("Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa")
Last summer my girlfriend of the past 7 years, myself, and one of my best friends set out on a mid-summer road-trip that turned out to be pretty epic. To put our trip in context, let me give a little background. I grew up in Wisconsin in the middle of the state, surrounded by cornfields. Growing up in the midwest was a great area to experience my youth, and the movie 'Field of Dreams' was always one of my favorites as a little kid. If you grew up loving baseball, then it was hard not to fall in love with the film, and of course, growing up where I grew up, the thought of plowing down some of the plethora of cornfields that surrounded us, putting up some industrial size lights and playing night games in the middle of the fields as some of the all-time greats walked in out of centerfield to join in was just plain awesome! Talk about letting your imagination run wild!
I'd always wanted to see the actual 'Field of Dreams' from the movie, the problem is, not many people plan a trip to the middle of nowhere Iowa just to see a baseball field surrounded by corn, no matter how much you enjoyed the film. Even though I grew up somewhat close by, with Wisconsin being just a state over, I never made it there in my youth, and I headed out to the east coast after college and spent my next 10 years in new england, particularly Rhode Island. That put me much farther away to say the least. It is out east where I met one of my best friends, Tom, and a few years later, where I met the love of my life, my dear girlfriend, and yes, someday wife-to-be.
(We're not big on selfies - but had to take one at home plate)
After several years together in new england, we finally decided to give up the cold, and we decided to hit the road and head for the sunshine of California by the end of 2015 (my girlfriend grew up in southern Cali, and needless to say it was much easier to sell me on California then it was for me to sell her on the brutal winters of Wisconsin). So, we hit the road in mid-December of 2015 with a quest to reach California by Christmas Eve. We said bye to all of our friends, including Tom, and vowed to make sure that we would get together in the coming summers and even possibly take a road trip. Tom headed for Florida not long after we headed out west, as his parents had retired and moved down there from new england and he also realized there really wasn't much there for him in Rhode Island any longer.
Fast-forward to last summer - my girlfriend and I had planned a trip to Wisconsin for the end of June/beginning of July. Tom went back up to new england (he's a teacher, so he has summers off) to visit with old friends and his two brothers that still live up there and their families. We started talking, and Tom had always wanted to come back to Wisconsin at some point and see what it was like while I was living in Rhode Island. As we dove further into our talks for plans for the summer, etc., we got an idea - what if Tom ventured from Connecticut out to Wisconsin and we met there - and then continued out west on our road trip? We could fly from Denver to LA and Tom's oldest brother lived in Arkansas, so on his drive back to Florida, he could make a stop and visit. Tom loved the idea, and my family and I were completely on-board. We met last July in Wisconsin, and after a couple of days together in the land of cheese, we headed out for a road trip with our final destination being Colorado. None of us had witnessed the Rocky Mountains before (except from an airplane) and we were all super excited to indulge in all of the outdoor bliss that the state has to offer.
Of course, before we made it to Colorado, we had to figure out what our route would be to get there. The "Great Plains" states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas all have their own unique beauty, but aren't necessarily known for their beautiful "scenic" drives. Then it dawned on Tom and I that if we decided to take the most direct route, we could head right through Iowa (and with a small, minor detour through the cornfields) right past the 'Field of Dreams' on our way to Nebraska and then finally, Colorado. That was it - screw the Dakotas we thought (everyone basically told us there was nothing to see there anyway) we'll head to 'heaven' as it's referred to in the film by the character portraying Kevin Costner's father. The famous line of course was, "Hey, is this heaven?" to which, Kevin Costner replies, "No, it's Iowa".
(There it is in all of its glory - and completely surrounded by corn just like we envisioned!)
There was something about taking the 'scenic' route to the location, as we were coming from a direction that sent us down several gravel roads to get there, that seemed to add to the excitement. We were really going to see the actual field from the movie! And then... There it was in all of it's glory! That legendary baseball field, surrounded by tall rows of corn for as far as the eye could see - just like it was in the 1989 film.
The site itself was remarkably well-kept. The farmhouse was the same one from the movie, and it appeared to be in pristine condition. There was a little souvenir shop, a small gravel parking area, and of course the field in all of its glory. We explored and took pictures, and then did what everyone has always wanted to do the moment they first see the film - and that is to walk into the cornrows in centerfield and see what was really out there!
("Hey, where's Shoeless Joe?")
Well, as you could imagine, what was really out there, was, well, you guessed it - more corn! While we didn't see James Earl Jones or Shoeless Joe Jackson, it didn't take away from the experience one bit. There's just something about experiencing a moment that you've envisioned ever since you were young and then having it come to fruition right there in the flesh, especially with people you love. While we didn't stumble across Shoeless Joe Jackson, we did stumble across a truly awesome memory and one that I, my girlfriend, and Tom won't soon forget.
("Hey dad .. wanna have a catch?")
Everything about the area screams baseball, especially the closest town, Dyersville. It's a small community that was gearing up for a festival and baseball tournament as we continued on our way to Nebraska, and ultimately, Colorado. If you've never seen the movie, it's a great watch, definitely unique, and even nearly 30 years later, still holds a magical place in my heart. If you love baseball it's a story that will never grow old, and (spoiler alert!) the moment when Kevin Costner asks his dad (the much younger version that comes back to play on the field he created) at the end of the movie, "Hey dad, wanna have a catch?" - that gets me every single time. It was the first leg of an incredible journey, one that we'll always remember - I mean, how many people actually get to visit a little slice of heaven on earth? Well to most, it's "just" Iowa, but to us, it will always be something a little more ...
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("If you build it, he will come")