Des Moines - Dec 2023

Shawna went to Des Moines for a girls weekend to visit Eva (who she worked with at Cigna and who lives there) and Stacie (who she also worked with at Cigna and who flew in from Nashville).  Keith joked that this was going to be "Girls Gone Wild, Healthcare Executive, Des Moines Edition"!

Shawna and Stacie both flew in on Friday, arriving around 1:30 where Eva picked us up at the airport.  Stacie had not eaten lunch yet so we stopped at Franka for a pizza and a glass of wine.  We went back to Eva's house and after getting settled in and getting a tour of the beautiful home, we relaxed and chatted for a while.  That evening, we went downtown to have a few drinks at the speakeasy bar, In Confidence, where we got a few yummy cocktails.  We then had dinner at Bubba's, a restaurant with southern style food with huge portions.  We got a few apps for the table and then got fried chicken and chicken fried steak for our entrees.  The food was tasty.  Back at the house, we stayed up chatting a bit more.

Dinner at Bubba's

On Saturday, we all slept in and had coffee in the morning.  We then went to Cooper's Hawk for lunch where we had a bottle of wine and yummy roasted brussel sprouts and meatballs as appetizers. Shawna had a grilled cheese for her entree.  Back at the house, we napped and then headed downtown again, first stopping at the rooftop, Christmas themed bar, The Republic on Grand to have a few drinks.  It is here that we met up with a friend of Brian's (Eva's husband) and his date.  After drinks, we watched the Iowa Hawkeye Women's Basketball team who were in town playing at the Wells Fargo Arena - Eva really wanted to see them as they have a star player that is getting lots of attention.  The game was fun and the Hawkeyes won, scoring over 100 points! We stopped at a sports bar, Caffrey's, on the way home for a few more beers. Back at the house, we chatted some more, this time with one of Brian's daughters and her two friends.

Hawkeye Game

On Sunday, we slept in again and then went to Eatery for brunch where Shawna had some tasty chilaquiles.  We then went to a 'paint and sip' popup where we painted a Christmas themed decoration on wood panel boards.  The joke was that Stacie kept calling it 'paint and stroke'.  We found out that painting will not be our second careers!!  Back at the house, we napped again and then went to Gastro Grub & Pub for some tasty burgers and beers.

Work of 'art'!

Shawna left early on Monday morning with Stacie leaving later that day.  It was such a fun weekend filled with many laughs!!