At the end of last week and weekend, we took yet another trip. This time it was to Des Moines, Iowa for Chris to do some work, but of course we squeezed in a good bit of sight-seeing while we were there. Between our trip to Bolivar, Missouri for track and field nationals at the beginning of May, Tennessee for graduation and wedding weekend in the middle of May, our trip to Branson the first weekend in June, and our most recent trip to Iowa, I feel like we've kept the road hot so far this summer!
Chris knew it was probable that he'd be going to Iowa sometime this summer, but he didn't know when that would be. When he finally got some dates nailed down, he asked me if I thought the kids and I would like to come along with him. I wasn't sure at first (because really, that's just how I am) mostly because I didn't want them to miss summer run. Their running group meets three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I thought they'd have to miss at least two sessions if we went to Iowa. However, Chris worked things out for them to only miss one day, so I said, "Why not!?! Let's go to Iowa!"
We left the house on Wednesday, June 9th around noon. We wanted to leave as soon as running practice was over (around 10:30am), but we ended up having to get a tire replaced on our van before we left town. From our house to where we stayed in Des Moines was almost seven hours driving time, and we made excellent time. We ate lunch before leaving the house, stopped just north of KC for Jimmy John's to-go for dinner, and arrived at our hotel around 8:00pm. Somehow, I didn't take a single photo of our travel day!
On Thursday, Chris arranged for his co-worker who lives in the area to pick him up so the kids and I could have the van. However, our one new tire with three old tires wasn't working out too well, so Chris dropped the van off to have all four tires replaced and his co-worker picked him up from the tire shop. This meant the kids and I were stuck at the hotel all day, but we really didn't mind. We slept in, watched TV, and then went to the pool for a few hours.
Ready to swim!
While the kids were having a great time swimming, I ordered a pizza to be delivered to us for lunch. It worked out perfectly for us to have time to go back to our room, change clothes, and pick up the pizza from the lobby. The hotel employees were so nice and made sure we had plates, napkins, utensils, and cups to take back to our room for our meal.
After lunch, we had a bit of rest time, then the kids asked to go back to the pool. We didn't have much else to do, so we enjoyed more swimming until almost time for Chris to get back. I think the kids swam a total of four hours that day!
Because they had been so active, the kiddos were HUNGRY once Chris got back to the hotel. We decided to go to a farm-to-table restaurant called Iowa Machine Shed that Chris's co-worker had recommended. It did not disappoint!
The restaurant was in town, but located on a farm that you could tour. Sadly, the tour part was closed when we were there, but we were still able to see some neat things.
Brianna, Brooke, Brecklyn, Brenson
I felt like this place was the quintessential Iowa experience!
All the farming decor was fun!
Brenson and Brooke
Brenson, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brianna . . . with an ear of corn, of course!
The food was absolutely delicious . . . including the best cottage cheese I've ever had (that they brought as an appetizer).
The portions were HUGE . . . so much so that even though the kids had been active all day we left quite a bit of food on the table and brought some back to our room for lunch the next day!
On Friday, June 11th, Chris's co-worker picked him up for work again, while the kids and I spent the day at the hotel. I was not surprised that they asked to go to the pool again almost as soon as they woke up!
Brianna, Brenson, Brooke, and Brecklyn
Bren living his best life!
For lunch, the kids and I ate some food we had packed and our leftovers from the night before. After lunch, we headed back to the pool for a few hours. I'm pretty sure they swam a total of four hours that day, too!
Chris ended up being finished with work and back to the hotel by about 4:00pm. We decided to go to Tasty Tacos for dinner because Chris had heard about it from some of the guys he had worked with. It was good, but certainly did not compare to Iowa Machine Shed (and truly that wouldn't be a fair comparison).
Chris and Brooke
Momma and Brecklyn
Brianna and Brenson
Girl gettin' that taco!
She almost couldn't fit it in her mouth!
Once we finished dinner, we knew we had a few more hours before dark. We decided to leave the city and do a little sight-seeing. We wanted to see one of the famous covered bridges of Madison county, so we drove to the Imes Bridge in St. Charles, Iowa.
This bridge was built in 1870!
We all enjoyed the architecture and history of the bridge!
The next day was Saturday, and we had planned to spend the morning and part of the afternoon in Des Moines, then drive to Kansas City to stay the night. First on our list for that morning was visiting the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Brianna, Brooke, Brecklyn, and Brenson
Yes, the sun was very bright!
Bri took this photo of us . . . it's kind of nice to have a kid old enough to capture decent photos!
Bren really enjoyed this replica of a ship inside the capitol building.
The architecture was impressive!
Beautiful dome!
The artwork inside the building was pretty amazing.
Brooke is standing in a spot where you can hear people whisper in other parts of the building.
Brecklyn standing in the special spot
One very unique thing about the Iowa capitol building was that there was a display of dolls - each made in the likeness of all the govenors' spouses - in one of the hallways. Brianna thought this was both fascinating and creepy!
The capitol grounds was beautiful, as well!
Just outside of the capitol building was a nice view of Des Moines.
The sun was still causing us the blues, haha.
Another view of the capitol building
Once we finished at the capitol, we headed to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines. This is a unique park that is home to all different kinds of sculptures from around the world.
Brenson, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brianna in the sculpture park with downtown Des Moines in the background
Bren with Thinker on a Rock
Bri, Bren, Brooke, Brecks, and Daddy at the Panoramic Awareness Pavilion
Brooke, Brecklyn, and Brenson with Nomade
It was a warm day, but we really enjoyed walking around the park.
Momma with Pumpkin
Once we finished at the sculpture park, we grabbed some snack out of our snack bag and decided to explore more of the covered bridges of Madison county. This gave us a great opportunity to drive through several small, quaint Iowa towns and really see the countryside. I was impressed with how clean and well-kept everything was. We saw many beautiful farmhouses and enjoyed the covered bridges!
Brenson, Brooke, Brecklyn, and Bri in Cedar Bridge (rebuilt in 2019 after a fire)
Cedar Bridge is the only bridge you can currently drive through (and we did!).
Cutler-Donahue Bridge built in 1870
Hollywell Bridge built in 1880
Chris and Bren in Hollywell Bridge
We were able to walk down to the river near the bridge . . . of course the kids wanted to go straight to the water!
Brooke, Brianna, Brecklyn, and Brenson in front of Hollywell Bridge
Hollywell was our final bridge visit before heading on down the road to KC. We were all pretty ready to hit the road by then, and knew we had several hours of driving ahead of us.
We stopped at a rest stop, and Bren was showing Brooke our route on the map!
At almost 3:00pm, we left Iowa and crossed into Missouri!
Not too far from the state line is a restaurant called Toot-Toots. It's a family cooking, buffet style place that Chris has eaten at a few times while on the road for work in the area. He has talked to the kiddos about it, and decided we needed to go there for an early dinner. Since we hadn't had a real lunch, everyone was ready for dinner even though it was only 3:30 in the afternoon!
After a great and HUGE meal at Toot-Toots, we continued our drive to Merriam, Kansas, where we stayed for the night. Our hotel was located just a few miles from the neighborhood I lived in as a grade schooler, as well as the church building where we worshipped. We decided to drive by my old house, school, and church building before it got dark. I think the children were pretty surprised the see where I spent my life until I was 12 years old, as the area is pretty run-down and rough. We got back to our hotel in time for baths and an early bedtime.
The next morning (Sunday), we got up and got ready to worship with the Park Street church of Christ in Olathe, Kansas.
Chris and Bren . . . like father, like son
We have several long-time family friends and acquaintances that worship there, and it was wonderful to be with them that morning. Brianna was even taught in Bible class by Millie, who taught my siblings and me when we were Bri's age! That was a neat full-circle life moment for me, and I regret that I didn't get our photo with Millie.
After worship services, we stopped at Cane's for lunch, then headed on down the road to Oklahoma. Our goal was to make it back in time for evening worship service in Oologah, and we rolled in the parking lot with about 10 minutes to spare.
I certainly didn't have high expectations for visiting Iowa, but the trip was really enjoyable. The kids loved swimming, we enjoyed the delicious food, and the sight-seeing was beautiful. We are so thankful we were able to take this trip, but now I think it's time to stay home for a while :-)!
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