The Klomp And Stomp Pella 5K! Embracing Your Inner Dutchness.. With Tulips!

 Yesterday was the Pella Kick off to their Iowa Version of Tulip Time.  I know, Michigan does not own the rights to tulip time, and those Dutch people bring Tulips Wherever they go....  But aside from the lack of Lake Michigan, Pella is almost Identical to Holland Michigan at this time of year. It is colorful escape from your Normal Iowa Gold, Brown, And Green color palette. 

Dud Tulips.

This year, however,  Either the timing was a little off... Or the Cold snap that hit, followed by warm... Followed by cold again, has really messed up the tulips!  Compared to 2019,  it looks like we were about a week overdue for the max color burst.   Many of the tulips were wilting or had already bloomed, leaving sad looking pedals on the stems.  That happened a few times in 2019, but not to the largest patches.   

Cheryl and I first had to head to the packet pickup for the 5K that was supposed to happen at 7:30 PM.  We were welcomed with a number of Maskless faces!  A pleasant surprise since they painted this race as a "Covid Rules" race.   ( No spectators, Running with Masks, Social Distancing, No Socializing after the race, No medal for Finishing....  Basically... No fun!) It appeared that the Locals had a different plan for how the rules should be applied.    Cheryl and I did the "When in Pella, Do as the Dutch would do...."   So we removed the mask, but carried them with us.."just in case."

As we walked around town. ( we had about 4 hours to kill.)  we took in the sights and tried to find the few patches of Tulips who had not yet faded.

 We found a some!   And I managed to capture a couple really good shots of the Frilly petal -ed ones. My favorite section is the  "sidewalk of exotics."  A section of the park filled with a variety of shapes and colored flowers. Some of them actually look like Peonies, while others looked like Roses or Irises!  One of the large sections of the park has what appeared to be Giant tulips!  Cheryl was very happy. 

Good Tulips.

After the flowers,  we headed off to sample the dutch baked good.   Aside from Apple Pie,  I don't really dig on the Dutch bakery.   Oh!  I'll eat it!   But I probably would not climb a tree or cross a river just to sample them.  (Unless I was hungry...  Then all bets are on off!)  Don't judge me too harshly.  I feel the same way about the Swedes!  In fact Grandpa LOVED American Baked goods when he got over here.  Mostly because Swedes don't use sugar.... or were just really bad bakers.  Or something.    Bottom line,  I tend to skip IKEA's dessert bar just as often. 

But my lack of Dutch taste does not sway Cheryl at all.   The only thing she had hang ups over.. was the incredibly long line for the bakery.   The Line Stretched back to Terra Haute!  

Luckily...  There was ANOTHER bakery just three doors down.   Unbelieveable!   This bakery only offered treats and no touristy souvenirs.  Cheryl was able to score her snacks for the ride home. 

Eventually,  the race time approached and we headed to the star line.   We watched the "kid runs" for a time...  Just to pass the time.   They started in waves, similar to the main race plan.   And there were "X's" on the road to make sure people would remain the correct distance apart.  However,   Pella strikes me as a "small Iowa Town"  where everyone knows EVERYONE!   People were shaking hands, hugging, and talking to each other as if they were family.  In other words:  They were behaving as they did back in 2019!  I saw a few folks with masks around their necks, but no one wore them during the race.   And even the police officers who were directing traffic did not have them on.   ( They also knew lots of the people as they ran by.   

Perspective:  Cheryl is in the lead!

I took Cheryl's coat and mask and ran ahead to catch her as she ran by.   I thought she was going to start in the front with the "fast people"  but she was about 30 seconds behind the starters.   ( Staggered start and all....)   Depending on your perception,   Cheryl is either leading OR she is trying to catch up with the leaders.  

Cheryl struggle to catch up!

The nice thing about a 5K is that it is over in hardly any time.  I barely had time to catch the last few Dog walkers, Baby Strollers, and Wooden Shoe Klompers before I headed down to the finish line.   People were already crossing the finish!   Cheryl was close behind them!   

She finished 12th female and bested her 2019 time by one second!  ( at least she had not gotten slower over the Shutdown.) We grabbed our milk and cookie and headed home.  It was a wonderful evening complete with cool temps ( good for runners, I hear.)  and no rain;  Despite the gloomy clouds hanging over us....

Cheryl did not win the wooden shoe for the Masters.  But she did win the 1st in her 40-49 age group. She was happy and we got to stuff ourselves with almond-paste confectioneries on the way home.  ( Oh, there were berry bars and chocolate thingies too...) 

Cheryl is feeling pretty good about that one.   In more ways that just her performance.   This race was stated to be the most "Un-fun" race so far, and it turned out that the Rules were there, but not many people were following them.   It is easy for Scientists in air-conditioned labs to tell us that it is possible to run with a mask over your face.  But I think I will take the advice of the runners, who run for a living, on this issue.   

As disappointing as the tulips where, I still enjoyed the ones that were still in their prime.  Mostly I know what they looked like from 2019 and use that as a comparison.   Unfair, I know.   And I'm sure the Locals were treated to a rainbow kaleidoscope of colors and shapes for the past week and a half BEFORE the event.  There are advantages to being local.   Meaning:  If you want to truly enjoy the Tulips of Pella without risk of missing any,  you have to live there.    I found a couple nice houses that would meet my standard.   Perhaps one day.... in the future...  

Hope everyone is having a fine week so far.   I can't believe it is Thursday already.   Time flies when you have a 5K to run in the middle of the week.   We still have to ready ourselves for the Farmer's Market coming up.   And this blog had already taken my entire afternoon to post.  Where does the time go?   Thanks for stopping in.