Up after a restless night's sleep around 7:00. Showered, caffinated and then down to the vaunted Hampton Inn & Suites free breakfast. This one was graded a D minus, not a total F because there was free food and coffee. One of the pancake machines was out of order, of the juice offerings, the machine was out of all but cranberry drink, the sausage and biscuits were basically white paste with some chunks of meat or meat substitute, and the scrambled egg substitute cold. There was coffee and a bagel with cream cheese!
Off we head to arrive at the Des Moines Botanical garden for their 10:00 opening. Very nice botanical garden downtown and adjoining the Des Moines river. The gardens were full and we found some plants that we may try to replicate in our own small home garden. Not nearly as large as the Omaha Lauritzen Gardens, but less tiring for the walking, especially in the 90F heat.
Next stop, the modern Art Gallery, free entry. This museum has an outstanding collection of modern art and is highly recommended for any visitor to Des Moines. We enjoyed the collections, including Rothkos, Hart Bensons, Warhols, and a plethora of lesser known (to this writer) artists. This was very enjoyable and we spent over two hours walking the halls and soaking in the cultural uplift.
Next, we hopped on the hated I-80 and headed west to Iowa City. The reason for subjecting ourselves to the punishment of the Eisenhower Interstate System was the recommendation of our friends Marsha and Ted to visit the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and birth site in West Branch, Iowa, just east of Iowa City. Given that Deb's maternal grandmother was a Hoover, probably a 5th cousin to the former president, we felt the pull of ancestory.
We were pleasantly surprised, greatly enjoying the birthplace site administered by the National Park Service. They have restored a portion of the village from Hoover's time, including his 2-room birth cottage, his father's blacksmith shop, and the Friends (Quaker) meetinghouse. The entire setting is simple and informative. As the area closes at 5:00 on Sunday's, we did not pay the fees to visit the presidential library, for the remaining 15 minutes left to us. We did, however scoot over to view the gravesite of Hoover and his wife Lou. A beautiful and peaceful setting on a hill overlooking the park lands and in direct site, some 500 yards away from his birth cottage, all with a backdrop of surrounding tall grass prairie. We did enjoy this stop, Eisenhower system not withstanding.
We left Hoover to his resting place and then headed north across the green Iowa countryside on normal highways, headed for our destination of the evening of Decorah, Iowa, nestled near the northern border with Minnesota. As we traveled north we noted the slowly changing landscape, from softly rolling farmland to more hilly farmland. The corn and beans all looked lush and healthy in the Sunday evening sun. This corner of Iowa doesn't seem to be suffering from the dryness and drought we encountered in central Iowa.
We arrived in Decorah shortly after 8:00 and found our B & B with ease. A huge home and we are the only guests. We lugged our luggage in and broke out the wine and Brie on the lovely front porch, watching as evening settled over northern Iowa. All in all, a very satisfactory day of exploration, mostly easy driving, and with a good feeling about the "heartland," politics not withstanding.
