Irish invasion, part 3

Let me start this posting with a picture of a high-powered princess meeting that took place during our trip:

Ok, Snow White, this is how we achieve world domination...

Perhaps one of the highlights of the trip was a trip to NewBo City Market in downtown Cedar Rapids.  My parents now live in a trendy, hip neighborhood.  Part of the motivation is unfortunate, as many people have use-it-or-lose-it funding as a result of the 2008 floods.  But the bright side is that there are a lot of things happening within walking distance of my parents.  We saw restaurants, bars, a coffee shop, and a community bike shop.  And, my dad said that a microbrewery is opening a block or two away.  But the crown jewel of this development (in my opinion) is the market.

It is an indoor market currently open three days a week.  Most of it is a set of food stalls, with a lot of linkages.  For example, the butcher provides meat for many of the stalls, and the bakery provides bread.  We liked it so much that we ate there twice.  I hope to visit the beer and wine stand on a future visit (aside from buying a six pack of beer for our hosts in Chicago).

The girls loved it, too, as a balloon animal maker (is there a better term?) was set up in the non-food end of the market.  This guy was very impressive, and he operated solely on tips.  Here are a few photos to illustrate the point:

PL and ORBJ admiring MM (to protect his identity, of course)

FABJ sporting the latest Iowa fashion accessory, the ladybug

Did you really think we could avoid getting at least one princess?

It was great to see the family, and I'm looking forward to a return visit at the end of May.  ORBJ and I are going alone (while LBJ and FABJ go to France) to visit an elderly relative of mine who turns 100 in May!  ORBJ is about the only family member she remembers, sadly.  But it will be nice to see my parents during our visit to Kansas City.  And, we're stopping in DC for 2 days to visit friends there.  My sources tell me that one youngster in the DC area is quite excited by ORBJ's impending visit (no, not you, Howard).