The Top Down!

Best friend, Ann, and I traveled to Des Moines yesterday in her mid-life crisis car!  Here we are after arriving in town and putting the top down!  Weee!

After a stop at Smokey Row coffee shop, we headed downtown to the Farmer's Market!  We have never been and were we headed for a treat!  Unbelievable - the amount of people, vendors, smells and sights!  It literally went on and on for blocks!  If you have never taken in the DesMoines Farmer's Market, you must at once!  It is every Saturday morning in the summers from 8:00 to noon!

We purchased strawberries, plums, kholrabi and doggie cookies for Howie! We looked at metal sculptures, taste-tested breads, jams and wines!  But the real reason we came and the cherry on the top was papusas!

Here is my pork and cheese papusa....delish!

And, here is Ann (and a random lady sitting next to us) enjoying hers!  Ann and I are both huge fans of Kristin who writes Iowa Girl Eats.  We have to give credit where credit is due!  Kristin pointed us toward the farmer's market and these papusas!  Thank you, Kristin!

After stuffing our faces and grabbing a bottle of water, we headed back to the mid-life crisis car and to do a little shopping.  Got some great deals at Target and Kohls and then decided we had to have a break!  A stop at Wellman's Pub was in order!

My UV Blue/lemonade sure did hit the spot!

As did Ann's margarita!  Look at her pretty patriotic nails!

Thank you, nice waitress lady, for taking our picture!

Okay, then it was the obligatory Menard's stop for Ann's husband, Roger, but then we headed to dinner!  Hey, you must be saying, "didn't you just eat?"  It may not have seemed like it but it has been 5 hours!  And, we are hungry! On to Miyabi 9 we go!

The platter we shared was beautiful!  I found that I really like California rolls (which I know are pretty tame).  I also liked all of the nigiri but mostly the tuna - just a touch of wasabi on each one, which was definitely enough!   While I absolutely love salmon, I did not like the salmon sashimi.  The texture of it just kind of grossed me out.  However, the tuna shashimi was yummy!  Ann decided that I had to try eel.  So, she ordered one eel roll for each of us.  I was a little hesitant - as you can imagine - but I liked it!  All in all, my first experience with sushi was successful!  I will have it again!  Yeah!  Oh, and thanks goes to Miyabi 9 and our cute, friendly waiter!

Finally, a stop at Trader Joe's (can't go to Des Moines without a TJ stop) for some Charles Shaw wine (Two-buck Chuck), TJs fat-free balsamic vinaigrette, TJs bbq'd pulled pork....some of the staples in life:) Then back home!  Awww.....the end to an awesome day!  Fun in the sun in the mid-life crisis car with the top down....

I missed a spot with sunscreen...so glad Ann had some in her car or my whole body would have looked like this!  Ouch!

And, from earlier this week...

Molly got her bike fixed up and she is back in the saddle again!  Happy girl!

:)