Well, today was all about my Dad and seeing where he grew up here in Des Moines. First we went to Aunt Minnie's house (?). We then went over to Aunt Hey's house (again ?). From there we went over to the Govenors mansion and the Clear Channel office that is just a block away from the mansion. We then went to the state capitol (we were there late last night, and were tailed by a Iowa State Patrol cause we pulled into the service driveway for too long apperantly, we only took two photos). After that we went to my dad's old neighborhood and found where he used to live and where he used to go to school. From there it was only two blocks to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Mom found a bead store and went into the store with Dad, while they were inside, I stayed in the car and listened to San Diego traffic and weather on Sirius satalite radio in the rental car, it was cool to hear what was going on back home.
We went to dinner at Applebees around the corner from the hotel. After that we decided to take a look around a Super Target. Then I came back to the hotel, and getting ready to take off to go to Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Showing posts with label Des Moines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Des Moines. Show all posts
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 2 in Des Moines
Well day 2 in Des Moines found the Davis' going South back towards KC...no we didn't decide to forget teh rest of the trip, we were just going 45 minutes to the South. For those of not familiar with the greater central Iowa region, 45 minutes South of Des Moines is Madison County. Within Madison County is the famed covered bridges. There are a total of six bridges, we decided to see five of the six with the only bridge that we didn't see being the Cedar bridge. Check more out about the bridges here.
After we got done with the bridges, which took about 5 hours to complete, as the bridges are not anywhere close to I-35 and are widely spread around the Winterset community. The Imes Bridge whihc is the furthest SE on the "bridge road". From the Imes bridge to the Holliwell Bridge it took about 45 miunutes (mainly gravel roads). The Holliwell bridge was one of the two main bridges used in the movie. We then went to the Cutler-Donahue bridge which is in the city park of Winterset. After that, we went to the birthplace of John Wayne (Pilgrim!) where my Dad took the tour, and he was very happy since he is a huge John Wayne fan. The second to final bridge that we visited took us an hour to the West of Winterset to find the Roseman Bridge which was the other bridge used extensively in the movie. We made our way back to Winterset to have lunch and then finally to the only bridge that you can drive through the Cedar bridge. The reason why it is the only one that you can drive on is because it was torched by an arsonist in 2002, and was rebuilt with the same design as the original, and with the same materials.
We came back to the hotel for a few seconds and then went to Fudruckers for dinner where all three of us had Buffalo Burgers (YUM!!!!!!). We then toured Des Moines and found the Govenor's mansion along with the Capitol building and the first signs of actual damage in the downtown district. I will have more pictures up on myspace with all of the downtown areas and the area that my Dad grew up in East Des Moines.
Til later, c ya
After we got done with the bridges, which took about 5 hours to complete, as the bridges are not anywhere close to I-35 and are widely spread around the Winterset community. The Imes Bridge whihc is the furthest SE on the "bridge road". From the Imes bridge to the Holliwell Bridge it took about 45 miunutes (mainly gravel roads). The Holliwell bridge was one of the two main bridges used in the movie. We then went to the Cutler-Donahue bridge which is in the city park of Winterset. After that, we went to the birthplace of John Wayne (Pilgrim!) where my Dad took the tour, and he was very happy since he is a huge John Wayne fan. The second to final bridge that we visited took us an hour to the West of Winterset to find the Roseman Bridge which was the other bridge used extensively in the movie. We made our way back to Winterset to have lunch and then finally to the only bridge that you can drive through the Cedar bridge. The reason why it is the only one that you can drive on is because it was torched by an arsonist in 2002, and was rebuilt with the same design as the original, and with the same materials.
We came back to the hotel for a few seconds and then went to Fudruckers for dinner where all three of us had Buffalo Burgers (YUM!!!!!!). We then toured Des Moines and found the Govenor's mansion along with the Capitol building and the first signs of actual damage in the downtown district. I will have more pictures up on myspace with all of the downtown areas and the area that my Dad grew up in East Des Moines.
Til later, c ya
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
MY BAD
Ooops, sorry, had so much fun in KC last night (not to mention I was trying to adjust to Central time) I forgot to blog.
Monday -- Left San Diego on Midwest Airlines on time (12:30pm). We got into KC right on time as we had wheels down at 3:30 (PDT)/5:30 (CDT). We got our rental car (a White Dodge Charger) and drove the 20 minutes to our Hotel. We got checked in and as we were driving into the hotel we saw that there was not only a Super Wal-Mart across the street from the hotel, but we also saw where we ended up having dinner. The resturant in question......Waffle House. This was the first time that my mom and I had ever even been inside a Waffle House, while it was the first time in more than 20 years. After dinner, we decided to go tour downtown KC. If you check out my myspace page you can checkout the pictures.
Tuesday -- Left the hotel NE of KC around 10:30am and arrived in West Des Moines around 4:30pm. In that timeframe, we drove around and attempted to find the location that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails met (we couldn't find the marker though). After that run around, we continued North and then took a side trip to Davis City, Iowa....yes a city that has my name in it COOL!!!!! While on the way to Davis City we passed an Amish buggy on the way there. After that we stoped in Osceola to gamble alittle at my sisters hotel company. While at the casino I lost, while my father (JOKING HERE) the bastard won over $150 on the penny slots. We drove by where we will be in the next couple of days, the covered bridges of Madison County & the birthplace of John Wayne. We are in West Des Moines until Friday, so if you have any questions on Iowa, drop me a line. I'll try and figure out the answer.
Monday -- Left San Diego on Midwest Airlines on time (12:30pm). We got into KC right on time as we had wheels down at 3:30 (PDT)/5:30 (CDT). We got our rental car (a White Dodge Charger) and drove the 20 minutes to our Hotel. We got checked in and as we were driving into the hotel we saw that there was not only a Super Wal-Mart across the street from the hotel, but we also saw where we ended up having dinner. The resturant in question......Waffle House. This was the first time that my mom and I had ever even been inside a Waffle House, while it was the first time in more than 20 years. After dinner, we decided to go tour downtown KC. If you check out my myspace page you can checkout the pictures.
Tuesday -- Left the hotel NE of KC around 10:30am and arrived in West Des Moines around 4:30pm. In that timeframe, we drove around and attempted to find the location that the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails met (we couldn't find the marker though). After that run around, we continued North and then took a side trip to Davis City, Iowa....yes a city that has my name in it COOL!!!!! While on the way to Davis City we passed an Amish buggy on the way there. After that we stoped in Osceola to gamble alittle at my sisters hotel company. While at the casino I lost, while my father (JOKING HERE) the bastard won over $150 on the penny slots. We drove by where we will be in the next couple of days, the covered bridges of Madison County & the birthplace of John Wayne. We are in West Des Moines until Friday, so if you have any questions on Iowa, drop me a line. I'll try and figure out the answer.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
OK, its time to go
Well, in just about 24 hours I will be in Kansas City, Mo. to begin "the adventure" known as a major trip. The itinarary in case you don't already know has the family leaving San Diego with a non-stop flight to Kansas City. Stay the night (Monday) in KC to get used to the time zone and everything. On Tuesday, we travel to the dry part of Des Moines, IA and stay in the "flood zone" (Des Moines) for a few days. After that we take I-80 West to Council Bluffs/Omaha for the College World Series. We will be in attendance during game one of the best-of-three championship series at the CWS. After our fun at Rosenblatt Stadium, we make the journey down I-29 South to I-70 and finally US-81 to Wichita for the National Square Dance Convention.
It will be an interesting trip, Dad is happy that we will be touring the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas. My Dad used to run Greyhounds at Caliente in Tiajuana and other locations here in the US. Talk to you from the road.
It will be an interesting trip, Dad is happy that we will be touring the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, Kansas. My Dad used to run Greyhounds at Caliente in Tiajuana and other locations here in the US. Talk to you from the road.
Monday, April 21, 2008
What a weekend....
So, for those that actually care (I know Jesse doesn't but bear with me buddy), the SDCC baseball team swept a doubleheader from Westmont College in Santa Barbara by scores of 5-4 and 2-0. The team has five games remaining in this season, the team right now needs to win out and have quite a few other teams lose at least two games in order to get into the playoffs. Taking a quick look at the potential 2009 season schedule some interesting opponents are shaping up for the Hawks. If the potential schedule that I have been hearing rumors about are true, then the Hawks will be taking on Lewis & Clark State, Sioux Falls, Occidental, San Francisco State, UC San Diego, CSU-Bakersfield, and in what could be a very questionable matchup.....San Diego State.
Now about last weekend. We (my Mom, Matt, and I) left San Diego and flew Virgin America to San Francisco International. First let me say, Virgin America blows my former employer OUT OF THE WATER. Some of the finer points of the VA experience are the fact that TV is free (unlike my previous employer), music videos, and chattin within the plane. Every single seat is covered in leather, and the seats are made by Ferrari (you can't get much better than that). We arrived in San Fran at 3:45 pm on Friday. After a 2 stops on our way to Sacramento that totaled maybe 10 minutes, we arrived at our hotel at 8:15 pm. We got settled in and got ready for the dance and went to the dance. After the dance some friends and I went to Denny's for a post-dance hangout.
On Saturday, we went back to the convention, and had fun during the day dancing and hanging out with friends. I was chosen to coach a square in the annual Youth compitition against my good friend Jesse. Jesse going into this weekend was a clean 5-0 against me, well, you can now make that 5-1 as my square finally got me off the schnid.
Saturday at the after party, Robert Woodard stepped up to the stage to call. For those who don't know, I do know how to call, but thanks to everyone in SD not giving me a chance over the last four years. Andy Allemao who graduated in the same class as I did is now not only calling throughout the state, he is getting out of state gigs now as well. Me, nothing since no club will give me a shot at practicing in front of live squares. That is all for my venting.
On Sunday, Mom, Matty, and I all left Sacramento after driving by the state capitol, and then making our way to Vacaville to visit the Outlet Center. After purchasing a few items there, we went to a great Italian place, where the sexiest looking woman in all of Northern California is working. She is So Cal quality trapped in nowhere-ville in Nor Cal. Wow, I'm still thinking of her two days later.
We made our way down to "the city by the bay" 
and stopped in the middle of the bay on Treasure Island. This brought back some memories for me as I spent two weeks on this base when it was still a Naval Station.
and stopped in the middle of the bay on Treasure Island. This brought back some memories for me as I spent two weeks on this base when it was still a Naval Station.We took a few pictures from the middle of SF Bay and then we went down the Embarcadero in SF I have no idea how I did it, but I found Lombard Street, and went down that famous street. Saw the TransAmerica building from several different angles.
From there, we made our way over to SFO (the airport code for San Francisco International, in 
case you didn't know). We flew home to SD and then fell into bed.
case you didn't know). We flew home to SD and then fell into bed.This is a great warmup for me as this summer I will be traveling to the Mid-West. On that trip my Mom, Dad, & I will be visting Des Moines (where my Dad grew up) then over to Omaha to watch some CWS action, and then down to Whichita for the National Square Dance Convention. It should be fun. Til I write again, Later.
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