the Lunch Box, a cute little store that sold sandwiches. Just what we needed for the ride to the Amanas. One of the bucket list cards was a walking tour of the Amanas, with the van tour being the bonus activity. We opted for the van tour, which was worth the $25.

The guide grew up in Amana and had deep insight into the community as a whole. We went to all of the Amanas and stopped at several locations. I learned so much and didn't realize that they were from Germany and their religion is called Amana. We stayed at the Crest View Inn in Williamsburg, which was clean, cute, and a good value. We drove into the town of Williamsburg for dinner. The next day, we ventured to Eldon, Iowa, to see the American Gothic house; this was on a bucket list card. They had a variety of selfie stations, and you could check out costumes to pose with, just as it had been painted by Grant Wood. We paid the $5 admission and watched the film about Grant Wood, which had some good background information, and checked out the museum.

Then we stopped for lunch in Mount Vernon at the Roasted Chicken. It was very good, and the funniest part was that it was in an old Pizza Hut building, and when you walked inside, they left the layout just like Pizza Hut. Not gonna lie, it kind of threw me as I almost walked up to the counter to order, talk about muscle memory. Now, for the final stop in Columbus Junction and another bucket-list card. The swinging bridge, and yes, it would swing. Once we reached the middle, it was seriously moving, and we were not walking fast. There is a trail that loops around, so we didn't have to go back across it, thankfully. On the way out of Columbus Junction, we spied a sign for the historical convict road, so we turned around to inquire. It was one of the first cement-paved roads in Iowa, and yes, convicts were used to build it. Mindy and I had a fun time exploring the Southeast corner of Iowa. Unfortunately, the Ottumwa Visitor Center is closed on the weekend, so we didn't get to see the Radar O'Reilly display. For those who don't know him, watch an episode of MASH. Keep in mind that as we drove through Riverside, banners for Trek Fest were already up. Riverside is the future birthplace of Captain Kirk. We thought that would be a good time, just watching the people; it is a yearly event.

Emma Allen, founder of the Kalona News and the Linotype machine