Econo Lodge And Suites Des Moines

... at things from the WWII era and tried to see what was what in concerns to things Grandpa might have done, medals and badges he earned, and equipment he might have operated. Then it was back to the Interstate Highway. I35 North was closed to a car accident which left 4 dead and 4 injured that required rerouting. I sufficiently slept through Missouri and am now awake writing this in the last 30 miles before I need to ...

... We reached the interstate and Mark was more comfortable with the surroundings until the GPS told us we were going to Kansas City, two hours away. A minor freak out and we kept on going and eventually reached the road our motel was on and we knew where we were. We got to the chapel, the boys had everything covered so we wandered back outside and headed over to the football field where Simpson College were hosting a game. This was my first gridiron experience on US soil which I loved ...

... inside Simpson College) as well as the motel... and some stop signs!

Alicia was guiding me through the streets so when I looked comfortable Alicia being Alicia started talking a bunch and then yelled out "STOP SIGN" so I slammed on the brakes. This 'T' intersection would have been a through road for me with a stop sign for the side road in Australia so I wasn't really used to it. Alicia began chatting again and the very next intersection I ran the stop sign. She asked if I had to ...

... We watched a short film about the Hall which was a little corny (pardon the pun) but added to the experience and then we entered the Hall. Throughout there were displays of Iowa's involvement in sport and they did a fantastic job but it was more for Iowa people or people who knew about Iowa sport. I'm a sport person and it wasn't really for me but I did recognise some names and found some interesting information. Being interested in sport I did take a little longer ...

So we left Chicago and was stuck in traffic for a little while longer and then finally started heading west. We made it about 100 miles outside of Des Moines before we stopped to sleep. We found some random campground right off of the interstate and slept there. I have never seen a place with as much dew as that place. One good thing was it was so dark and the sky was clear, so we could see alot of stars. And they were so bright! Once we woke up, we ran for the first time in a while. It was ...

... middle a gurgling stream is an enclosed bridge (as seen in the movie) stretching across. There are several of the bridges around town, we saw a few but our fav was probably at the town park where they also had a castle like structure and a big garden maze, fun! And to add to the appeal of this town it is also John Waynes birth place. They have the house he was born in ...

... in the town of Dyersville, IA. It was your typical mid-western country kitchen: everything was fried, everything was 4,000 calories, and everything was delicious. And oh yes, pie came first…dinner second. At least that’s what the locals do.

Our waitress was the kindest person we’ve ever met. Our meal was not kind on our stomachs.

Three hours of driving later, the sky cleared (it had been cloudy and about 55 degrees and no I’m not kidding) and ...

... appreciation during the concert’s second half.
Soloist Alex Boye’’s soaring falsetto cadenza at the end of “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me,” again drew whistles, calls and loud applause, as did organist Rick Elliott’s jazzy solo arrangement of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

“Come, Come Ye Saints,” written in Iowa by William Clayton during the Mormon pioneers’ trek across the Great Plains connected well with the ...

... I find it funny looking back to when I said I would not fall victim to culture shock and my first weeks on US soil. I definitely was a classic case of reverse culture shock, having to get used to things like hot water, the idea of free, more food than I could fathom and restaurants in which there is not limit on the amount of preservatives and calories to be consumed for one relatively low price ...

We have one of those GPS navigators in the car. It has two modes: American and English and it varies its tone depending on the one you choose. We have decided to call 'her' (because she is female) Mandy for the Californian/American voice and Amanda for the stern English lady, who is probably from the upper class. We decided ...