(Part eight of an eight-part series.)
We were extremely late for a wedding reception in Bethany, MO, still at least a ninety minute drive away.   We were flying down Iowa-92, when suddenly my friend’s arm flew across my chest to point at something out the window.
“WHAT’S THAT?!?” he exclaimed.
Why, it was the glow of neon lights signaling the presence of a Bonus Bar.
What’s a Bonus Bar? One that we didn’t know existed. Though we had passed one a short time earlier in Indianola, this one was so unexpected we decided we …

(Part seven in a series…)
We arrived in Indianola, now considerably behind schedule.   The sun was setting, and we still had to get to a wedding reception in Bethany, MO nearly a 2 hour drive away.   But we were on a mission, and there were beers (and a pizza) here for us to consume.
We ducked into Pete’s Pizza, our dinner destination we had decided on earlier in the day.   It was packed, so we placed our order and headed out to get a drink.

#12 (#747): The Zoo
102 W. Ashland Ave
Indianola, IA …

(Part six in a series…)
Milo, Iowa was always going to be a last-minute decision. We were on a schedule, and Milo was about thirty minutes out of our way. But we ended up making good time and decided to go for it. I’m glad we did!
Heading down the main street, we came to an “obstruction” in the road.    We’ve seen these many, many times on our road trips — towns too small for a town square will often build something in the …

(Part five of a series…)
We left Knoxville, Iowa, speeding along towards Indianola.   Though our bellies were full, we were somehow WAY ahead of schedule.     We decided to make a side trip to the town of Milo, and began plotting our course.
We made a wrong turn at a major highway intersection, soon corrected with a U-turn.   A few minutes later, my friend noticed a passing highway sign.
“So there’s no bars in Pleasantville?” he asked me!
“Oh, crap!” I replied, “I forgot all about Pleasantville!”
A slam of the brakes, a quick turn down …

(Part four in a series…)
After Columbia we headed north into Knoxville, a town known for racing.   In fact there was a race scheduled to begin in a few hours, and everyone we met assumed we were here for the races.
We began by hitting up the three bars on the main drag…

#5 (#740): VFW Post 3519
413 S Lincoln St
Knoxville, IA 50138
(641) 842-3519
[map]

From the Google Maps Street View of this place, we were unable to determine in advance if this would be a bar that was open to the public or not. …

(Part three of a series…)
This is where our trip through Iowa took a turn for the odd.
It began when we arrived in Williamson, IA, to visit the Williamson Tavern [map].    Williamson Tavern is home of the Poppa Burger — a burger the size of a large dinner plate.   However we pulled up out front to find two grizzly-looking men working on a complicated piece of plumbing pipe and a sign on the door stating the tavern was closed through July 12.   It was only July 10.    Bummer.
We continued north to …

(Part two of a series.)
Because our delay in Woodburn was followed by finding noting open in Lucas, we arrived in Chariton, IA at noon — right when we needed to.
The reason for our visit to Chariton was that my cohort needed to visit with his family.    So he dropped me off in the town square, and I did a little exploring to kill the time.

With the square fully explored, it was time to settle in at one of the three downtown bars and wait for my friend to return.   After …

(Part one of a series.)
We had made exceptionally good time heading to Iowa this Saturday morning and arrived at our first destination, Woodburn [map], about fifteen minutes too early.   I had called ahead and confirmed that the Woodburn Pub would be open at 11:00am, so to kill some time we drove around the tiny town and took some pictures…
We returned to the Woodburn Pub at 11:00 to wait.
Now, our experience has taught us that there’s always a risk when the first stop of the day is pub in a small …