It’s that time! We’re out on the road for our final day of my road trip around Eastern Iowa. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to meet us and tour the RV in Waverly and in Cedar Falls! I enjoyed meeting and talking with you all very much!

Today, we’re wrapping up my week with BBQ Loo and Blues Too! I’m so excited to get an inside look at how the BBQ chefs do their thing! I know I’m curious what makes for great bbq. So come on down! I’ll be going Live at Midday, 5 and 6, and then we’ll be doing tours of the RV throughout the afternoon! We’ve got some great pictures from all of our stops on the road, plus you can sit on the RV couch and watch all the pieces we’ve done about our tour!

Hope to see you all out there today!

UPDATE:

Thursday afternoon from 2:30-5:30 we’ll be at College Square Mall in Cedar Falls!

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Hi everyone! It’s an exciting week on the road, and personally I can vouch for the fact that our stops are awesome! So far this week, we’ve shown you the agribition center in Independence, the Wapsipinicon Mill, and Leo’s Italian Restaurant in Oelwein. At midday today, you can catch the latest on the Hub City Brewery. Everywhere we stopped on the Ketelsen RV that we have was so awesome! By the way, if you haven’t been able to come out and see the RV in person, we’ll be up at Waverly Hy-Vee from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday July 16th… We’re also going to be at BBQ Loo and Blues Too on Friday! Come by, say hi, and get a tour of our “digs”… I’ll post a complete rundown of where we’ll be when on Wednesday once we get everything firmed up!

Hope to see you out there, and remember to watch at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. for inside looks at some of Eastern Iowa’s greatest tourist hot spots!

Our first stop on KCRG-TV9’s Our Town Road Trip was at Adventureland. I have lived in Iowa all my life and always wondered what was behind those wooden fences at Adventureland! Well, while filming our segment for Our Town Road Trip I got my behind the scenes look…. and it really wasn’t that exciting.

But for today’s Road Tip I will give you this. Adventureland Park opens at 10am. My recommendation… head for the Log Ride. Its one of the most popular rides at the park and when its hot, the lines get LONG. So… get your summer splash in the morning…

Travis J. Bockenstedt
The Road Trip Producer

I have to admit. Producing a month long travel show keeps you busy. But now, I can devote some time to our Road Trip followers. Each day I will give you some “Road Tips” on the places each host visited. This week TV9’s Chris Earl is on the road.

Feel free to post questions about any of the places we visited. After traveling to 34-towns, I can say I have become a travel expert!

Travis J. Bockenstedt
The Road Trip Producer

So I’m back to the daily grind in Cedar Rapids, and I have to say…I miss the road trip! We met so many great people, and did so many fun things. Iowa is truly a great place to live, work, and play. Be sure and stay tuned for pictures and web clips from our tour. Highlights? Riding in the car with a race car driver at Echo Valley Speedway, climbing a rock wall, car-hopping at a drive in, and eating some really really great food along the way! The road trip I’m a part of will be airing sometime in the week of July 13 through the 17th. We’ll be back out on the road live that Thursday and Friday for BBQ ‘Loo and Blues Too! I can’t wait. Make sure you check out our schedule, come down and meet us, and tour our swank RV!

It’s now 7:15 on day two of our road trip. Yay! Yesterday was an exciting and fun filled day. We started at the agribition center in Independence… I got to play with farm animals and “milk a cow”. Then we went to see the Wapsipinicon Mill. That mill was built in 1867, and it is still standing! Amazing stuff. Then it was off to Oelwein to grab lunch at Leo’s Restaurant. Can I say yum? I had pasta in a bread bowl. Tasty. Then we went out to the Edgewater Golf Course and played a few holes (me not so well!). After that, it was off to the Hub City Railway Museum, where I got a wonderful tour of the rail cars of the past. And then we wrapped up our day at the Hub City Brewery, where we got a fantastic tour, and got to see the brewery’s expansion (set to take place later this summer.) Then we came back to our wonderful RV (This thing is SWANKY!) and had a great night’s sleep. Travis, our producer, is currently whipping together a breakfast of champions… we have another fun filled day ahead! We’re going to head to the Echo Valley Speedway first thing this morning. I can’t wait. Look for more updates soon!

Road Trip Itinerary

Monday, June 8th

Independence
9:45am - Heartland Acres Agribition Center

12:30pm - Wapsipinicon Mill

Oelwein
2:00pm - Join us for lunch at Leo’s Restaurant

3:30pm - Edgewater Golf Course

6:00pm - Join Ashley at Hub City Brewery

Tuesday, June 9th

West Union
9:00am - Arrive West Union

10:00am - Echo Valley Speedway

11:30am - Join Ashley for lunch at the Barrel Drive In

Nashua
2:00pm - Little Brown Church

Waverly
3:30pm - Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center

4:30pm - Waverly Rail Trail

6:00pm - Join us for dinner at the East Bremer Diner

Hello eastern Iowa! I want to personally welcome everyone to the Our Town Road Trip Blog. This blog will give you behind the scenes access to the production of KCRG-TV9’s Our Town Road Trip.

Follow host Ashley Hinson on Monday and Tuesday as she explores the towns of Oelwein, Independence, West Union, Nashua, and Waverly.

Only on the Our Town Road Trip Blog can you get an advanced preview of whats to come in July! You can also find out how to meet up with the Road Trip crew!

Thanks for following!

Travis J. Bockenstedt
Producer