Back to Illinois

 We had told the boys to be back at the Motel by 8:30 a.m.  We ate breakfast at the motel, packed up, and waited for them to appear.  They were very good and arrived at 8:30 a.m.  We moved Keegan's stuff from Hunter's car to ours, gave them hugs and kisses, and got on the road by 9:00 a.m.  This would be our last day of driving and we were anxious to get back home.  It was a nice day for driving...sunny and low 80's.

A long road through Iowa headed east.

Nearly home.

A new person behind the wheel of the car.

That new person is Keegan!  He has his driving permit and takes advantage of every opportunity to drive.  Carol turned the wheel over to him when we arrived at Lincoln.  He drove from Lincoln to his home in Warrensburg.  He did a good job.

We got back to Warrensburg about 3:30.  It had been a good three days.  We played a lot of cards, enjoyed a day of sightseeing in Des Moines, and enjoyed being with the grandboys.  In the last two weeks we have spent time with all four of our grandkids.  I am glad that we are able to drive where they are and spend time with each of them.   Now we are home for the rest of the summer and don't have definite plans for any trips until a trip to Branson in November.  I do have a seed of an idea for a trip in September but no definite plans made at this time.  September 4 will be our 60th wedding anniversary and we need to go somewhere.  We will have to see if we made that trip currently in my mind.

Des Moines, Iowa

We let the boys sleep in today so we didn't get started until 10:00 a.m.  We drove to Des Moines to see the state capitol building of Iowa.  We have passed by Des Moines so many times but never saw the capitol building.  We had heard that it was beautiful and we discovered this to be true.  It was worth the visit.

Capitol Building

View of the street that leads up to the capitol building.

 

My fellow sightseers.
Hunter, Keegan, Carol

The dome of the capitol.

One of many paintings inside the building.

Several of these are located around the main lobby of the capitol.  They used to be heaters to keep the lobby warm.

This is the senate side of the capitol.  The president of the senate is the grandson of Charles Grassley who is a senator from Iowa.  Politics must run in the Grassley Family.

The House of Representative chambers.

Some of the desks look like the representative is actually working.

The law library.  There are two spiral staircases located at each end of the library.

Second spiral staircase.

Original dumbwaiter was used to move books between the floors of the library.

Hunter comes to the library to study for his classes at Iowa State University.  This is the desk at which he always sits.  

We spent a couple of hours touring the capitol building; then, it was time for lunch.  This is where we ate.

After lunch we drove to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park located in the middle of downtown Des Moines.  Below are pictures of several of the scultpures.

The title of these sculptures was "Black and White Snowmen."

The title of this was "The Thinker."

After we walked through the park, we drove back to Hunter's apartment for another game of Crazy Cards before having supper at Freddies.  We drove back to the motel for one final game of cards.  Everyone had a great time exploring the capitol building and the sculpture park and playing more cards.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  Tomorrow we head back to Decatur.  Hunter is supposed to have Keegan back at the motel by 8:30 a.m.  We hope to be on the road earlier than today.

Iowa Bound

We left home at 7:15 because we needed to get gas before we picked up Keegan at 8:00 a.m.  Keegan would be taking this trip with us to see Hunter.  Hunter is taking a summer class at ISU and hadn't been home since March so we decided to make a short visit to him.

Across this bridge I-80 west leads to Iowa.

The trip to ISU Ames cannot be complete without first stopping at Iowa 80.  It is about the half-way point so we always stop to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.  We usually spend a hour and a  half and it refreshes our bodies.

We took a different way to Ames this trip.  We turned north on I-380 to Cedar Rapids and got on US 30 which is known as the Lincoln Highway.  It was the first transcontinental highway which stretches from Astoria, Oregon to Atlantic City, New Jersey.  It is 3,112 miles which makes it the third-longest highway in the U.S.  It is a very nice four-laned highway through rolling hills of farmland.  The traffic is mild.  We like it much better than the bumper-to-bumper traffic of 18-wheelers on I-80.

This marker indicates that the Youngville Cafe (pictured below) is located on US Highway 30.

This is the Youngville Cafe

  Originally this building was built in 1931 as a roadside business with gas station and cabins and known for it classic comfort food, especially homemade pies  It was a "one-stop" business  on US 30 that travelers of that time frequented.  The business was closed in 1967 but was restored and is now run by volunteers who open it on Tuesdays for approximately two hours.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Unfortunately today is Monday so it was not open.  Maybe another trip to ISU will be on a Tuesday and we can stop.

The old style gas pump.

This is the main street of State Center, Iowa....the geographical center of Iowa and is located at the midpoint of Iowa's first railroad.  It has a population of 1,400 and the main street looks like so many other small town main streets that have been emptied by Walmarts and internet buying.

Our destination:  Iowa State University.  We arrived around 3:00 p.m.  Hunter picked us up from the motel and took us to his apartment.  Keegan will stay with him the two nights we are here.  We played a game of Crazy Cards and then we went out to eat at Wallaby's.  It was a good place to eat.  No one left there hungry.  We returned to the motel to play another game of cards.  Keegan was tired so he went to the room to rest while the three of us played cards.  The boys left for Hunter's apartment around 8:00.  They will be back her at 10:00 tomorrow.  We plan to spend the day in Des Moines touring the capitol building and a monument display in a park.  I am sure we will play at least one more game of cards!!