*I have a goal to propose to my wife in all 99 Iowa counties. It will take long time and that’s okay because I’m counting on having many decades to complete it. Writing is a true passion and I can’t imagine having The Iowa Gallivant without Monie by my side the whole time.
Boone & Madrid, IA: Boone County
You’ve heard of the term “liquid courage” before and Iowa has plenty of destinations to supply this. Lucky for me, I popped the big question over 16 years ago in Wickenburg, Arizona. Now, I’m doing it again and I’ve learned to work up the bravery each time. I have a couple rules for this project and one of them is to always buy her gift in the county we’re proposing in. That was easy to find in Boone County.
One of our stops on this weekend was at the Boone History Center and supporting these places is always gratifying especially when you can support it by making a purchase at a great gift shop, like they have here. I let the volunteers know what I was up to and I think they’ll be happy with the results.
The friendly atmosphere at Snus Hill Winery in rural Madrid was the perfect situation for another “I do”. They have some of the best award winning wines in Iowa and a beautiful tasting room. The ambiance of the staff pouring fine wine with the feel of good old-fashioned time on the farm is what makes Snus Hill so inviting. Time to bring a smile to my wife with help from my new friends at the winery…
The second rule to this project is that I must always surprise her and the energetic young man working the wine pouring on this day helped make it happen. Monie went to take one more look at the craft show in the Snus Hill banquet room and us dudes positioned a bracelet from the Boon History Center on the bottle of Monie’s favorite varietal. Then we just waited for that big Texas grin above.
5 counties down with 94 to go, folks. Our travel blog has so many amazing places and people featured and moments like this don’t happen without all of you that have been experiencing them along with us. I love you, Monie!
Click here to see all the proposals we’ve shared in Iowa. A candy store in Wilton, the worlds biggest grotto in West Bend, a casino in Northwood and on a beautiful bridge in Denison!