It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of both my publisher Reedy Press (I wrote 100 Things to do in Sioux City and Siouxland Before You Die for one of their travel guide series in 2020) and of Sara Broers, the queen of Midwest travel. So, when I heard that she was writing a new book for them, Perfect Day Iowa, I reached out to see whether they were looking for bloggers to review it. To my delight, they were, and they sent a free copy for review purposes. Here's what you should know about this wonderful new travel guide:
.png)
Perfect Day Iowa is the latest book in the Reedy Press Perfect Day series in which local travel experts around the nation share their best one-day itineraries for their area--what should you do if you have just one day in a certain area or town?
Who wrote Perfect Day Iowa?
For the Iowa edition, they turned to Sara Broers, who I like to think of as the Queen of Midwest Travel. I've written about her before, most recently when I reviewed her book 100 Things to do in Iowa Before You Die which was also published by Reedy and which was also excellent.
Sara writes Travel With Sara and is the founder and co-owner of the Midwest Travel Network, an amazing collaborative group that brings together writers and tourism industry professionals across the Midwest to all work together to share what we love about the Midwest. She won Travel Iowa's 2019 Outstanding Leadership Award, and besides her two Reedy Press books, she is also the author of the Iowa chapter of the book Midwest State Park Adventures, for which I wrote the South Dakota chapter. Sara is a well-informed expert on Iowa tourism, and she's a genuinely nice person whose warm personality comes across in her writing.
What's inside Perfect Day Iowa?
So what does Sara say to do on a perfect day in Iowa? Her suggestions include one-day itineraries for cities and areas across Iowa from Des Moines, Waterloo, Sioux City, and Cedar Rapids to rural O'Brien and Allamakee Counties. She includes great places to explore, play, eat, and shop like the Community Orchard in Fort Dodge, VanVeen Chocolates in Pella, the American Gothic House in Eldon, and of course the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
The book includes interesting details and helpful tips for the suggested stops, and lots of full color photos that bring them to life even more. Many are taken by Sara herself, while others were contributed by the businesses featured or local tourism boards. All of them do a great job of showcasing the fun adventures that Iowa has to offer, and I think this book is a wonderful reply to anyone who says there's nothing to do in Iowa. They couldn't be more wrong!
My one criticism of Sara's 100 Things to Do in Iowa book was that she pretty much ignored Sioux City, and I'm thrilled to report that she rectified this in Perfect Day Iowa. One of the itineraries in the book is how to spend a perfect day in Sioux City, with suggestions including the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, Sioux City Railroad Museum, and Marto's. I would've loved to see the Hard Rock skipped as I prefer to see locally owned businesses highlighted, but I think that was the only chain I saw, and it is a major attraction so I definitely understand it being included and I think a lot of people would want to go there. Narrowing all of the fun available in Sioux City into an achievable itinerary for a day is a daunting task and necessitates leaving out many excellent options, but I think overall, the attractions and businesses Sara highlighted are excellent and that a day spent in Sioux City following her suggestions would be an enjoyable one. And there's another chapter about the Okoboji area, another favorite of Siouxland families.
Where to buy Perfect Day Iowa
You can grab your own copy of Perfect Day Iowa directly from the Reedy Press website, from online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or from wonderful independent bookstores across the state of Iowa.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for joining in the conversation! We can't wait to hear what you have to say. Some comments are moderated, so it may take some time for your comment to appear on the site. We encourage lively discussion, but will delete comments that are hostile, hateful, spammy, or rude.