Lesson Learned

September 8, 2026

When Terry and I plan our trips, we usually have a few places we definitely intend on seeing. For example, this trip we knew we wanted to visit several of Lake Michigan’s lighthouses. And we did.

But it seems like when we allow ourselves to veer off our plotted course, we are usually delightfully surprised at what we encounter. Like the Field of Dreams.

And then occasionally, there are the duds. The places that really weren’t worth our time and attention. But we thought we needed to experience them just because.

The Iowa 80 Truckstop was a dud for us.

Perhaps it was because it was our last day of the trip, and we just had our sights on getting home that afternoon. Or maybe it was that we were tired or hungry.

But it just didn’t seem that big and exciting to us.

We walked around a bit. Bought a couple of snacks that disappointed us. Bought the sticker to document we experienced it.

And when we got back into the van, we both agreed that after all we had experienced on that trip, from the lighthouse views, the lake Michigan beaches, the hills and valleys of Wisconsin and Michigan, the farms with the cornfields to the baseball fields, the largest truck stop in the world just did not impress us.

And now we know.

We made one more important stop that day at Overland Sheepskin in Fairfield, Iowa, to pick up an upgrade for BART.

Can you guess what we bought there? I’ll share in my next post!