Origins of a Music Man Tour: Day 1

I have embarked upon my Origins of a Music Man tour!  G. Oliver and I left Northfield Saturday morning and arrived in Des Moines by early afternoon.  The drive tired him out, so he stayed in the car while I did some touring for a travel story I’m writing about Des Moines.

Downtown Des Moines has changed quite a bit since the early 1990s, when I worked at the Des Moines Register.  It was great fun to explore the shops in the Historic East Village and soak up the sun.  And it was even more fun to visit with friends later in the evening, after dinner at Alba (I highly recommend the scallops in Romesco sauce and the molten lava cake) and a walk through the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, which opened in 2009.

I will meet up with my parents in Des Moines on Monday morning, and we plan to stop in Albia and Centerville (both have G. Oliver ties) on our way to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, for the presentation my dad and I are giving at Iowa Wesleyan College on Tuesday. 

Stay tuned for more stories from the road!