Day Seventy-Four: Your Inner Iowan

Going to college in Kansas while calling Minnesota home led me to take many road trips north and south on Interstate 35. Halfway between my starting and ending points on these journeys is a stretch of east-west highway that skirts the capitol city of Des Moines, Iowa.

For my first five years of school (no, it did not take me 5 years to graduate, nor was I redshirted to play on the KU basketball team - I'm including grad school years here) I would follow this perpendicular section of road and see the capitol building and downtown Des Moines to the distant south.

As I started to get a little more "adventurous" in my travels I discovered that not only did an earlier exit (I-235) lead me right through the heart of downtown while still pointing me in the direction home, but also the capitol lawn and surrounding parks made for a great place to get out and stretch, walk the dog, or sit and have a bite to eat.

Gradually I took more time to explore the city that once only meant "four more hours to go," and by the time I met Emily, who is an Iowa native, I felt I could hold my own on Des Moines knowledge: "why, yes, I have been to the Merle Hay Mall," or, "those war memorials outside the capitol building are great, but what's with that mini Statue of Liberty?"

I feel like I have taken great steps towards embracing my "inner Iowan." Here is a somewhat unique view of the capitol building as seen through the tile windows of a downtown skyway:

Hopefully these pictures can help you embrace your inner Iowan today!