14 Jul 2022 - Lunch with Ken and Kyle Jackson - Last Night at Dubuque

 14 Jul

Great last day in Dubuque!  My best bud from DeWitt, Ken Jackson and his wife Kyle Paarman Jackson drove all the way up here to have lunch with us and reconnect.  The last time we saw them was August 2018 at Prairie Flower campground when they stopped by there.  

I moved to DeWitt IA when I was 4 years old in 1960 when my dad was promoted to Lieutenant in the Iowa State Patrol.  I started Kindergarten there and attended school in DeWitt until the end of my Freshman high school year in 1970.  Ken moved to DeWitt from Pittsburgh KS in 1969, so we were only together our 8th and 9th grade years but we were neighbors and had many common interests so we formed an instant bond.  I knew Kyle since Kindergarten I believe.  At any rate we had a lot of great times and have stayed in touch through social media in the past few years.  So getting together today was great and we had a ton of laughs!  

Breitbach's Country Dining

Today we drove up to Balltown IA, about 20 miles north of here and in some of the most awesome countryside in Iowa.  We had lunch at Breitbach's Country Dining.  According to their web site, Breitbach's opened in 1852 and is Iowa’s oldest food and drinking establishment. Jacob Breitbach, great-great grandfather of the present owner, purchased the business in 1862, and through six generations, the Breitbach family has been in ownership ever since. They have a great menu and buffet. 

A biergarten in the rear.

We arrived at Breitbach's to a nearly FULL parking lot and a tour bus unloading!  We went inside and stood in line a while before we were seated.  The place was packed!  Now keep in mind we are out in the middle of no where, and they are unloading buses!  This is my kind of place!  The chow must be awesome!  We were seated and we all opted for the buffet but it was probably an hour before we ate because we were too busy talking!  Later we "bellied up to the bar", the salad bar that is, and later the buffet.   After lunch we sat there and continued to talk, catching up on our grand kids, how things are going in DeWitt, etc.  We were the only ones still there when we left so we can say we closed the place down!

On our drive home Kyle took us to the edge of Balltown to a scenic overlook and the view was amazing! 

A beautiful view looking north from Balltown

 As you drive through Iowa for the most part it is very flat.  But parts of Iowa are hilly with bluffs and cliffs.  I can attest to this first hand as I've driven most of Iowa when I worked for the Iowa Department of Public safety Communications Division where we installed and maintained the radio system for the Iowa State Patrol.  I also rode through the State from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River on a bicycle during RAGBRAI a couple years.  

So we had a great day and finished up talking here at the campground for a while before Ken and Kyle headed back to DeWitt.  What a great day!  We are so thankful they drove up to see us and have lunch.  Friends are what it is all about and why we love traveling and reconnecting so much.

Ed, Kyle and Ken

Tomorrow we will pull chocks and head to the Madison WI area, camping at the William G Lunney Lake Farm County Campground for the next three days!