West Des Moines, IA to St. Paul, MN – 5/5/2017 – http://fulltimetimeshare.com/blog

May 5, 2017 (Friday)

Slept well as the bed was very comfortable. Woke up and went down to the breakfast they offered in the lobby area. Nice selection, but mostly cereals. Weather was lovely and looked like it was going to stay that way so we were anxious to get on the road and going. Today’s drive was about 250 miles to the state Capitol of Minnesota – St. Paul. The roads were mostly highway and very nice. The drive was so beautiful with the green everywhere.

Drove past the Des Moines Capitol, one we have already toured.

Another state line and perhaps the biggest welcome yet.

The interstate in Minneapolis is very nice. Speed limit of 45 and lots of trees and flowers. A huge center divider with plants. The harsh winter is showing on the exposed rebar of the cement guardrail.

We got near the Capitol and saw two large domes – one white and one dark. The dark one was a church cathedral and the white one was the Capitol.

We though it was the Capitol, then saw the cross on top.

Interesting memorial we did not get to check out.

We found parking at a meter but I had to go round up some quarters at a nearby food truck. Got to see the statue of Herbert Hoover near the food trucks, which was interesting. Also, there is quite a bit of work going on around the Capitol and we were told the Capitol was just finishing up a remodel that took something like three years.

Statue of Hubert Humphrey, Vice President and Presidential candidate.

As we were getting out of the car and looking around for quarters, a young man walked by with some very professional looking camera equipment. Michael asked him what he was filming and the man stopped to talk to us and explained he was filming about the goat rustlers. I guess it’s a big deal around here but we hadn’t heard about it. He went on to tell us all about it and then offered to give us a tour of the “basement” if we wanted. Nice guy. To top it all off his last name was Keller. How weird is that?

The St. Paul Capitol is on our top five for beauty. So gorgeous with all different kinds of marble, granite, nice sayings in gold lettering, murals, statues – lovely. We got to see the rotunda, the senate, the house, the Supreme Court, and just walked around in awe of the beauty. Michael and I both loved it – every little detail of it.

The doors were open so we could admire it a little.

I was shocked when I realized I was looking at bare breasts, with nipples! What assured and enlightened people to allow wonderful art to be in their Capitol.

When we finally pulled ourselves away, we went outside and walked the grounds a little bit. We ran into a really nice lady that said she was at the hospital with her husband and just needed to get away for awhile. She said there was snow on the ground here on Monday. Today it was in the 70’s.

We left and headed towards our hotel but had to stop and get gas (we were down to 3 miles left, not good). We were both tired but Michael is such a good sport and, since we were so close, we headed for the Great Mall of America. I just wanted to go and see it and see what it was like. I had read a little about it and it looked cool. We were able to find parking and walked across the sky bridge thing into the mall. HUGE does not do it justice. It has its own amusement park (I mean a huge amusement park) inside the mall.

We actually had more miles left, but it is about as close as we cut it.

Big place, saw lots of bags from purchases.

Amusement park inside the mall. The rides seemed pretty wild.

Looks like lots of twirling and rotating vomit comets out there.

Edie is not at all sure what this new look is.

We both got a little something to eat and then I talked Michael into going “Flying Over America” with me. It was amazing and we both liked it better than the “Soarin” adventure ride in Disney World and Disneyland (and Shanghai Disney) because it was a little longer and you got smells and other sensations that we don’t remember getting at Disney. It was fun going over some of the places we had just seen (like Niagara Falls), and others that we have seen on our adventures (Grand Canyon, Golden Gate Bridge, Monument Valley). Loved it and would highly recommend it. It only cost about $15.00 a person (old person discount).

Fly posters that barely show what you see on the ride.

Drones must have been extensively used, really nice drones.

There are two waiting areas with big and fun screens, but nothing like the ride.

You are seated and buckled in. The seat moves over a huge screen that goes from below you on the floor to above you on the ceiling. You feel like you are flying. You are misted when you fly through a cloud. Flying over Hawaii, you smell the flowers.

You witness biplane to jet plane maneuvers all around you and see extreme athletes doing amazing things in the wild.

We drove the little bit to our room for the night – Four Points by Sheraton (Priceline for about $75.00). It’s a lovely room with a very comfortable bed. I am disappointed, however, that there is no bath tub. I was looking forward to a long bath but….will have to wait.

Nice size TV well placed with appropriate height.

I am still sore from my “walk to the top” of the dome at the Topeka, Kansas Capitol. Teach me for trying to prove I could keep up with teenagers. Was so worth it though and glad I did it.

That was our wonderful day. Hope yours was great!