Kids Enjoy Day in Des Moines, Iowa - You Will Too

Pack everyone in the van and head for Des Moines, Iowa. You'll find things to do for a few hours, a day or even a weekend. If you're planning a week in the area, take time to visit the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State in Ames and eat lunch at Hickory Park. If you're going to veer to the northwest, take time to visit the Grotto in West Bend. And antiques abound at Walnut, Iowa right off I-80. You'll find interesting, educational and fun things to do throughout the state.

But for your day trip to Des Moines I'd suggest you make a stop at the beautiful and golden domed Iowa State capitol building. You could possibly join a tour to get first hand information about the decor, paintings and the building itself. You may get to make a visit to the house or senate sites of action. The Capitol of Iowa was first in Iowa City. Learn when it was moved to Des Moines and why. You may even want to lie down on the floor and look up at the beautiful domed ceiling. My grand kids did - and they loved it.

Take a walk outside on the grounds while you're there. You'll find fabulous statues and lots of room to run and let off some steam. Memories of past wars and past historical events can bring a tear to one's eye.

Move on down the street to the Iowa State Historical Building. One can spend several hours there if you look through everything and do a little studying or you may choose to browse through in an hour or so. Food is available at the Historical Building if you'd like to eat lunch.

Depending upon your tastes, you can find downtown has many small eateries for the lunch crowd or dinner crowd. It all depends upon your tastes. Court Avenue and East Village are fun places to make a stop. East Village has unique shops and Court Avenue is the fun place of downtown. If you visit on Saturday, come early and attend the farmer's market downtown on Court Avenue. It's more fun to visit early, but it's open all morning on Saturdays from spring to fall. Seasonal crops and a variety of treasures are available.

If you're into Iowa upscale shopping, you might journey to Jordan Creek Town Center out in West Des Moines. Maybe you want to shop, attend a movie, eat at Cheesecake Factory or a host of a variety of restaurants. A walk around the pond is always a great way to get some fun exercise. You'll find entertainment [sometimes] near or around the pond. Nearby Jordan Creek you'll find Costco and other big box stores, shoe shops, garden shops and just about anything you want or need.

Des Moines area churches are very welcoming. Get up on Sunday morning and join the locals. Most likely you'll find them friendly and maybe you'll even get there the Sunday they're having a bake sale or selling doughnuts.

I purposely didn't put specific times or addresses into this information about Des Moines. Rather I'm giving you an overview of things you and your family may like to do. It's easy to go online to find more information about the areas or places that I've mentioned.

To top off your evening you may want to attend a concert or event at the Wells Fargo Arena, The Playhouse, Hoydt Sherman, or other places downtown. Des Moines is fortunate to be able to offer great entertainment for a variety of tastes. If you want to see a lot of basketball come to Des Moines in March and enjoy the girls and boys high school basketball tournaments. The festivities are like a big circus and some of the game matches can measure up to basketball played throughout the world. Don't forget about the great Iowa State Fair in August.

Best of all, yes, Des Moines is a major city and a capitol, but turn on Garmin and you'll find your way quite easily. In a half hour you can get most anyplace from anywhere in the city. The traffic can be tricky on I-235 from 4-6 p.m. or early in the morning, but compared to most major cities, travel in Des Moines isn't too difficult. If you get lost, most anyone will be able to answer your questions and get you on your correct path.

Have fun in our city. Take time to visit with someone who is sitting or standing beside you. Most likely you will be welcomed and maybe even given a few helps.