Des Moines, I would like to apologize.
Before I started my road trip, I literally laughed to people about the fact that I would be passing through Des Moines, Iowa. I pictured a bigger city in the middle of not so big cities — sort of a “well, we had to put something on the map,” kind of vibe.
Well I was wrong. Des Moines, you were amazing.
It probably helped that my expectations were at “0” upon arrival to the city, but I would literally give Des Moines a 5-star experience. I would even consider living there.
Growing up 4 hours away, I had never visited. As soon as I rolled into the city, I was blown away by their beautiful capitol building. I’m a sucker for politics and history, so I spent a few hours exploring there and getting lost in the concepts of government. A huge engraving on the wall proclaimed “WHERE LAW ENDS TYRANNY BEGINS” which was fun to contemplate as I consider myself a rule-breaker.
Highlights of Des Moines:
- Culture — Dang Des, Moines, you might be in the Midwest but you had culture! Night one I found an Ecuadorian restaurant and felt right at home with a whole crew of Ecuadorian guys sporting the same jersey I have as we watched the Pre-qualifiers for the World Cup. For lunch the next day I ate at an amazing Cuban restaurant.
- Capitol building — Gorgeous to explore, lots of monuments and history. Also free.
- Botanical Gardens — Not free, $10, but beautiful flowers. Not sure I’d recommend it for everyone but I love plants.
- Sculpture Park — Kinda cool, free
- Art Museum — Free. I have a love/hate relationship with art museums, it takes me a bit of time to get into them but then I find myself lost once again in contemplating the concepts of life. Even a Goya piece was found here! The Des Moines Art Center it was called.
- Bridge District — I love bridges. Very cool bridges. Free.