You don't pronounce Iowa as Ioway. That happened when I moved to Texas. Love the Chinese fire drill but be careful not to lock the car doors when everybody gets out. That happened downtown at the Main Street corner. I was in the car behind that car. I never laughed so hard in my life!!!

My DGS and I were just talking about Indian words used as place names in Iowa. I looked it up just a few minutes ago. Iowa named for the Indian tribe Ioway and it is assumed it is a version of the Sioux word Aiauy meaning This is the place or The Beautiful Land. Just a bit of trivia I thought was interesting!

Oh, and one more thing.....not everyone in Provincetown is gay.

So was Vermont.

I am a transplanted Texan to Oklahoma. Been here 50 years now. I've read most of the comments and didn't find many posts from Okies. (I agree with my fellow Texans, BTW) We are not all cowboys in OKLA either. As my fellow Okie stated, there are other schools besides OU and OSU. When we have tornadoes, only a few places are affected. We don't many like the 1999 tornado that was on the ground for a couple hundred miles and did so much devastation. We also claim to be in Tornado Alley.

Way to go, Rhonda! I am from Iowa and defend it all the time. So many people here in CA. think that Califonia IS the US. So Not true! There is so much to see and do in Iowa. Poeple are so nice and wave at you all the time. A lot of excellent education and culture comes from there. A lot of movies have been made there for good reason. After all, there really is a Field of Dreams.

Maybe we need a companion thread to post all the things there are to offer in our state! We have museums that preserve Indian History in Iowa and there is a Quilt Museum in Kalona. We have tours of some of the most beautiful old churches. There are beautiful state parks! We have Geode just about 20 miles away from us and we spent alot of time there taking our kids fishing while they were growing up. I'm sure there is alot more but these are the ones in our area SE Iowa

We also have great colleges and great college football teams!

I am a nurse in CA. and you wouldn't believe how many residents and doctors I have run across that have gone to school at University of Iowa and they all felt it was great. And, one of the things I loved most about going to grade school in Iowa was a seperate class we had to take...Iowa History. Learned about Kate Shelly and the Grotto and Black Hawk and Grant Wood and John Wayne and the Bridges of Madison County, and so much more colorful history. It seemed to be one of the favorite subjects of everyone's and a have found that a lot of schools don't teach a thing about their state's history. Amana Colonies has so much talent and so much to offer. And, the capitol building has been considered one of the most beautiful in the US with its all real gold dome. I never got bored there growing up and always something fun to do. Every state has a colorful history and a lot to offer in one way or another. I guess I have been taken out of Iowa, but Iowa has not left my heart. I didn't want to move to CA. but my ex did and when we got here he missed Iowa so much. He got to move back there but since we were ex's by then I couldn't find a way to go back at the time and I am still here, but not for much longer. But, actually I am glad I got to live in CA., too, because I have learned a lot and met a lot of nice people, so it is has not been a wasted experience.

Another Alabamian here. No, we don't eat possum. (Or at least no one I know does) Yes, we have paved roads. Alabama has beautiful snow white beaches. We also have beautiful mountains. I live just a couple of miles from the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi. Breathtaking scenery! And southern hospitality is alive & well here!