Sometimes the best vacations are the ones you put the least amount of thought and planning into. Laura and I headed out Saturday morning for a couples weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. Our first stop was in the western part of Illinois to an
Amish farm, which sells patio furniture. Laura must have sat down in every chair possible while I hid out in the shade and took pictures of the ones she liked.
The furniture is made from recycled milk jugs and comes with a twenty year warranty. Plus, they can stay outside during all seasons of the year, which is kind of a big deal when the only storage space for patio furniture is in basement. Laura has settled on a glider and a chaise lounge, but I'm not sure what colors she is thinking about.
Once we got to Des Moines we checking into our hotel and then walked to dinner. I found a unique pizza place using a restaurant app on my Kindle Fire and it was a hit!
Fong's Pizza had previously been a Chinese restaurant, but some pizza minded individuals took over a few decades ago and they have been pumping out Asian themed pizzas ever since.
I tried the sweet and sour chicken pizza, because I'm a sucker for anything with pineapple on it. I guess their specialty is a crab rangoon pizza, but we didn't know that when we ordered. I suppose there's always next time!
After dinner we walked to the ballpark and I promptly bought tickets as close to first base as possible. Why? Well, because that's where Dan Vogelbach was playing, of course!
Laura had no idea when she planned this getaway weekend that the Iowa Cubs would be in town, let alone that the VOGELMONSTER was on the roster. That's okay, I made sure to let her know in short time.
By the way, in case you missed, the VOGELMONSTER was the PCL player of the week last week.
Oh, and I most recent Ebay find came the other day . . . it's a sweet camo parallel numbered to /15.
The I-Cubs defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes in eleven innings on a walk-off bases loaded single by Juan Perez. Laura left after the seventh inning stretch, but I had my score card and bag of peanuts to keep me company. Did I mention the hotel we were staying at was about a five minute walk from the ballpark? Honestly, Laura says that she had no idea the I-Cubs were in town and she also claims it was serendipitous that the hotel location was a stone's throw from Principal Park. I'm not sure I believe her, but I love her all the same!
The next day we hit the sculpture park in the center of downtown.
Afterwards we walked to
Eatery A and indulged in brunch. I had chicken and waffles!
The local art museum was our next stop and then we spent some time relaxing in a nearby park.
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| "Juan of the Dead" burger |
For dinner we stopped in at
Zombie Burger and once again indulged. I need to start running again!
The next morning we took a nice stroll around Gray's Lake, which was followed by a lap around the state capitol building.
On the way out of town I took Laura's picture with the cows from the Anderson Erickson dairy plant. Laura loves their
sour cream.
Overall, I think this was my fourth trip to Des Moines, but my first one with my wife. It has a nice skyline, as seen below, and all the the little things that a big city should, like professional baseball, fantastic parks and unique restaurants. Yet, it still has that small town feel in places.
I hear it has a couple of nice card shops, but again, that's something that will have to wait until the next time I pass through Iowa's capital. In all, it was a great way to start the summer!
That looks like a fun trip and that burger looks amazing. Let me know if you ever decide to visit Cincinnati or Dayton. I've got some good off the beaten path recommendations.
ReplyDeleteNot to make this all about me, but I'm going to be in Dayton for a few weeks this summer. We lived there when I was a kid, but I don't remember much about it.
DeleteI've eaten at Zombie Burger. But there is no way I would eat at that Fong's place. At least not until they admit that thing on the plate was not pizza.
ReplyDeleteYou're not a pizza snob are you? I'm all about pizza... deep dish, thin crust, traditional toppings and Fong's!
DeleteLooks like you had an awesome trip. I have a sneaky suspicion your wife at least knew a baseball park was nearby, I mean even if the Cubs and Vogelmonster aren't there you can still appreciate a good minor league ballpark.
ReplyDeleteDid you say anything to Vogelbach? Any photographs together? Any awkward handshakes?
Oh and how was the local art museum? I'm curious to know what art museums in more rural areas are like (as a New Yorker/city-slicker).
Nope, I never got close to the VOGELMONSTER. An awkward handshake would have been fun to right about though!
DeleteMy wife and I frequent art museums on most of our trips. Anymore, they all seem to have a little something for everyone. The Des Moines Art Center had a Monet for the more traditional, and a Cindy Sherman for hose looking for more modern material.
That looks like it was a nice trip. I'm not a foodie by nature, but I've been trying to branch out a little bit as far as trying new things. I'm not sure how I feel about that pizza, but I'd be willing to try it.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the art museum as well. I have developed an interest in art lately, but I don't think the stuff I like is standard museum fare. I could be wrong, though, as I don't visit art museums. I just imagine them as stuffy places filled with portraits and paintings of fruits.
Of the museums I've been to, only the Louvre, in Paris, resembles what you have described. Maybe that's because we typically only visit museums from smaller cities, like Des Moines, or museums of modern art when we're in larger cities.
DeleteI think you should give one a try!
Looks like a cool trip! Glad you caught the Cubs game.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. My wife likes the AE yogurt.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at taking a trip to Des Moines at some point this summer since its not too far away, but doubt I do now. If I did I would plan it on a day Iowa Cubs play. I also thought about Davenport as well, but I don't know if I'll go on any trips this year.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a good time. I'll have to remember those food places if I go.
Des Moines has a lot to offer. I caught a game in Davenport when the VOGELMONSTER stopped through to play the Quad City River Bandits. It's a nice ballpark right on the river. If you get board watching the game you can watch the pelicans fly in and out.
DeleteMy wife and have been doing short little trips like this a couple of times a year. I think I would love Zombie Burger, but I'm skeptical of the pizza. That just seems odd.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to see the Vogelmonster
Zombie Burger was recommended to us last year on our Cubs road trip. I believe it was by somebody in South Bend. But we got into Des Moines a little closer to game time than expected and had to roll right out afterwards for the longest driving portion of the road trip to eastern Tennessee.
ReplyDeleteglad you had such a great time. Zombieburger is a great place to eat (Undead Elvis is my fav) and the FOng's in Ankeny is very good, especially the crab raggoon pizza.
ReplyDeleteI grew up about 30 miles from Des Moines, and when I get back there to visit family, the one place I always hit is "Goldie's" in Prairie City to get a pork tenderloin. That's the kind of sandwich that doesn't exist in California! :-)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/goldies-ice-cream-shoppe-prairie-city-2