Where In The World Is Sum1?

Des Moines Iowa

Locale: Des Moines, Iowa


         This week finds me in Des Moines for a class with the city of Des Moines.  Once again, it's a Networking Class, centered around the components that provide the networking links in our radio systems.

         There were only four students in the class, but that makes it a bit better.  We shipped a large Pelican case of equipment for this class, but even with that, there were only 3 of each device.  With four students, it means they can learn a lot more during the hands-on exercises.  It also allows the class to flow faster though.  Couple that with the fact that there's one hands-on exercise we can't do at a customer site, and you may find yourself finishing early, which is not good.  They are paying for a 4.5 day class, so we want to deliver 4.5 days for them.  Fortunately, there are things we can do to fill that time, so I'm not worried, never have been,

         With this delivery here, it means I've taught a class in 42 states.  While I would love to deliver a class in all 50 states before I retire, I don't see it happening.  The main reason is that we rarely deliver a class in certain states, and when we do, it might go on someone else's schedule.  I've been in all 50 states, but not taught in each.  The ones I haven't taught in are:  Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, and Idaho.  Only time will tell if I get to any of those states for a class.  Oh, I was scheduled to go to Idaho once (In February!). Instead, she sent me to Hawaii for two weeks.  No way I was going to complain about that!

         Des Moines is the Iowa state capital of course.  But being central Iowa, and not really that large a city, you might think it would be hard to find really good restaurants, or even a wide variety of restaurants.  That's far from the case!  There are several Mediterranean Restaurants here, as well as Cajun, Seafood, and others for one to enjoy.  I managed to visit a couple of really good ones.


Noteworthy Restaurants:


         Eatery A          https://www.eateryadsm.com/menu/  I thought Eatery A to be a strange name for a restaurant, but the menu looked excellent, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It's a very nice Mediterranean restaurant, with excellent food.  I ended up having their Bacon Wrapped Dates, and Wild Boar.  I was not disappointed one bit in my choices.

         Coopers On 5th          https://www.cooperson5th.com/menu    I have to say, I think Eatery A had better food, but this place was not bad at all.  Interesting place, I loved the area around it because of the Christmas Decorations on the street, and just the overall look of things.  They have a daily 'Egg Roll Du jour', so I had to try that.  I also have this gargantuan Cuban Sandwich, and ended up bringing half of it back to my room for lunch the following day.

         Bubba          http://bubbadsm.com/food/dinner/    Yes, the name makes you wonder, but the food sure doesn't.  I made a mistake during the day though, and skipped lunch.  For my meal there, I had Fried Okra Spears (Love Okra!), and a Succotash Stuffed Chile Relleno.  I just had to try their bread pudding, and that probably put me over the edge, so-to-speak.  I returned to my room, posted my nightly joke/pun, and promptly proceeded to veg the rest of the night.  I lay down about 7pm, not under the blanket at all, and didn't stir until almost 4 this morning!  Shame on me for not taking better care of myself, and eating better (too many carbs?) last night.  I should have had a salad, and something else, not so much fried food.  I'm not used to eating a lot of fried food...

In Closing

         This concludes my travels for 2019.  I will spend Christmas and New Years at home, then be in Chicago January 2nd and 3rd, plus the 8th-10th cross training teammates.  2020 starts off with a bang though.  I'm going to Algeria around the 23rd of January for two weeks, will go back there in April, as well as Japan in March.  I also have classes in California (Folsom), Montana, Washington DC with the Senate Sergeant At Arms group, and a couple of resident classes in Schaumburg.  That's just the first quarter too.  Look like it will be a really busy year.  Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!



Jim Dorrell