Hampton Inn Des Moines Airport

... 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 ...

... his mum down the aisle. Then came the bridesmaids who looked beautiful in blue and then down came Alicia with both her parents at her side. She looked fantastic (I suppose as you'd expect) with a flowing strapless dress and a big wide grin.<br><br>The wedding went by much the same as the rehearsal (funny that) but it was great to witness nonetheless. You couldn't wipe the smile of Alicia's face but you look just slightly to the left of her and all four bridesmaids were starting ...

Rightyo, another day begins with waking up on the couch way too early to the sun coming in the blinds and Kym battling the cats to get outside. Today though was the day before White Dress Day as well as my first challenge of the week - driving in the States.<br><br>Alicia was up early as she had appointments to keep and people to see so she drove me down to the airport to collect the car. I collected a Pontiac G6, a decent looking mid-size car similar in size to my Lancer but obviously newer ...

... 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 ...

... Who would have thought that Iowa would have the worlds best rest stops? Amazing.<br><br> So we headed south into Iowa and down to Des Moines, the state capital. The capital used to be Iowa City but for some reason it was abandoned and now the honour belongs to Des Moines. We visited the capitol building, with its lovely gardens, and the nearby war and peace memorials ...

... down the aisle, there was a blinding flast of light. I bent down to peer out the plane window only to see a downpour of rain. Great...I'm dressed as an Arizonan in capris, short sleeve top and sandals!<br><br>At the car rental desk as I keep a cautious eye on the exit door and the continuing downpour, the agents became frantic looking for paper and pen, gabbering about someone important by baggage claim. Two of them scampered off and proudly ...

Boy, another day, another dollar (oh that's right, I forgot to ask for donations). Today's trek took me to Des Moines, through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. I keep meaning to grab trip statistics off my GPS, but that'll have to wait until Friday's report. Today went well, with only a couple of drops of rain along the way. It was interesting to watch the ...

... Indiana boring - traffic heavy but moving well. Illinois heavy also until we got west of the Chicago suburbs. The sprawl here seems to rival Toronto. I was looking forward to seeing the Mississippi River. We stopped at the Iowa Welcome Centre - it's up on a hill overlooking the river. It was closed but it had a nice view. The river was what I expected, wide, slow ...

I was up about 6am today, the room was even worse as the temp rose. It was due to be over 100f today and I felt really sorry for the girls that were staying another night. A few people checked out yesterday and I was really glad we were checking out today. Lee was also up early, about 6 as well so we both decided to get the hell out of there and Chicago. Lee was really tired as he'd only managed an hours sleep because of the heat/smell/noise in his cramped dorm. I'd managed a few ...

... want to produce less oil to raise prices. Oth** OPEC countries want to flood the market with petroleum to reap immediate returns. Am**icans learned some lessons from the 1973 oil shock. Gas-guzzling cars became about as wanted as last week's leftov**s, and the nation raced to find ways to cons**ve en**gy. But more oil shocks ...