Well, I did not really spend a day in Iowa City; I spent six nights and five days there attending the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. So I was busy writing most of the time, but I spent considerable time taking in Iowa City and the University of Iowa, and it’s worth sharing that experience as it was the central draw of this year’s trip. 
The festival opened on Sunday night with a dinner at the Hotel Vetro, where we were seated in tables by workshop. I had chosen a workshop titled “The Shape of Your Time,” led by Kris Vervaecke, an award winning writer currently working in creative nonfiction and on a novel. The theme was appealing to me because it allowed for both fiction and non-fiction writing, and was meant to be a generative workshop. In other words, the prompts would be designed to help the participants draft new work, not hone material that had already been created prior to the workshop. The group was diverse in age and geography, included two pastors, and writers from various regions of the country, including one currently living in El Salvador. Some had been to the Iowa Summer Writing Festival (ISWF) before, and two had previously had Kris as an instructor, which was very heartening, as she was worth coming back for. After a dinner politely getting to know each other, the program started with a brief address from the program coordinator, Amy Margolis. I scrawled the following sentence from her welcome on the top of my notebook: “These are your people; this is your tribe.” I knew at that point it was the right decision to spend my vacation here.
At this point, Kris joined us at the table and, after another round of introductions, she handed out our first readings and writing prompts for Monday’s class. Just like that, I was caught in the rhythm of the seminar. In what would become my workshop daily routine, I headed back to the hotel and Tamu with my handouts, read in the evening, wrote for the class in the morning, and work shopped the draft in the afternoon meeting. Repeat for five days. ISWF offers a variety of free events for festival participants in addition to the daily workshop. At eleven each morning, a well established writer–generally affiliated with the Writer’s Workshop–would lecture on a particular theme. There was a reception on Monday, Open Mike night on Wednesday, and Dinner/Dance on Thursday. All of these events were excellent additions to the workshop, but the drafting and work shopping process was the central engine that drove my week. 
Kris Vervaecke turned out to be exactly the instructor I needed. Her prompts pushed me to create with a focus, to tell a new story for each day’s meeting. Creating such prompts is not an easy task; if the prompt is too narrow, it leaves students feeling uninspired, but if it is too wide, it does not focus the writing. The readings, which were a mix of fiction and nonfiction, were useful every single night. In addition, Kris made herself available for individual meetings, and she was enthusiastic about my project and my prose. She set the tone for the group, modeling how to welcome the words of others and give useful feedback. The group was supportive and specific in their feedback. I am very grateful. My biggest hurdle to writing is the hectic life I live when not on vacation, and we all weighed in on solving that. Of course, life has been in overdrive since I returned from the workshop, but I am hopeful that–once this blog is updated–I can develop some kind of rhythm that enables writing as I did in Iowa City. My colleagues were clear that this work needs to get done.
I can share a few features of the area that I came to know in my routine:
The swimming facilities as the University of Iowa, which I was able to join as a temporary member, are awesome. There are three different pools, one of competition length and chilly temperature that really pushed my abilities. The diving pool, which was open each morning for lap swimming, became my sanctuary and site of morning meditation as I moved arms and legs and kept breathing. It is rare that I will pull myself out of bed for a swim (I generally go late in my day), but this facility made it easy.
In the morning spaces between the Eleventh Hour Lecture Series and workshop in the afternoon, I generally camped out at Prairie Lights Cafe, a bookstore and cafe. My aging laptop has developed some flukes this year, including an inability to retain battery power. So I would park myself near an outlet with a completely indulgent cup of chai latte, and write my little heart out. Blissful. 
The wonderful thing about being at a writing program is that nobody expects anything different. I ignored people and moved out of time and space into memory each day with my fragrant drink and occasional meal. I can’t imagine the experience without Prairie Lights.
It was early days in the 2016 Presidential race when I was in Iowa, with the July 4th holiday in full swing, so I was hopeful I would see some of the lesser known candidates out shilling for votes. I figured I would have to seek out any marquee names, but was wondering how many of the legions of Republicans I would be able to recognize at this stage in the cycle. 
On my first Monday before class, while late on deadline, I stopped at The Bread Garden Market for lunch. Across the street at the public library, a long line formed for a Hillary Clinton event that day. Already, staffers from the campaign were having to break the bad news to those outside that they probably would not get in. (I hope being included in my little blog is a consolation to them!) I was actually surprised to find this much enthusiasm for any candidate at this point in the Iowa caucus race. I come from Ohio, and by the time November 2016 comes, all the word 
from home will be about the traffic jams as the next president visits up the street. It was nice to see the enthusiasm in Iowa. I must admit that I never did get to see any of the candidates, not even Hillary across the street.
ISWF provided us with a small packet of coupons to local stores, so I did a little window shopping after class every day. I ultimately bought items at a vintage clothing store, and a shop featuring Indian goods. It seems, wherever I go in the world, I am drawn to Indian clothes. I ate delicious meals at a variety of good restaurants. I had stopped being a tourist while I was caught in the daily routine, but on the last day, I pulled my camera back out and captured a few images, which I have included here. Iowa City is lovely and lively, but the visual images are not what I remember most about the week because they only tell part of the story. What will bring me back was the space the program offered to lose myself in writing for a week.