Des Moines Sculpture park and time in Kansas

Our hotel in Des Moines had a great breakfast.

The chef made indivualized omelets.  Just the way we wanted them.

There was a wedding going on at the hotel.  The lady in the pink sari in the background was the mother of the bride; we talked with her in the elevator.  She had come from India. There were so many women with beautiful silk saris with lots of bling and wearing lots of jewelry.  Men with colorful turbans. The father of the bride's turban matched the mother's sari.  It would have been so fun to watch the wedding! 

After eating, we checked out and drove down the street to Papajohn Sculpture Park.

Jill and I took turns about every 2 hours and drove to our home in Kansas, 6 hours away.

We made a stop in:

where Jill's family had lived for a few years.  We drove by their old home and had to stop for a snow cone!  And of course stop at Dale's grocers for sausage!

We had a few days together in Newton.

We played games.

Jill met up with her friend, Kendall and they went walking together.



I took Claire to Meridian Market for her favorite bread; porridge bread.

We shopped downtown.

At Faith and Life, Jill found a book that mentioned my father!

Of course, she had to get the book!

We went to Braums.

We made cinnamon rolls.

I fed the birds who really missed me while I was gone.  I don't ask Al to feed them while I'm gone.  Mr. Squirrel was also missing me.

Claire wanted to go to the:

We got in free using our Sunflower app.  We took the dark elevator 650 feet below ground.  The Strataca is a salt mine museum in Hutchinson, Kansas.  It is one of the world's largest deposits of rock salt.  It began operation in 1923 as Carey Salt Company.  It is the only salt mine accessible to tourists.  

Because the temperature remains the same (68℉) it stores original camera negatives of many movies like Gone with the Wind and Ben Hur.  Also some costumes of famous movies, like Batman.  A newspaper from 1865 telling of the shooting of President Abe Lincoln.

There are 2 train/tram rides you can take also.

We went to the family farm, stopping first at the cemetary.  I was especially missing our parents that day.

We had a wonderful visit with brother Sid, and Gayle and Jared.

One evening we listened to the "semi" (pronounced sehmee in Japanese) or locusts, and Claire went with Papa to catch lightning bugs.

Listen to how loud they were.

We made lots of memories with Claire and Jill.  And next, a trip to Colorado!