"Go the distance..."

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Meet Molly the horse!

Meet Molly the horse! I really struggled with which lame pop culture reference to use as a segue into the entry for our five day stay in Des Moines. I originally went with "Oooh, Baby do you know what that's worth?" but I thought Field of Dreams was more appropriate since we were staying on an Iowa farm and the actual site where the movie was filmed is less than a hundred miles from here. Throw in the fact that our next stop is the Badlands of South Dakota, where Kevin Costner directed his socially conscious western epic Dances With Wolves, and the choice seemed clear. But the point of all this is to say that Iowa, and more specifically Des Moines, might actually be heaven, or as close an approximation as we are likely to encounter in our lifetime. A lone Iowa farm, lightning bugs, babies, horses, dogs, cats, birds, cheese, Car and a trampoline are the backdrop of a magical story that unfolded in Norwalk, Iowa.

You won't get the whole story, not yet at least (we need to book it to South Dakota). Let's just say that we plan to "Go the distance..." on this trip. Oh, and Desiree can eat CHEESE!!!

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Photos

Drew hanging out with Molly
Molly is real sweet. When you go out to see her, she follows you around. She really likes it when you give her carrots.

Downtown Des Moines
That's the state capitol building in the background. Downtown was cool, full of great restaurants, coffee shops, bars and the like.

Yummy Greek food
We had lunch downtown at Olympic Flame Restaurant. BEST pita bread I've ever had!

Beaumont, the barn cat
Beaumont was a strange and sickly little cat. Socially awkward, sniffly and sneezing constantly.

Drew and Kingsley
Kingsley was Rebecca's dog. Rebecca and her husband are renting out one of Susan's rooms. Rebecca is a biologist and worked in the Biosphere in Tucson! Her husband, Matt, is performing in the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Remedy!
Remedy is Susan's dog. We first met her when they lived in Topanga Canyon. She doesn't mess around.