Finding the Best in Midwest Weekend Getaways
Fireside Gifts is located within Koerner Whipple Pharmacy! And, Koerner Whipple Pharmacy has been a business on main street in Hampton as long as I can remember. Originally, Koerner Drug opened in the late 1950’s and then Bruce joined in 1974 to make it Koerner Whipple Pharmacy! They are both a fantastic asset to our community!
Continue “Friday in Franklin County: Koerner Whipple & Fireside Gifts”
I have a confession to make! I’m addicted! I’m addicted to the decor from The Wood Cellar in Hampton! It’s the truth, my husband is pretty positive that I own stock in their business, and I always ask for gift certificates to the store (or the Orange Possum) for gifts! Whew, I feel better admitting that outloud! 😉
The Wood Cellar is a main street staple in Hampton. November of 1990 is when Guyla Pohlman and her husband opened their doors! Originally they were vendors at craft shows with their handmade furniture and people were constantly asking them if they had a shop! Well, that is the beginning and 26 years later…the rest is history!
This past Sunday, my mom asked me if I wanted to join her for an afternoon bike ride on the High Trestle Trail. I had never been, it was a gorgeous afternoon, and the bridge has been on my Iowa Bucket List for quite sometime now! So, I took her up on the offer!
The trail is gorgeous! It’s a beautifully paved (cement) trail! We parked at Slater and biked to the bridge and back, which was about 20 miles total! The trail itself, is a good balance of sun and shade, and slightly rolling, which makes me a happy lady! The few tunnels and small bridges along the route make it visually appealing! There are also quaint bars and smoothie shops located along the trail in both Madrid and Slater! While we didn’t patronize those places, they look wonderfully quaint! I love that the communities along the trail have embraced it and are catering to the public!
A good coffee shop can sometimes be hard to find. Thankfully, that isn’t the case in Franklin County because of the Rustic Brew! I got to know the ladies there VERY well when I worked only a few doors down the street…probably too well, but I don’t regret it! 😉 However, I’ve known owners Kathy & Joel Heuer since I was in high school and love what they’ve done with this main street coffee shop!
After working in a law office for 24 years, Kathy felt it was time for a change. She also knew how much Joel liked brewing beer, so it seemed natural to purchase the shop which was “Mary B’s” at the time and take it over and transform it into the Rustic Brew. They decided to not only take over the coffee shop, but also add a microbrewery with Joel doing the brewing. Opening in January of 2013, they now offer a variety of different items including specialty coffees, smoothies, beer, retail items, and delicious homemade foods! They also have a room for parties and business meetings. They host class reunions, baby and bridal showers and also do light catering.
Have you ever found a treasure in the most unsuspecting place? Well, that’s exactly what Chapin Station is! Tucked into the tiny town (actually unincorporated) of Chapin, you will find this unique shop! Randy and Holly Coffee are the owners of this diamond in the rough in Franklin County! So, what is it? It’s a shop that offers a mix of vintage and new decor, rescued and repurposed furniture, antiques, primitives, chippy, rusty, galvanized, architectural, and industrial for your home!
As you age you watch the community around you evolve and grow. Part of those observations for me is remembering when the AmericInn of Hampton was built. Now, it’s a staple in the community!
On July 3rd of 1998, the AmericInn of Hampton was opened by previous owners. They saw a need in Hampton and jumped at the opportunity! I remember, at the time, it was a huge deal that Hampton was getting a chain hotel that was locally owned. Now, the hotel is owned by Bharat Patel who is very involved in the community and continues to keep the hotel updated!
I’m proud to say that I live in the county that I was born and raised. I left after high school, got my college education and was gone for a few years before coming back. Part of my childhood was spent at the Franklin County Fair! As a young child, my parents were always in charge of a food stand on the grounds. When I was in middle school, my dad was on the fair board. So, pretty much from the age of 3-27, I spent a week in July working at the Franklin County Fair. I have the fondest of memories of the fair and since it’s fair week I figure it is the perfect feature for Friday in Franklin County!
The Franklin County Fair is held in Hampton, Iowa each July usually and runs Wednesday through Sunday. However, you have to make sure to start the fair off with the parade on Tuesday night! The biggest and grandest parade in the county, the fair parade features a large variety of floats!
Free, family fun! How great is that combo? The Waterhawks Ski Show gives you just that! 4th of July weekend, T and I headed to Waterloo to camp again just like we did last year. I made the declaration that we were going to try something new, go somewhere new, etc. Thanks to the help of the Waterloo Convention & Visitor’s Bureau I learned about the Waterhawks Ski Show and I decided that it would satisfy my desire to “take in” something new and hopefully hold T’s interest!
So, Friday night we followed the directions from their website to their lake to see what this was all about. The Waterhawks Ski Show is free to the public to attend. You just drive in, park, and find a place to sit. You’re welcome to sit on their stands or take blankets and lawn chairs. We were there early enough (not knowing what to expect for a crowd) that we were able to back our truck up to the viewing area and set up our chairs in the back to get a perfect view! Then, we walked around and checked out the facilities and grabbed something to drink from their concession stand. While there is no charge to get into the event, make sure to grab a snack from their concession stand to help support them. You can pick from drinks (alcoholic & non-alcoholic), candy bars, pizza, popsicles, and chips!
