Oelwein, Iowa is next to WHAT???

Of course, just seeing this extensive doll collection was well worth the trip for Bert. She has collected antique dolls for years, and she was DElighted to find this woman who could repair a bunch of  her damaged100 year old dolls. Awesome.

I took some pictures -- but they do NOT do the collection justice. There were thousands -- literally thousands of dolls in that house.

But, okay, it was a long road trip and I'm not really into antique dolls. So where's my entertainment for the day???

Oelwein, Iowa has a fairly lively Downtown...

There's even a Goodwill Store!!

But I didn't have to drive for two hours to go shopping in a Goodwill Store. So what was I thinking would be MY reward???

 Well -- remember Chris Soules, the Iowa Bachelor? (Prince Farming -- now on DWTS)???

Guess what?? -- his tiny little hometown -- Arlington,Iowa....IS ONLY 14 MILES AWAY FROM OELWEIN.

Although, apparently, judging from the horrified look on the women's faces during their visit there -- Arlington is sad little town, even the bar is closed...But, c'mon -- I'M THIS CLOSE -- RIGHT??  We should at least do a drive-by of the Soules farm.  

Who knows -- maybe Chris is taking a DWTS break to plow some fields this weekend...

But, alas -- Bert said no way.  Maybe I shouldn't let her drive all the time...

When she asked me why I wanted to go to po-dunk Arlington, I said I wanted to blog about it. She told me it would be just as interesting if I blogged about NOT going there...hummm...

Then, I remembered something Ross said during the big Finale. Chris and his brand new fiance, Whitney, were driving along one of these Iowa roads...and she kept gushing about how beautiful it was. "Iwa is so beautiful...it's just so beautiful..." 

Ross said, "Yes, Whitney...just like the surface of the moon...."