One of the things that can be stressful when moving to a new city is the interruption of your daily routine.  This is especially true when moving to a larger city.  Your whole routine can get thrown out of whack when all of a sudden your 15 minute drive to work turns into 30, or your drive to the gym is 15 minutes instead of 5.  It may not sound like much, but it adds up.  What this leads to is the mindset that you are losing out on certain things because there just seems to be less time in the day now.  One of the things that gets lost though, is the realization of living in a bigger city, and the niche markets that brings.

Living in Des Moines affords us the opportunity to indulge our interests and take advantage of some of these niche markets.  Just last week a new outside the box entertainment spot popped up in Grimes called Skyzone.  If you’re a bit lost as to what that place is but think the name sounds like it should be awesome, you’re not alone.  Well if you think an indoor wall to wall trampoline park sounds awesome then your right.  While you can just bounce around and have some fun getting some exercise in, there are a couple other things you can check out including a giant foam pit you can jump into, a basketball court, and dodgeball… on trampolines.  All in all it sounds like a fun little escape to get out there an try something new and fun.

While winter seems to be nearly over, you can never be too sure.  If the golf bug has caught you already then the indoor driving range at  the Longview Golf Centre dome  might be just the thing for you.  Voted as one of the top 10 domes in America in 2006,2008, and 2010, there is plenty of room to go out and get some practice in.  Featuring both an indoor and outdoor driving range and mini-golf course, there’s lots of opportunity to get out and practice your game no matter what the weather is like outside.

If golf isn’t your thing and you’re the more physical type, just down the road is Climb Iowa, an indoor rock climbing facility.  with over 10,000 square feet of top rope, bouldering and lead climbing, it’s the largest rock climbing facility in Iowa.  It’s a great way to get in some physical exercise as well as feeling the thrill of climbing high above the ground, while still being safe by being harnessed in.

What it all boils down to is you need to find the things that make your city great.  Whether that be having the small town appeal of knowing all your neighbors, or the large city draw of having things near you to do.  It all comes down to personal preference.

For the most part we’ve been blessed with a very mild winter so far.  We finally saw the first major snow on the ground last week, and that already seems like it’s on the way out of the door.  However, even with the mild winter,  the golf courses have been pretty empty aside from the occasional devout golfer.  Luckily, the 27th Annual Skywalk Mini Golf event is coming up to alleviate our golf addiction.

On February 11th get ready to break out your putters and explore the 3.2 mile skywalk system that serves as a necessary transit route for many who work downtown during the winter months.  Each year the skywalk transit system gets transformed into multiple 18 hole miniature golf courses setup for singles, double, or foursomes.  Tickets are $25 a piece, and each adult ticket gets one child under the age of 12 in for free!  This family friendly event is held all day Saturday with tee times ranging from 8am-3pm so you don’t have to miss out if you’re busy in the morning and free in the afternoon or vice versa.

So grab your putters and the rest of the family and check out the event.  More information and registration information can be found on the Skywalk Golf Webpage here.  It gives you a great excuse to checkout Des Moines’ vast skywalk system and have some fun doing it!

Photo by Mary Chind - Des Moines Register

Scratching your head trying to figure out what to do in this amazing weather?  Check out a Des Moines tradition: The Principal Charity Classic.  Held annually at the beautiful Glen Oaks Country Club the PCC has helped raise millions of dollars for charity not to mention bringing a small economic boom to West Des Moines businesses with the influx of all the out-of-towners during the week of The Classic.

The event kicks off for the general public with a pro-am starting on Wednesday and Thursday.  The action heats up with the opening round on Friday morning followed by an evening capped off with a live concert.  On Saturday rounds continue and late day action can be caught on the Golf Channel.  Sunday is the final round and visitors can score a Bobblehead of last years winner, Nick Price.  Throughout the event there are also other various professional networking, family and children’s opportunities. Get more details on the calendar page for the PCC.

So I guess you know what you’ll be doing this week!