"The River of Monks"

Des Moines is named for the Des Moines River, which may or may not mean "The River of Monks," according to that font of totally reliable information, Wikipedia.

As Michael Scott reminds us, "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information."

So with that in mind:

"Des Moines' 53 city parks offer a variety of recreation facilities including hiking, biking, picnicking, swimming, and tennis. The city boasts three golf courses, three family aquatic centers, five community centers, three swimming pools, and 28 miles of trail for walking, running, or biking."

But most importantly, Project NKOTB rides again! We've got 5* tickets for the 4/6 show at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

My knowledge of Des Moines is limited to a couple of college-era trips to visit my friend Jessica, who went to Drake. We went to a frat party once, I got stuck in a blizzard and had to turn around once, and I saw Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds do one of their acoustic shows from a very good seat in a very small concert hall - also, once. So for the most part, Des Moines has good things associated with it. It's also the place where we turn right to head to Colorado, and road trips to Colorado are almost always a good thing.

We're planning on Champaign, IL too, but we're going to get regular tickets for that one. And who knows what the summer will hold... maybe we'll be turning right at Des Moines again!