July 11th, 2014. Sitting on the patio of The High Ground Cafe in Iowa City’s historic Northside, I began typing on my IPad. Just a few paragraphs later I clicked on “publish” in the lower right hand corner of the screen and less than a second later, The Iowa Gallivant came to life. A year has past and the first headline I typed came true in so many ways. “You’re going to make this Iowa thing happen….”

The Iowa Gallivant started out with touring local produce stands throughout the county, staying close with the pursuit of Herky on Parade, and seeking local art in downtown Iowa City. We traveled to Corning, IA to reconnect with family and made it through our first camping trip. Our blog was becoming a memorable summertime project.

We were getting a handful of views and enjoyed the encouraging comments coming in. The state of Iowa was in the midst of a major campaign to boost tourism and we were happy to be doing our part. Then Sabula happen. A quick day trip to a small island community on the Mississippi River turned out to be our big break. The post went up and in less than a week we saw literally thousands of views coming into the Iowa Gallivant. We then knew that we were on to something and out came the calendar and a list of “must-visit” Iowa destinations started to fill up our schedules.

Since last July, we’ve experience Iowa in our our unique way. We’ve played, eaten, searched for history, explored and discovered. We’ve showcased dozens of communities in 23 counties and met hundreds of the greatest personalities that Iowa has to offer.

On behalf of Team Goodvin, I thank the entire Hawkeye State. Not only do we love Iowa, but we also enjoy it and most importantly, respect our home state. The Iowa Gallivant would not be the success that it has become without the proud Iowans that make the Heartland great. We recognize the countless volunteers that put in their own time to assure we and so many visitors have an enjoyable time. Each day, they are logging thousands of combined hours from large festivals, events and fairs to solo posts in visitors centers and historical museums. We are forever grateful to the local chambers, CVBs, and tourism associations that put in their time to plan for our trips and made sure we were taken care of and helped our blog grow faster than we ever expected. It’s only been a year, folks. The Iowa Gallivant is just getting warmed up!

Click on the link below and read The Iowa Gallivant’s first ever blog post!

http://theiowagallivant.com/2014/07/11/youre-going-to-make-this-iowa-thing-happen/

Please take to visit…….