“Hawkeye Iowa: Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshalltown, Mason City, Keokuk, Ames, Clear Lake…”

“Hawkeye Iowa: Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshalltown, Mason City, Keokuk, Ames, Clear Lake…”
Saturday, July 21st

- With Apologies to Meredith Wilson -

“So what the heck, you’re welcome,
Glad to have you with us.”
Not only did the presenters here in Des Moines treat a handful of us to the I-Cubs game on Monday night, they threw us a nice Opening Night Party at a brewpub here in town. We celebrated a successful Des Moines opening at Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Co. There was plenty of food, wine and beer. The bewmaster even came up with a special flavor (Brave Sir Robin’s Golden Ale) to welcome us to town. With our early 7:30 show, we were celebrating by 10 and we stayed past midnight to toast the arrival of Fran’s (one of our beloved/embattled wardrobe crew) birthday. A round of shots and a loud chorus of Happy Birthday left little doubt that Spamalot was in town.

“Such as Marian … Madam Librarian.”
Wednesday, I took a walk up Locust Street, over the river toward the State Capitol. The capitol looks a little like the Connecticut State Capitol – like a castle. I took a tour of the building. The inside is quite grand and actually, very pretty (in a governmental kind of way). Much of the building looks like you think a capitol built in the late 19th century would: there are big House and Senate chambers. There are 22 different kinds of marble. The bench in the former Supreme Court Chambers is carved from a giant piece of mahogany. The law library was the most breathtaking room in the building, though. It was a four story room with stacks surrounding the room on all four levels. In each corner, there was a spiral staircase with a dumb waiter next to it for the transport of heavy volumes. The main floor was the reading room with long tables and reading lamps. Very civilized.

The Iowa State Capitol

The Law Library

“But it’s different than it was. No it ain’t. No it ain’t. But ya gotta know the territory.”
On my way back from the Capitol, I stopped off at the State Historical Society of Iowa. In the main hall, the skeleton of a Wooly Mammoth was on display. Pieces of a mammoth skeleton were unearthed as a new parking garage was being built for an insurance company downtown. They also had some interesting exhibits on the history of Iowa from the time of the Native Americans through the more recent past. There was an especially large section devoted to the Civil War. I had to leave when I encountered the surgeon’s tool kits – it brought back the awful scene from Gone with the Wind.

“Whatayatalk? Whatayatalk? Whatayatalk?”
After the show on Thursday, we convened in the hotel’s bar to continue celebrating Fran’s birthday. We completely overwhelmed the bar, ordering food, drinks and even a cupcake for a candle and another round of Happy Birthday. It was nice to have most of the company in one hotel and gathered together for some socializing. In Houston and Dallas, so many people got apartments, that we were spread all over town. In Tulsa, the miserable conditions at the downtown hotel, again, spread us out. While too much togetherness can be a bad thing, it’s also fun when we can easily hang-out.

“To sit with me in a cottage somewhere in the state of Iowa.”
Thursday, I laid relatively low. I was able to listen to the Yankees’ matinee game against the Blue Jays (we failed to sweep the Blue Birds in the last game of the series). I also finished reading Al Gore’s “Assault on Reason”. I’m currently tearing through “3 Nights in August” hoping to be done before my new “Harry Potter” arrives on Tuesday…

“Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here…”
The audiences at the Des Moines Civic Center have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The wall of loud applause during the curtain calls is almost enough to knock us over. The backstage ghosts and gremlins have been less welcoming, however. A weird series of problems have cropped up here all week. On opening night, the lightboard froze during The Song That Goes Like This. The lights bumped up to super bright cue, the chandelier gag tripped and the fog machines went crazy. Mark was able to solve the problem by the time we got into Camelot. Friday night, after I had put in the warns for the end of Fisch Schlapping Song, the cue lights all went dark. The fly rail took that as their cue and flew out the drop. Fortunately, no one else took their cue. Last night, there was also a problem with Tim the Enchanter’s staff and its pyro failed to fire. All sorts of other minor technical problems have plagued us to some degree all week.

“If you get a squeeze back, that’s fancy cookin’.”
Friday, I headed out of the hotel in search of my Des Moines dose of Roadfood. Just around the corner is Java Joe’s. Roadfood wrote up their “Dutch letters” and cinnamon rolls. I went for lunch and was pleasantly surprised by their Rueben (served with Fritos!). I wrapped up my meal with a Dutch letter (mine was an “S”). A Dutch letter is a flaky pastry filled with almond paste and topped with sugar. Tasty stuff! I hope to get over there again before we leave to try the cinnamon rolls…

Java Joe's

I became a full fledged member of Roadfood.com this week. This allows me to suggest restaurants for review, to write my own reviews and keep an on-line logbook of all the establishments I’ve visited. (I’m working on the backlog from 4 months on the road.) I also downloaded a file that marks the location of the all the listed roadfood restaurants on my version of google earth! It’s a big help when trying to find a place in a new city.

“But what the heck, you’re welcome,
Join us at the picnic.”
On the plaza outside the theatre, there was a big lunchtime party going on. The fountain had been turned off and a band was playing on the upper level. The local radio station was hosting a free lunch! Though I had already eaten (so I didn't dig in), they were handing out an entire free lunch (chicken, fruit, etc.). The weather was cooperating in spades. It cooled off on Friday (to the low 80’s) and the humidity went away entirely. The last couple of days have been perfect.

“There were horns of ev’ry shape and size.”
Everyone told us to check out the Des Moines Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. Even the hotel’s guide book mentioned it. I dig farmers’ markets, but that sounded like a weird tourist recommendation. I’m so glad I got up and around early this morning to check it out! As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, I could here the crowd and the music. This is no ordinary assemblage of local farmers hawking their veggies. Mixed in with the produce, are arts and crafts, prepared foods, wine and bands. They close a half dozen blocks every Saturday for the market and lots of people turn out. I enjoyed some goodies from the “Strudl Haus”, an ear of roasted sweet corn (served by an old man with a crock pot full of melted butter), an Italian sausage sandwich and a piece of blueberry cake. It was really a fun way to spend the morning and a one of a kind experience! Their webiste.

“They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos, the cream of every famous band.”
Between shows today, Graham and I headed over to the Hessen Haus for dinner. I love German food! The sauerbraten was delicious (as were the potato salad and red cabbage that came along with it). The beer cheese soup (with bratwurst) was velvety. The black forest strudel was intense. It was too bad I had to go back to work tonight, as I had to limit myself to an iced tea rather than the appropriate German beer. It worked out well, though, as the beer on top of all that rich food would have undoubtedly put me out for a post-dinner nap. Graham and I were seated underneath a bunch of pictures of happy looking older men who composed the “Iowa Polka Music Hall of Fame.” AWESOME!!! As we were eating, a polka band began setting up their tubas in the rear of the room. Curse Spamalot making me leave this corner of heaven!

The Iowa Polka Music Hall of Fame!

“Ya can talk, ya can talk, ya can bicker, ya can talk.”
On my way to the capitol on Wednesday, I passed Barak Obama’s Iowa Campaign Headquarters. It turns out that Hillary’s is just a few blocks from my hotel. My preferred candidate (Dennis Kucinich) has an office just a little too far away to walk over for a campaign sticker. Today at the Farmers’ Market, I ran face to face with Chris Dodd (Democratic Senator from Connecticut). How it is that the good people of Iowa are favored (along with the folks in New Hampshire) with so much power in the selection of our next President, is beyond me. The just less than 3 million people of Iowa get to meet all the candidates for President on their street corners and diners while the 8 million residents of New York City only get to meet the candidates at fundraising dinners. I think they see more of Hillary Clinton than we do AND SHE WORKS FOR US! Crazy.

“There is just one place that can light my face.”
I have really dug our week in Des Moines! The people have been super friendly. The food has been great. I was sufficiently entertained. The audiences have been wild for the show. AND I got my picture made with Spammy the Spam mascot.

Eric Hayden bought a shirt that sums up our experience here. It reads: "Des Moines: Hell Yeah."

“Now goodnight, my someone, goodnight.”

JV