(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…

Woodburn, IA

Woodburn, IA

Old church in Woodburn, IA

Old church in Woodburn, IA

Collapsed building in Woodburn, IA

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 town.   Sure, they have posted opening times.   Sure, you can even call ahead and confirm they will be open.   But the real opening time is generally determined by when someone with the key decides to show up. :)

We really wanted to experience the Woodburn Pub, but by 11:20 we were now behind schedule.  During our wait five other customers also showed up, all leaving in disappointment.    We would love to have stuck it out a little longer in hopes that someone would show up, but we had no choice but to get moving down the road.

Woodburn Pub in Woodburn, IA The one that got away.

We left Woodburn and quickly found ourselves in a construction zone.   After the construction area we stopped at the town of Lucas.   Our research had told us the bar there was likely out-of-business but we had to check to be sure.    The locked door, closed sign, and broken window confirmed it.    So we continued down the road, to Chariton…