After our eventful night of unremarkable food and uninspired beer in Sarnia, Ontario, Tyler and I struck out for Des Moines, Iowa. We had a big beer plan this day - Michigan overfloweth with options - but alas, our early departure meant must-stops like Bells and Wax Wings were shuttered.
Fortunately, we had excellent coffee and treats from The Electric Coffee Co., a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place in Port Huron available just after you cross the bridge from Canada to the U.S. Highly recommended. Less recommended is Taste Coffee Co, a cute-looking establishment near Lansing on I-96 with exorbitant prices and average fare.
Fully caffeinated, we punched it for Des Moines via the Interstate 96/69/90/80 stretch. It’s a roughly 540-mile run between these two cities, and one that left us very happy to have Hyundai’s adaptive cruise control. It works a treat in stop-and-go traffic, and gives your leg a nice break on the open stretches.
Regrettably, we missed the state welcome signs for Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, AND Iowa due to endless construction hurdles. Once we cleared Davenport, however, the road gods cleared the way, and we sailed through. Iowa gets a bad rap as “flyover country”, but I have to say, on a sunny, 77° summer day with the windows down and music up, it’s a glorious place to drive.
Especially when Lua Brewing is your final destination. St. Louis friends have been raving about this place for years, and I’ve been enjoying the fruits of their visits via 16 oz. tallboys ever since. As ever, the beer is better on draft. It didn’t hurt that the food was tasty and the folks were friendly as well. Worth a visit.
We spent the night at a Revel hotel outside Des Moines, this time full of good beer and grub. Plans for an e-bike exploration evaporated when the trail was discovered to be unfinished. But a quick loop of the Living History Museum was just the ticket for wrapping up a solid day on the road.
About the author: Niel Stender is an automotive journalist. More of his work can be found at muckrack.com/niel-stender