On Monday, March 22, I got to work, clocked in, picked up a request for time off form, filled it out, had my supervisor sign it, then waited as patiently as I could for Friday. Thursday night I packed, put air in my car tires, and filled the fuel tank. Friday morning, I embarked on my adventure.
The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is held every year in Indiana and I decided to attend and support the Texas A&M team. One impetus of the move to Iowa was that a character from a tv show I really like is from Ottumwa, IA. I wanted desperately to visit Ottumwa and it was kind of on the way and I had friends in Chicago I also wanted to see so I made a weekend out of it.
If I were to attach a theme to my trip it would be getting lost. I am not one to get lost. I have a sometimes supernatural sense of direction (thank you Grandpa Stander). There were some extenuating circumstances that caused some of my lostness in Iowa, which will be discussed in a later post. Needless to say, I was lost quite frequently and it was a new sensation.
My first wrong turn came when I exited too early on my way to Ottumwa. There was no freeway entrance heading east, so I had to take the business road through Pella, IA. I was so glad I did. Pella is known as the Holland of Iowa. The town was full of working windmills and the central park was called Tulip Square. The architecture was reminiscent of Holland as well. It was the cutest little place and if I wasn't running behind schedule, I'd have spent more time exploring. Below is a picture of one of the windmills. Seriously, they were everywhere!
Finally, I saw the correct exit, took it, and a few miles later saw a sign stating "Ottumwa next 5 exits". It was a quaint little town, very old, a bit run-down, but it was really cool to drive through. Leaving Ottumwa, I wasn't paying attention (good reason, post coming) and realized I'd missed the freeway entrance when I saw the sign saying "pavement ends." I turned into the next rural driveway I came to in an attempt to turn around when my car was viciously attacked by three very large dogs. I am a dog person but they were not happy and it was rather terrifying. My second realization that I was going the wrong way came shortly there after when I saw the sign for Keokuk, IA and realized I was going south as oppossed to east.
I eventually crossed the mighty Mississippi into Illinois and continued east toward Indiana. Once over the boarder, I turned north toward Lafayette. I got incredibly lost once I hit the outskirts of town, saw the Walmart, and needed to stop anyway. I was able to replace the car part I needed (rather embarrassing story) and get directions to the hotel at the same time. One of the guys behind the counter in the automotive section sensed my non-Indianan-ness and asked what/where/etc. I said I was there for the competition and he said he'd be working the event. I made my first friend in Indiana.
Rube Goldberg, how to explain. Did you ever play the game Mouse Trap when you were younger? Where you add these unrelated items that when put in motion eventually drop the trap on the mice? Basic gist of Rube Goldberg.
The task for this year's competition was to dispense hand sanitizer. Getting to campus I got lost, then trying to find the correct building on campus I got lost again. Driving around the campus/campus side of town reminded me of driving in downtown San Antonio. I finally found the correct building. One thing I love about this sign is that it's attached with duct tape. Love it!
Twelve universities/colleges entered the competition and each had very different concepts and incredibly creative designs for dispensing hand sanitizer. Of course, I was cheering for Texas A&M. Below is a picture of some of the A&M team getting their machine set up for the competition.
They put on a good show and it was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, they did not place. The University of Wisconsin at Stout won. Their machine took on an ancient Egyptian theme and was pretty incredible. It's the picture below.
There was a required minimum number of steps each machine had to have before the hand sanitizer could be dispensed. One of my favorite steps on the A&M machine was the one pictured below. The paper below the saw was blank, but had a sticky substance on it. When the saw moved back and forth, it released glitter, which stuck to the adhesive, forming the aTm. Fabulous! I also liked the pump step that happened at the end. I think I liked it more for the cool noise/cadence it made when it was operating than the mechanics behind it. The designer is brilliant none the less.
I left early Sunday morning and headed north toward Lake Michigan and Chicago. I was able to have brunch and visit with an old friend from Montana before I headed back to Des Moines. I got turned around trying to leave Chicago and it took seeing a sign for Milwaukee, WI before I realized I was going the wrong way. Then, on the toll road headed west across IL, I accidentally missed the cash lane exit and went through the express pay/tag owner lane.
In all, it was a grand adventure and I was able to accomplish quite a few goals, including checking off Indiana as a state I've visited, visiting Ottumwa, seeing my friend in Chicago, and finally acquiring the Purdue t-shirt goal I've had on my list since I was 15. My sincere thanks to the team from Texas A&M for letting me spend time with them over the weekend.
In the middle of frantic packing, and sweating copious amounts because they killed the bed bugs with heat (140 degrees F) I get a call saying I couldn't start when I was supposed to due to my background check so I decided to stick to the heading to Houston schedule and spend some time there until I could head out to North Carolina. While in Houston, I made a quilt for my dear friend who is getting married.
I went up to College Station my second weekend in Texas and was able to visit friends up there. The friend I stayed with is taking a civilian firefighting class and let me dress up in her suit.
I got the email April 13th that my background had passed and I left the 14th for Hatteras. I arrived on the afternoon of the 15th, and started officially Monday the 19th. The picture of the deer was taking from my double-wide trailer which will be my home for the next six months.
This is my duty station, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. 
This really is me putting my feet in the Atlantic yesterday evening after work. It was really cold.
