"Ah, youth..." a Iowa City Travel Page by Etoile2B

In 1980 my father decided to move the family from Los Angeles to Iowa City so he could finish up school. We lived there until 1984. When I first arrived I experienced quite a bit of culture shock. I was a big city girl used to freeways, tall buildings and diversity, three things this little college town was not exactly known for. But as the shock wore off I discovered a wonderful, artistic little intellectual community hidden in the cornfields of Iowa, and it became a second home to me. The four years I spent here are full of fond memories and old friends. It was the kind of place where we, as kids, could be out until all hours playing hide and go seek or kick the can with the other kids on the street and our moms wouldn't worry about us. It was a place we could play in the dirt and build forts in the trees. It's the kind of place where your neighbors left their front door open and you just walked on in. It was safe and I created a little family out there. And much to my surprise, when my father announced that we were moving back to California four years later, I was devestated. And although I wasn't able to get back and see just how much it's changed (and how much it's stayed the same) for nearly 20 years Iowa City has always stayed a part of me.