Wednesday, May 17 we departed Independence, MO shortly after noon bound for Des Moines, IA.  Why Des Moines?  Well, part of this year’s road trip is to go where either of us has never been before, or would like to go back and see more.  As a native of Maine who spent my naval career stationed on the east coast there is a lot that I have not seen west of the Mississippi.  Jeanne, being from Chicago has travelled in the west but would like to see more of it.  If all goes well, by the time we finish this year’s road trip, both of us will have visited all 50 states.  So we are zigzagging our way across the western part of the USA in some cases just to say we have been there.  Des Moines may appear to be one of those places but, it is not the only reason.  The Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch, IA is an excellent day trip along the interstate.  We arrived at the Residence Inn shortly after 4 P.M. and had a pleasant evening in the downtown Des Moines area.

Thursday, May 18 we partook of the Residence Inn complimentary breakfast and headed towards West Branch shortly after 10 A.M.  From Wikipedia: The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and final resting place of Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st President of the United States (1929–1933), located on the grounds of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. The library is one of thirteen presidential libraries run by the National Archives and Records Administration.

In 1954, a group of Hoover’s friends incorporated the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation to raise money for the preservation of his birthplace and the area around it, and to plan for improvements to the site. One of their ideas was to build a small museum, and with Hoover’s approval work began in the late 1950s. The architectural firm of Eggers and Higgins of New York drew the plans for the original building, a modest limestone structure of just over 4,000 square feet. While the museum at West Branch was still under construction, Hoover decided to expand it and to make it his Presidential Library.

The Library-Museum was officially dedicated and opened to the public on August 10, 1962, Hoover’s 88th birthday.

We learned a great deal about & developed a respectful admiration of Herbert Hoover on this visit.  His moral values, dedication & service to mankind, as well as his devotion to his country serve as a standard that our citizens and the world could benefit from.

We were exhausted by the time we returned to our room at the Residence Inn in downtown Des Moines.  We decided to have a Chinese takeout dinner delivered to the room.  If you are in Des Moines we highly recommend Cheng’s Garden as the food was exceptionally good.