Oxford

Dan's concert last night was a pleasant surprise. He told us that he would only be playing the beginning and end of a 1 1/2 hour show. I pictured a lot of boring choral stuff in between. Instead, it was a much briefer show featuring four high-school choirs together, with Dan playing in both a chamber orchestra and a jazz-type combo. It was a lot of fun, except for Vickie, who still finds walking painful.

I'd show pictures, but I can't find the memory card reader (I think Dan has it, and I don't want to wake him up). So here is a picture of the Augusta Restaurant in Oxford, just west of Iowa City. Vickie and I found this on our little Anniversary weekend last summer. It is run by a couple that moved to Oxford from New Orleans after the hurricane. It turns out the wife grew up in Loretta's neighborhood and worked in Leno's Sub Shop as a teenager, and later lived in Gurnee before moving to N.O. to study cooking. Her husband is from the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago.



The food is a mix of Iowa comfort food and Cajun, which sounds strange, but which works really well. If you ever get to Oxford, eat there. It will probably be there whenever you arrive. Things apparently don't change fast in Oxford, based on this sign at the local Ford dealer:



Keep in mind this was a 2008 visit.