Gourmet Getaway: Good Company and Corn Fields

This post is long overdue, mostly because I have been too lazy to write something very lengthy. When meeting up with friends and family, they typically ask, "What is the best place you have visited?" My response is typically, "Seattle, Bend, and surprisingly Des Moines, Iowa." No joke. Luke and I really had a wonderful stay in Des Moines, although I must admit it was one of the cities I was not as "enthused" about visiting. It could be because we were with family and our best friends throughout our two weeks there; however, I thought Des Moines had many exciting activities to offer and some quaint stores and delicious eateries. A snapshot of our time in Iowa is below.

Banana Smoothie Minus the Blender

Our stay began with some parking mishaps, as posted about here, but after that it was smooth sailing and really a wonderful time. We stayed with Luke's cousins, despite the fact that they were moving out of their home and the house was completely empty for the last week of our stay. We literally helped them pack up some of their belongings, preoccupied their children while they tried to load up their moving boxes, and waved them goodbye as they left their home where we would be "squatters" for the next week. Somewhat hysterical, but also quite memorable. Had they not been moving, Lucas would not have finally seen Despicable Me, we would not have discovered Ticket To Ride (aka the train game), we would not have drawn Princess Town with sidewalk chalk, made banana smoothies without a blender, measured ears with household tools or watched as Max turned chairs covered in drapes into a spaceship. Our stay with them was delightful, despite the chaos of packing, and it gave us a chance to see a different neighborhood in Des Moines where we may not have stayed otherwise.

How big is Ela's ear?

Space Ships!!

Princess Town

Fried Brussels Sprouts

YUM

While staying in the Drake University neighborhood and while in Des Moines in general, we also discovered many culinary masterpieces. Within walking distance from the house was a fantastic wine bar and an amazing bakery and cafe called "La Mie." It was pastries, sandwiches, and bread at its best and we visited this establishment on more than one occasion. This was also proof that Iowa can be more than fried food, meat and potatoes - although we experienced that side of this city as well!

Tables of Pastries at La Mie

While in Des Moines, we also explored fried brussels sprouts at an amazing burger joint called Zombie Burger,

Lucas enjoying fried Oreos

Lucas had his first taste of the culinary wonders of fried Oreos, and our best friend's family made us the one and only Cheesy Hash-brown Casserole during our stay at their home. It was our last weekend in Iowa, our best friends made a trip to Des Moines to see family while we were in town, and we happened to have a couple of days off to just spend some time with our wonderful friends. Life couldn't have been better.

Another highlight of Des Moines, and one of the highlights of the entire summer was being able to spend some time with the Ryckmans. Brian and Amy are pretty much some of the greatest people I know and they are one of the reasons why we have missed Colorado this summer. With our banana trip, we went from seeing them just about every weekend to only seeing them one time in four months which was pretty much terrible. Seeing them at the half way point of the tour was great though and we had all sorts of fun with them during our two short days with them in Iowa.

Amy, Brian and Lucas with the flowers purchased at the farmers market

With the Ryckmans in town, we spent time wandering around the extremely large Des Moines Farmers Market (maybe the largest I have ever been to in my life), sampling beer at Confluence (a local craft brewery), learning a new card game called 500, eating a fair amount of cookies, playing Cranium and just being together. It was perfect.

Typical

Naturally Playing with Legos

Praise to the Frozen Cookie Dough

Outside of spending quality time with our friends and family, I just loved all the events, festivals and general happenings Des Moines had to offer. From the balloon festival where we sampled with the food truck, to the Ragbrai bike race that came through town, to dancing by the lake and minor league baseball games, and from outdoor movie screenings to Broadway shows, it just seemed as though Des Moines had a lot going on and had many opportunities for free entertainment. We took advantage of some of them, and if I ever make it back to Des Moines someday, I will have to do some of the things we didn't get to do.