Iowa

WORKOUT 46 of 50 for Walk Across America and WORKOUT 46 of 50 for Step Across America

We rolled into Des Moines the night before we were going to film. Feeling adventurous we decided to eat at a place that combined the magic of Zombies, hamburgers, and milkshakes. After parking on the street we ran towards the restaurant as a cold wind was cutting through all of us. We were not prepared for winter weather. The Zombie Burger Shake Lab didn’t disappoint. For the most part, it catered to a younger crowd. Out of all the places we ate at in America this one easily took the cake for the most disturbing but groovy environment. The food was reasonably priced and the waitress had some Zombie fun with us. The food was just as imaginative and tasted okay. About halfway into our food, our little boy Frank who was 6 at the time had had enough. He proceeded to have a nervous breakdown as the zombie atmosphere was really getting to him. The waitress did her best to try and explain to him that none of it was real but he wasn’t buying it. We asked for the check and left a nice size tip and loaded up our food and left. We spent the next several hours comforting our boy. Needless to say, it was a rough night’s sleep. The Zombie Burger Shake Lab was worth the visit but if you have little kids they will have a hard time.

We filmed in Des Moines in the morning, at the end of November downtown at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. We were impressed that the city planners had made such a neat space to come and visit. Art is such a powerful medium to share emotion and teach others.  The impressive 801 Grand building can be seen prominently in the backdrop of the workout. We set up on the sidewalk in the park. There was enough room for people to pass by on the sidewalk but it was interesting to see how people would really go out of their way not to be in our way. We are not sure if it was because we had a camera set up or if people didn’t want to disturb us. The radio station 103.3 was doing a food drive and a bunch of people were outside the station and would yell and make lots of noise when people dropped off donations. It was super cold but a nice sunny day.

Before we left Des Moines we made a quick stop at a t-shirt shop called Raygun. We ended up not buying any t-shirts, but only fun socks and a key chain. It was a fun store to check out. We ended our time in Iowa at a great restaurant called Cornbred Barbecue in Ames, Iowa. Really fun environment and great food, our boy liked it much better.

Start your journey through all 50 states right at home with the Walk and Step Across America Program!