It’s a busy season for Presidential candidates, with two of them tag-teaming a joint visit up at scenic Arrowhead Park, as well as an event with remarks by the former 45th President on Friday. We also had a lovely cold front move in, making temperatures downright pleasant for July and pushing us for some mandatory time outdoors.

The thunderstorms that came through on the Fourth of July delayed a few of the local fireworks shows. We hoped to catch one on Wednesday at Lake Manawa, but despite the show apparently till being on, the beach was inexplicably closed, making our visit not nearly as fun as we hoped. The kids preferred swimming over fireworks, so we drove up to Louisville Lake to swim for a bit instead. Then they closed less than an hour after we arrived, so we resigned ourselves to a short swim and a few snacks as a flock of geese came in to clean up the beach in our wake.

Then on Friday, I had lunch with Attorney General Mike Hilgers and a handful of our my mutual political friends. He got to tell us about a a few recent Supreme Court victories, and I got to chat a bit with my new friend Vermooten, who happens to live a few blocks away and is running for the State Board of Education.

On Friday evening, I drove up to scenic Arrowhead Park in Neola, Iowa for a dual campaign stop. Both Mike Pence and Larry Elder came by the Pottawattamie County GOP meeting at Breezy Lodge. The former Vice-President came with his wife Karen, and I was kicking myself for not bringing her book, which I’d had the VP sign a few years ago. Plenty of others in the crowd brought their own books for the VP to sign, and one man gave the VP his brownie.

Larry Elder dropped by a little later (sporting a suit and tie and a pair of garish sneakers), and I naturally had to get a selfie with the “black face of white supremacy.” The two greeted guests for a while before giving a pair of stump speeches. Pence talked extensively about the shortcomings of the Biden administration and gave a testimony on his Christian faith. Elder talked about issues with fatherlessness and the myth of systemic racism in America. Several media people were in the room as well, including Marianne Levine form the Washington Post who interviewed me before I left, as well as Jeff Zeleny from CNN.

Then on Friday, Donald Trump came to town. It was raining all morning, but that didn’t deter hundreds of people form lining up starting at 5 PM the previous day. I managed to get VIP access, letting me skip the line and grab a spot close to the front (which was nice since I couldn’t bring my “good” camera). RSBN was on hand doing interviews with several of the guests, as were multiple local stations. I saw some familiar faces from the NEGOP, such as Chairman Underwood and Dawn Liphardt, among a handful of “NE grassroots patriots.” I also got to meet Roger Stone, who of a handful of VIPs whose names I recognized up near the front of the stage, and bumped into an Uncle Sam cosplayer out front.

The event had an agricultural theme, with signs colored John Deere green and yellow with “Farmers for Trump” hats being handed out. They had a panel on farming before Trump arrived, taking the stage with members of the new ‘Farmers for Trump” coalition.

Trump took a few questions after his remarks and then went down to greet some guests in the front row before leaving. I was quick enough to get a spot at the fence and shake his hand as he passed by (with Secret Service pressed all around). Trump apparently went to buy a few people ice cream down at the Dairy Queen on Broadway afterward.

SO after all that activity from July 4 and Presidential candidates, our following weekend was relatively quiet. I mowed by parents’ lawn and helped fix a bed frame, and then we dragged the kids out of the house to spend the afternoon at Mahoney State Park. We walked along the nature trail by the river together, finding some interesting plant life along the way, as well as an Indian burial ground. Then we climbed the lookout tower to for a family photo and a good look at the Platte River.

We finished our visit with a brief trip to the playground and then a stop at Denny’s for some breakfast-for-dinner together before heading home.

Then on Monday, I got to delve just a bit more into politics at the Pachyderm luncheon at Ahmad’s Persian Cuisine. I got to hear from a full slate of education leaders, including Spencer Head, Omaha Public Schools board president Matt Ray, Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors member Adam Gotschall (who announced his run for reelection at the luncheon), and State Board of Education Candidates Lisa Schonhoff and Linda Vermooten. Both Spencer and Ray talked extensively about public education and the challenges of teaching a diverse student body, where many of the students speal English as a second language and over 600 are actually homeless.

I had plenty of questions of my own but didn’t get the chance to ask any. It’s just as well, as they mostly involved whether or not we ought to pull Aaron out of OPS completely. We’ll keep praying about that.