Another vacation to use up free nights - how about Des Moines?

[dreamshark]

The trip to Chicago happened because I got these credit cards that gave me free Hilton nights, and one thing led to another. That mini-vacation was such a success that I think it's time for another, albeit more modest one. I have a free night to use up at a Marriott Category 4 hotel. Turns out that Cat 4 doesn't go very far in Minnesota (even Duluth has no Marriotts below Cat 5!). Oh, but what of our gentle neighbor to the south? All sorts of possibilities.

We like to take overnight bike trips, sleeping in a nice hotel or B&B rather than on the ground by the bikes. I'm kind of tired of Lanesboro and realized that if we're willing to drive to Lanesboro it's only a stone's throw further to Iowa. So I'm thinking of a trip to Des Moines, stopping along the way at Big Island State Park in Minnesota and the High Trestle Bridge Trail in Iowa. It appears to be only 3-4 hours to Des Moines, so even with a biking stop along the way we should have time for a little touristing and a nice meal.

I have my eye on The Residence Inn Des Moines, which looks quite pleasant. Any ideas for spending a day or so in Des Moines?

The hotel says, "The NEW Residence Inn by Marriott, the only all- suite, extended stay hotel in downtown Des Moines sits on the scenic river, close to Principal Park, Court Avenue Entertainment District, Science Center of Iowa and the Iowa Events Center "

So in the absence of a better idea, I'm thinking Science Center of Iowa sounds promising. Some place air-conditioned would probably be a good idea, considering the climate in Iowa. Any ideas from Iowa folks?

Comments

[guppiecat]

You would not likely be very impressed with the science center or the zoo. The Art Museum is sorta decent and the Arboretum in Ames can be fun. The botanical garden is fun, but I've only been there in the Winter and it's nothing compared to the one in Saint Paul.

Frankly, having lived there for more than ten years, if you don't enjoy mediocre shopping, there's not much there there.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Huh. I was sure you would at least recommend the zoo. Having poked around a little online, it appears that the one attraction that draws rave reviews from EVERYBODY is the State Capitol. From the pictures, I can see why. If there's one thing I love it's excess in architecture, so that's on the list.

The hotel I'm looking at is less than 1/2 mile from the Science Center, so we'll probably go there. It looks like mostly kid stuff, but Richard likes kid stuff. And there's a planetarium, which if nothing else offers a chance to sit down and rest. So there's a plan.

[guppiecat]

The zoo is mostly a day care in the summer. The animals aren't mistreated or anything (I've certainly been to worse), but there's nothing there that's really inspired other than the playground stuff. When school's in session, it's fun for photography, as you can set all sorts of stuff up and no one cares.

I don't think you'd be that interested in either playground stuff or photo stuff, so there's probably not much there to interest you.

For architecture, consider a drive/walk around downtown and the East side of the city. The Hotel Fort Des Moines, where DemiCon was held for a while, is kinda neat to walk around in. There's a Masonic temple/thing there that I never went to that looks pretty neat from the outside. There's also a state historical thing over there that I never went to either.

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

If you're there on a Saturday morning, the Farmer's Market downtown is a lot of fun. There are a lot of new biking trails in and around the river south of downtown. I particularly like El Bait Shop and the attached other restaurant (name of which I can't remember). El Bait Shop has over 120 things on tap, which even if you don't drink alcohol is a pretty impressive sight, and I highly recommend their bacon wrapped little smokies and bacon wrapped tator tots. The new Science Museum is okay, but not as good as the one in St. Paul. Jester Park is pretty to bike, Saylorille Lake is also a nice area to bike, and there are food options in Polk City. You can bike across the mile long bridge and check out the dam that overtopped in the big flood. Alternatively, if there's anything in Ames (and given ISU, there should be I would think) you can do the Arboretum/Rieman Gardens and then head a bit west to check out Ledges State Park which is really beautiful.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Which park has the mile long bridge?

[david wilford (from livejournal.com)]

As a former Iowa resident for 36 years who also worked in Des Moines, if you're staying downtown, go visit the Iowa State Capitol. Unlike the stately, somewhat reserved Minnesota Capitol building, Iowa's is a real Corn Palace of a building that's worth a visit. There's also the Salisbury House and Gardens a few miles west of downtown, which is a pretty decent attempt at an English Tudor style manse that's interesting, at least it was when Erin and I did a renaissance faire there many years ago.

Otherwise, if you're there during the Iowa State Fair, by all means go and compare notes if you're into state fairs.