Memorial Day Weekend in Des Moines (Ames, Lake Park: living, store, garden)

[jlawrence01]

I am off the entire Memorial Day Weekend and will be coming to Des Moines on Friday, May 25th.

Here are the things that we are planning to see:

Farmers Market
Iowa Arboretum
State Historical Museum of Iowa
The Des Moines Really Really Free Market
Tour of the State Capitol

I have done my research.

However, is there anything that I am missing?

[DMRyan]

I would recommend trading in the Iowa Arboretum for Rieman Gardens in Ames instead. Other suggestions would be the Art Center, Living History Farms, the Bridges of Madison County, and a bike ride around downtown to Gray's Lake Park (you check out bikes at B-Cycle stations that are downtown).

Otherwise, the list looks good.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by DMRyan

I would recommend trading in the Iowa Arboretum for Rieman Gardens in Ames instead. Other suggestions would be the Art Center, Living History Farms, the Bridges of Madison County, and a bike ride around downtown to Gray's Lake Park (you check out bikes at B-Cycle stations that are downtown).

I never considered Ames as it did not look that close. There are also a couple of art museums on the ISU campus that look interesting.

I have to admit that I was surprised that there was not a dairy store associated with the Dairy program.

[DMRyan]

Unless there's something specific you're looking for at the Arboretum, spend an extra 10 minutes in the car to take you to the best garden attraction in Iowa at Reiman Gardens. It may be further away from Des Moines, but it's arguably easier to get to (not that getting around is remotely a problem in Central Iowa).

Enjoy your trip!

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

I never considered Ames as it did not look that close. There are also a couple of art museums on the ISU campus that look interesting.

I have to admit that I was surprised that there was not a dairy store associated with the Dairy program.

Ames is an easy drive. What is it? 20 minutes? 30 at the most?

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Ames is an easy drive. What is it? 20 minutes? 30 at the most?

Depends on where you start. It's about 40 minutes for us out here in the Western Hinterlands.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Depends on where you start. It's about 40 minutes for us out here in the Western Hinterlands.

True. The morning news channels usually say 22 minutes from Ames to downtown. That's about how far it is for me.

[jlawrence01]

Folks,

Thanks for the help.

This is what we ended up doing:

Saturday

Des Moines Farmers Market - some really great food.
Really Free Market - at least the first ten people scored.
State Capitol Tours - a great guide makes a tour.

Mi Patria, 1410 22nd St., WDM - fantastic Ecuadorean food. The place is a "hole in the wall" that serves some really interesting food. Try the lomo saltada or the pulled pork

Sunday

Hike at the Water Works Arboretum
State Historical Museum of Iowa - a great way to pass a Sunday afternoon.
Drive up to Ames. We wanted to see Reiman Gardens but ran out of time

Lunch at Buzzard Billy's. While the food is not as good as what you'd find in Cajun country, what we had was very good.

Monday

Hike at the Raccoon River Park - glad we started at 6:00 am, NOT 8 am.

Lunch at Pho 888. They serve very solid Vietnamese food, although being a family run place, the service can be slow. Of course, when a place is packed at lunch time on MEMORIAL DAY, they are doing something right.

[capitalcityguy]

Thx for reporting back. Sounds like a successful, fun weekend.