“If you build it, they will come.” I do not know of many Americans who couldn’t peg where this line is from. However, if you are one of the rarities, it’s Field of Dreams. This, in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest movies ever! My husband and I recently decided to make it our family favorite! (Our family is just him and me, by the way.) The wholesomeness and the risk of it all makes it a wonderful refresher for how life should be.

For those of you who agree with me on this, even in a small way, I would recommend a fun family trip to Dyersville, Iowa. This is where the movie site for Field of Dreams is located. The big, white, inviting, farmhouse and the plowed under corn-field-turned-baseball-field both await your visit. Moreover, the bonus is that it is free! A free family destination is a hard thing to come by these days. Just make sure to watch the movie before you come to insure a thrill of seeing it in person.

The site is open April 1st through November 1st every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you are near Chicago, it is about 200 miles west of there. Also on site, there is a great souvenir shop to take home a piece of the movie action. There are all kinds of shirts and jerseys, jackets, caps, mugs, and even baseballs and bats! It is a small souvenir shop that feels homey and has done a great job of retaining the small town values the movie boasted.

Make sure to get out on the field too. There are visitors of all ages keeping a rotating team playing a never-ending game throughout the day. Jump in at second base and go nuts. This is a really fun place for kids (especially post-seeing the movie) because it is so hands on. It was a riot to visit and see the glee the children had rounding the bases! Come to think of it, the adults who were playing seemed to be having just as much fun.

Do not plan to leave without taking the obligatory picture of you and yours fading into the corn. My family and I definitely did that. Even my grandpa got in on the shot! It is the closest I have ever been to James Earl Jones!
So take a trip to the center of Iowa, where the corn grows tall, and the passing locals still wave, and you just may find yourself asking, “Is this heaven?”