My niece Sam recently celebrated her 21^st birthday. Being that I love her dearly and I am always up for a good road trip, I joined my nephew Matt for a two-day trip to Iowa City and the University of Iowa to surprise Sam and celebrate her day with family and friends.

On the way there, Matt and I stopped at Antique Archeology in Le Claire, Iowa. It is probably better known as the real business behind the American Pickers TV show. It is a fairly small store but loaded with cool stuff like great vintage signs.

We also stopped at the Iowa 80 Truckstop, billed as the World’s Largest Truckstop. It was quite impressive. In addition to the standard several fast food places, a gift shop and an extra-large truck parts and accessories area, there was a dentist, chiropractor, movie theater, church area and more.

For dinner, we all met at Blackstone near the University. I had a wonderful four-cheese crispy flatbread. I also tried the saganaki, mac and cheese, chips and salsa and a hearty bowl of soup. Everything was excellent, and we all left very full.

On our way back, we stopped at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf, Iowa. Since four of us wanted to play Pai Gow for a long stretch, the casino manager opened a table for us, and it was right next to a Coke dispenser. For the next several hours, we enjoyed the game, making small bets with each other, and the Coke machine, of course.

We all had a great time celebrating Sam’s birthday. We also started talking about our next trip out there, which will probably be for a Hawkeyes football game in the fall. I am sure we will add a few new and interesting stops along the way on that trip.

— John Wroblewski, online contributor