New city quirks

Every city has something unique that sets it apart from every other city in the country. Miami has the Art Deco scene, Los Angeles has Hollywood charm, New York has everything and Des Moines has... skywalks!

Skywalks?! You may either be saying Why are we talking about skywalks? or What the hell is a skywalk? Well being from south Florida I had no idea what these things were that tied all the buildings in downtown Des Moines together. Many of you from the northern part of the United States may be reading this and wondering why I'm even making a post about this. Yeah we have skywalks. Who cares? Well I do and that's why I'm writing about it.

The first day I noticed this enclosed glass bridge right outside my hotel. I didn't think anything of it because I've seen structures like this before. But as I explored the city I noticed more and more of the glass bridges and even saw people in them. In addition to the bridges I saw signs with a big red S on them marking access to this so-called skywalk. Though I was curious I didn't make any attempt to explore. I was already exploring the city via bike ride and to me that was the best way to get acquainted with the city. 

The second day in Des Moines was much colder than the first. I was relatively prepared with some of my "cold weather" clothes from home, but the wind was making it brutal for me. I walked to the convention on the street because I mapped the route the day before. I'm the kind of person who can be dropped in the middle of an unknown city and can figure out my way around in about a day. Not only can I figure out how to get somewhere but I can reroute myself to get back to my starting point. My internal GPS has always been on point, so much so that I was literally my family's GPS when I was a kid. 

Finally during my lunch break on the first day of class I decided to explore this skywalk and see if it couldn't help me get back to my hotel. *cue the angelic music*

This wonderful, architectural invention was the answer to all of my prayers. I was able to avert the cold altogether in this magnificent walkway in the sky. That's when it dawned on me. The sole purpose of a skywalk is to avoid the cold weather in the winter! Amazing!

Not only was this skywalk functional, but it was also convenient. There were businesses that existed only in the skywalk and not on street corners. The Starbucks and Panera Bread that I was struggling to find on the bike, magically appeared on the skywalk tucked away from the clean streets of downtown.

AND! Many of the halls were heated. The main halls that were my saving grace were the ones closest to the convention hotel and my hotel. The only time I stepped out of the skywalk was to get to my hotel which was not attached to the skywalk and was about a block and a half away from it.

I called my wife and told her about it, I took pictures of it (obviously), when I came home I told my daughter and parents about it. I mean I was really tickled by this thing. For my classmates who live in Minnesota or Wisconsin, this was nothing new to them, but I was in complete awe. I mean if you think about it, Florida has no need for skywalks. Not only is it hot practically all year round but everything is so spaced out that you need a car in order to live here. 

So yes, you can make fun of me for dedicating this post to a skywalk. But if you are ever in Des Moines when it's cold, windy and raining and you just want to get out of the weather; take a trip on the skywalk, find the warmest hallway, stand under the heat vent and remember me.