Waiting for my ride to the airport in the Hotel Fort Des Moines' lobby, it's worth saying that Des Moines is a genuinely charming, cool city. My friend phoned to inform me that it leads the nation in bars per capita, which seems a result of both the large number of bars and the very small number of people. The bars, assumedly, are related to the downtown's recent revitalization, which has created a surprisingly hip, if unsettlingly empty, "East Village" area.
It's a bit odd being the only one walking down the street at any given time, but if I were overwhelmed and wanted to relax in a quiet, low-priced spot for a few days, I'd come here, eat at Baby Boomer's cafe (so named because "Boomer" originally ran it, then his youngest daughter took it over), hang out at the Roasting Co. coffee shop (surprisingly good cookies), then wander around The Bookstore, which carries, among its very limited selection of magazines, The American Prospect. And now off to the airport, where I'll fly in the wrong direction till I reach Georgia, then turn around back to Orange County. Grr.
