September 12, 2026
Once in Marshalltown, we met up with one of my long time friends, Kathryn. She had her granddaughter drive her up from Mitchellville since she just recently had eye surgery. We had a short visit before they had to head back. It was great to see her but it's been too long - almost four years.
After they left, Tobey and I had lunch from one of the best eating establishments in the world! Taylor's Maid-Rite. "What is a Maid-Rite?" you ask. A Taylor's Maid-Rite is a loose meat sandwich made of finely ground hamburger, cooked in their cast-iron cooker and served on a bun. Originally they came with pickles, chopped onions and mustard. After 95 years, they now have ketchup available in their restaurant. When I was younger, we used to bring our own ketchup in!! And nothing goes better with a Maid-Rite than a chocolate malt - with extra malt. Needless to say, I was in Heaven today!! This restaurant opened in 1928 and has been owned and operated by the same family all these years. We ate in the RV because there weren't any seats inside. It's small and only has seats around the U-shaped counter but they do a booming business!
Here is a link to their history. https://www.maidrite.com/about-us/our-history
After lunch we took a walk around the downtown area. There was a terrible tornado that went through town in 2018 and many of the buildings are gone. The beautiful county courthouse is still there and repaired after the storm.
We also went by the standard for pizza in Marshalltown - Zeno's Pizza. It's been in town since 1952 and always a favorite! It was fun to see several of the businesses that have been there since I was a kid are still operating.
Denny Gray, a guy I went to high school with, bought this building which housed the Historical Society of Marshall County after the tornado of 2018 and has been restoring it. The Fletcher House is now the newest bar/restaurant. Unfortunately for us, it doesn't open until 4:00pm and it was before noon.
After they left, Tobey and I had lunch from one of the best eating establishments in the world! Taylor's Maid-Rite. "What is a Maid-Rite?" you ask. A Taylor's Maid-Rite is a loose meat sandwich made of finely ground hamburger, cooked in their cast-iron cooker and served on a bun. Originally they came with pickles, chopped onions and mustard. After 95 years, they now have ketchup available in their restaurant. When I was younger, we used to bring our own ketchup in!! And nothing goes better with a Maid-Rite than a chocolate malt - with extra malt. Needless to say, I was in Heaven today!! This restaurant opened in 1928 and has been owned and operated by the same family all these years. We ate in the RV because there weren't any seats inside. It's small and only has seats around the U-shaped counter but they do a booming business!
Here is a link to their history. https://www.maidrite.com/about-us/our-history
After lunch we took a walk around the downtown area. There was a terrible tornado that went through town in 2018 and many of the buildings are gone. The beautiful county courthouse is still there and repaired after the storm.
We also went by the standard for pizza in Marshalltown - Zeno's Pizza. It's been in town since 1952 and always a favorite! It was fun to see several of the businesses that have been there since I was a kid are still operating.
Denny Gray, a guy I went to high school with, bought this building which housed the Historical Society of Marshall County after the tornado of 2018 and has been restoring it. The Fletcher House is now the newest bar/restaurant. Unfortunately for us, it doesn't open until 4:00pm and it was before noon.
We took a drive around town to see our old haunts - Riverview Park, my childhood home, the restaurant my parents owned, as well as the first house Tobey and I lived in together. I hadn't contacted any high school friends since we didn't know when we were going to finish Tobey's ride, so we called it a day and headed on our way home.
This is part of the Iowa countryside - one area that isn't a corn field!
We had a lovely sunset before we arrived in York, Nebraska where we spent the night.
Sunday - September 13, 2026
I must have been tired because I slept in until 8:00am so it was about 9:00am before we got on the road for home. Today was drive, stop to have lunch and change drivers, then drive to the Colorado Welcome Center near Sterling, Colorado.
We stopped at the welcome center and used their RV dump station and changed drivers again. Tobey finished the drive back and we arrived home about 4:30 this afternoon. The RV is mostly unloaded, laundry started and we're getting things put away. Tomorrow we will finish unloading and clean the rig inside and out.
I must have been tired because I slept in until 8:00am so it was about 9:00am before we got on the road for home. Today was drive, stop to have lunch and change drivers, then drive to the Colorado Welcome Center near Sterling, Colorado.
We stopped at the welcome center and used their RV dump station and changed drivers again. Tobey finished the drive back and we arrived home about 4:30 this afternoon. The RV is mostly unloaded, laundry started and we're getting things put away. Tomorrow we will finish unloading and clean the rig inside and out.
It was a great trip, but I told Tobey, every time is see the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign, it makes me really happy to be back!
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