Thank the maker, it has finally happened! After seven months of barely setting foot outside the Charlotte metro area, I am finally traveling again! This time, I’m taking you to Iowa, the land of Idiots Out Wandering Around. And I should know…since this blog is all about an idiot out wandering around. Plus, I actually was once an Iowan: I spent my high school years in Des Moines (pronounced Duh MOIN), so just call me the Des Moines Des Mass. OK now stop calling me that.

Day 1:

I have already written about my experience with TSA and American Airlines on the trip from Charlotte to Des Moines here. Once I arrived at Des Moines and picked up my rental car, I headed downtown for “Architecture on the Move: Guided Walking Tours of Downtown Des Moines”, a presentation of the Iowa Architectural Foundation. There were four tours offered: North, South, East, & West; I opted for West. My tour guide was an actual architect for a big Des Moines-based firm. The walking part of the tour gave me no problems and the informational content was interesting and learnified me some, but we didn’t get to go inside any of the buildings. Was it worth the $22 admission? Maybe, if I had the time to go back and more thoroughly explore on my own, but I’m a busy idiot with lots of other wandering around to do!

During my research for this trip, I read somewhere that “Iowa ham balls” are a local delicacy that must be experienced. I had never heard of Iowa ham balls during the three years I lived there and finding a place that serves ’em required some digging. Eventually, I found one place that offered them: The Iowa Taproom (ITR). And for the walking tour, I had parked within walking distance of the ITR. After a quick phone call and some texting, I met up with some old friends at the ITR. I tried the Iowa ham balls. They were basically large meatballs on a stick. They tasted OK (nice and hammy), but they were also quite dense and didn’t sit well in my belly. Meanwhile, the hard peach cider I ordered was delish! If you’re a lover of hard ciders, you must visit the Iowa Taproom; their drink menu includes more ciders than I’ve ever seen anywhere (I counted at least ten).

Day 2:

This day consisted of just hanging with friends and yes, wandering around, checking out my old haunts. Not much that you’d care about, but I do have to say that I found a Taco John’s for lunch. I had a pair of taco burgers and a large order of Potato Oles. It was all just as yummy as I remembered. Later, while shopping in my old neighborhood (Valley Junction), I dropped into Black Cat Ice Cream. I got a bowl of their dark chocolate ice cream; it was absolutely scrumptious!

Day 3:

Went to a mall with friends. Bought a candy bar. That’s all.

Day 4:

I’ve been hearing about Iowa 80, the “World’s Largest Truck Stop” from a few sources for some time now, but it didn’t sound like anything that would interest me. Until I found out there’s a trucking museum on the property. Then it was promptly added to my itinerary. My notes say the museum is open every day, but when I actually arrived at the museum entrance, I found that it’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays; and it was a Monday. So, with tears in my eyes and a bottle of brass monkey in my pocket, I wandered over to the truck stop proper, where I got the following pics…

While at the truck stop, I bought an Iowa Hawkeyes T-shirt and this little gem of a product:

Laugh if you must, but let it be a laugh of joy rather than a laugh of mockery. Y’see, Parkinson’s Disease often causes “urinary urgency”. And it can be awful. I wrote about it here. So, yes, I actually bought this product and sometime soon I will, ummm, “test” it and report back to you. But for now, I’m off ta Maquoketa!