Trip to Des Moines

6:45 AM came way too soon. After a long day of travel and preparing my sea legs for a new adventure, tired was an understatement. However I had a duty this morning, and the crew was in desperate need of my talents. Unfortunately, my talents in making breakfast quickly dissolved after I broke the handle to our one and only waffle iron…Oops? Well, that’s no matter, Mrs. Nancy bought a new one this afternoon. After my destructive morning, I hopped in shotgun of the wonderful soccer-mom mini van to head to the Wallace House in Des Moines. I didn’t know what to expect—I didn’t know which Wallace family we were about to explore. On the way there, I read a few articles describing the Wallace legacy and what it means in the context of Iowa history—and specifically VP under FDR, Henry A. Wallace. What interested me the most however, was the controversy surrounding Henry A. Wallace’s life. The National Review article, which I read on the way to Des Moines, really showed just how controversial the man was—and specifically in relation to the USSR and other communist countries. Our meeting with Ms. Ann Taylor was nice, and after we had lunch at the Gateway Market. I branched out (except not at all) and had “Chicken Bacon Mac N’ Cheese”, or simply put, diabetes on a plate. It was dang good though. After our meal we headed into Des Moines and toured the Pride of Iowa museum, which was a little too modern and new age for my taste, but it was interesting. Then after a wonderful dinner we watched Forks Over Knives, which was a documentary recently made about nutrition. It was fascinating, and although I believe all their evidence to be true, I still don’t think I’m going to have a problem eating bacon when I wake up tomorrow. Nutrition and a healthy diet were the two main theses of the movie, and with stable control substantial weight loss and disease reversal were really possible. I guess my problem with the video was how it lacked to show the fitness side of nutrition and the diet. I’m just waiting to see for myself if these ways are actually practical.