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Pella

 6/11/22 Mark and I spent the weekend in Pella. We were both excited to have a little weekend getaway and we chose Pella for our destination. We learned a lot about the area on our visit, the lake is really nice, they have great bike paths, and on the weekends everything shuts down around 10. It is a very conservative Christian community, the entire community takes great pride in the appearance of their properties, and the Dutch food is amazing. I had made reservations at a Grandstay hotel and was pleasantly surprised to find our hotel was nestled in a quiet residential area along a golf course. It was a lovely area and quite peaceful. Only a couple minute drive into town or to the lake and we could ride our bikes in the area. We enjoyed eating out and especially the bakery Jaarsma, famous for Dutch letters. They are melt in your mouth delicious. We made sure to bring home extras for the boys and our parents. We rode a nice long bike path one day winding up and around through trees and along the lake. Sometimes our bike would get to speeding so fast zipping along some of those hills. Going up was the hard part of course. We really enjoy riding our bikes and the exercise. While in Pella we enjoyed dinning in the newer area where the built a little canal. We also decided to check ou the new Top Gun Maverick movie! We decided we would go again with the boys. It was awesome! I loved it and am truly amazed that 35 years later, TOm Cruise looks like he aged 5 years. O it was so good! 







One fascinating site we found,  the remnants of a giant sycamore tree that was between 450 and 550 years old. It was as solid as a brick and remained a landmark long after the lake was delevloped. In 2018 the roots could hold no more, during a flood it floated and was removed and placed in a spot where it remains today. We were in awe at how solid it is and how old it is. There is a lot of history to that tree. It is said that the tree was a place of trade for white settlers and Native Americans. 





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