Midwest Day Trips: Fun in Ames and Des Moines, Iowa -

We spent a fun day in Des Moines and Ames, Iowa with a couple of the kids on a bright cold January day. We will not mention the names of the children to protect the innocent. The trip started with quick lunch at Fighting Burrito in Ames - one of our mainstays.

Then off to Mars Cafe in Des Moines for the afternoon coffee and tea. Nice cafe with good choices for single orgin whole coffee beans, although we did not get all of our espresso machine questions fully answered so we will be back to experiment with their drinks. We toured the antiques and repurposed junk at West End Architectural Salvage on 9th Street in Des Moines. Lots of cool found objects.

One of many floors of stuff at West End Architectural Salvage.

Look at all of that old wood from historic buildings.

We visited the chain store Natural Grocers in Clive, Iowa, because we are getting one of these stores in our town now. Nice place with some alternative choices in food items.

Now here is where the trip gets to be even more fun. One of the kids knew of a Britsh style pub just south of Ames, Mucky Duck Pub. It felt like we were in London. Let's see, we order haggis and mash, fish and chips, Cornish pasty, and steak pie with beans. We started our meal with a Scotch egg and finished it off with spotted dick. We encourage you to check out the menu at the link above for more on these authentic English dishes. The Pub also sold food and non-food items from Great Britian and lots of different kinds of beers and much to our pleasure, lots of teas. Our next date is for hot tea and sconces or crumpets. This place is a must stop.