Day 1

It’s a good thing we had not really planned to do anything on our first day there. The beds in our room were terrible—all resembling Shaun White’s half pipe, more than the nice firm mattresses we were expecting. Dakota and I spent most of the night rolling into each other. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep. So the first thing I did after breakfast was ask for a new room with better beds. We got a different room with better beds, a better layout, and a better smell. Apparently they hold out on the good rooms—so it pays to ask. Overall, the hotel wasn't bad. We had a nice 2-bedroom suite with a kitchenette.



(Palm trees! We were excited to see palm trees!)


(Strange jester statue that was in the main lobby.)

Dakota had a business meeting he had to call into that morning, so I took the girls down to the hotel playground to pass some time.


After his meeting, we scoped out the area around the hotel, grabbed some lunch at Pizza Hut and did a little grocery shopping. Following our afternoon naps, which we were all badly in need of, we strolled over to Old Town. Those in the Des Moines area will understand if I say, it was basically a jazzed up version of Valley Junction--lots of little shops and small eateries all along one long street. After our stroll, we got some dinner, headed for the hotel, and put together a game plan for the next day.