Mississippi Riverboat Cruise

After we arrived in LeClaire, we checked into our motel and rested a bit before heading out to find where we would board the boat in the morning!    The directions were so easy and we were only a mile from the place to get on!  Also in that area was the LeClaire freedom rock which sits in Scott County.

Posing by the Mississippi River!

After looking around we decided to walk a block up which was the "tourist" section!  Found a great Mexican restaurant where we sat outside facing the river - they had wonderful guacamole to eat and I had the best raspberry/peach margarita I've ever had!!  We also tried to find the coffee place that I had found online but it had closed up and hadn't reopened yet!

The next morning we headed down to the dock, grabbed our luggage out of the car and boarded the Twilight Riverboat!  As they checked you in, they give youe your assigned deck and we were thrilled to be on the top deck!   I saw rocking chairs in the front of the boat so immediately put a couple of our jackets on them to save them!!

Before long we were on our way!!  What a peaceful, relaxing journey up the Mississippi!!

There were about 26 of us on the top deck and we were assigned tables to eat at!  Patty and I had a table to ourselves which was nice!  It was air conditioned inside so if you got too hot out in the sun, you could come in and sit at your table!  The food was simply amazing!!

We would meet several barges on the river.  And the captain would come on the loudspeaker and give you lots of info along the way!  There was a trivia sheet on every table and we soon discovered that the captain gives all the answers in his information speeches!

 We were served breakfast as soon as we got on the boat which was delicious - biscuits and gravy, orange juice and lots of sweet rolls and cinnamon rolls!!  YUMMY!!  About mid-morning they said it was time for snacks!  No bag of peanuts here - fresh fruit and pickle cream cheese roll ups!

There were lots of inlets along the way - some towns set right on the river - and a couple of small islands populated by seagulls!!

We also went through 2 locks - since the river was so high (about 10 ft higher than normal), hardly any water had to come into the lock for us!  One time we had to wait for a barge to go through but the other time was really fast!

The lower two decks were a lot bigger than the top deck - and the lower deck sported afternoon entertainment!

One of the bridges that opened for us to come through!

We had fun just basking in the sun, listening to the captain to fill out our trivia game (we came in 2nd as we missed 2 questions!) and visiting with the bartender who was quite the character!!

Dinner was delicious and this was our dessert - red velvet cake!  I expected just a slice of cake with frosting - this was amazing!!!

The boat actually arrived in Dubuque late afternoon and as we left the ship, we picked up our overnight bag on  the dock and headed up the River walk to our hotel (which was all included in the price!)  The River walk was beautiful and we couldn't wait to get out and explore!!

Freedom Rock Tour

Patty and I left early on a Monday morning for our mini Iowa adventure!!  After a stop for frappes, we were ready to start the first phase of our trip - Freedom Rocks!!

Our first stop was Emerson in Mills County!

Next was Corning which is in Adams County.

This is in Creston, Union County.

I loved their welcome center in Creston - what a unique idea!!

Next on the list was the town of Murray in Clarke County!  The rock below was our favorite of all we have seen!  What an emotional painting - brought us to tears!

They had a beautiful display of flags!

Next was Ottumwa which is in Wapello County.  The location of this rock was SO disappointing.  There was no parking because it's right off a main drag - we parked in a strip mall and walked to it.  Surprisingly enough, there was a beautiful park right across the street so the location of this one was hard to figure out!

Ottumwa had a great place to eat!!  Patty was driving and I was trying to find a "unique" place to eat and I came upon Appanoose Rapids which not only sounded cute but had great reviews!  It was a GREAT place with wonderful food and the atmosphere was fun!!

It had a cool bar down the side and check out that ceiling!!  If you ever get over that way, I highly recommend it!!

And our last Freedom Rock of the day was actually out in the country but the town listed for it is Grandview in Louisa County.

Although this rock was one of the smallest and strangest shaped one we had seen, the surrounding area was well done and extremely interesting to see!

I loved how the county sold bricks for their pathway where you could put a persons' name, the dates they served and what branch of the service that they served.

WOW - one amazing day seeing all of these wonderfully painted rocks!!  But we reached our destination of LeClaire and were ready for the 2nd portion of our trip!

Iowa Family

After an early morning departure from our motel (shouldn't we have gotten a credit on our bill for leaving before the appointed check out time?????) we headed west!  Stopped at a cute diner for some breakfast and couldn't find any "special" coffee so went onto the next town!  Jessi had texted me that she had found some GREAT coffee there and as soon as we got off the interstate there was a Scooters that was pretty easy to get to so we just went through their drive-in (easily said but not done since we were pulling a boat!!).  Because I get whipped cream on my coffee, it's usually very drinkable immediately so I took a big swig and oh my gosh - burn - burn - burn!!!  If I could had spit it out I would have - needless to say it's the hottest "special" coffee I've ever had!!  Unfortunately it wasn't even that good!!  And of course I remembered that everything at our elevation in Colorado cools off SO fast and it doesn't do that in the midwest!

We made it into Patty and Leonard's late afternoon - always good to see them!  And that evening Jim and Brenda came by and we all went out to eat over in Woodbine!  What a great meal with wonderful drinks and dessert!!  We had a quick farm meeting back at the house and enjoyed visiting.

I was thrilled that church was in the South Church on Sunday!  Although it was a sad day for most of the members as it was their interim pastors' last Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed the service, especially listening to that old pump organ that I used to play!  And it was great to connect with some of the people attending!

Glenn and I headed to Onawa for a picnic with his family late morning!  Besides Todd's and Neal's being there, all 3 sisters came along with his mom!

Here is Chance and Maggie - cute as buttons!!

Glenn's mom Lolly enjoyed seeing everyone - her health is great but she suffers from alzheimers.

Jen, Neal and the two kids!  The kids were excited to go fishing with Papa the next day!

Glenn's 3 sisters:  Deanna, Geri, and Sheri along with his mom.

This is Amber (Todd's girlfriend), granddaughter Nedelle and Todd.

There is ALWAYS an abundance of food when we get together - the sisters make some awesome salads!!  The weather held and even though it was hot, there was a nice breeze!

Late afternoon Glenn and I headed to the store so he could buy groceries for his fishing trip and then we headed back to Soldier and enjoyed pizza with Patty and Leonard!!  Glenn packed his stuff up and Patty and I packed for our mini Iowa trip the next day!

Nebraska/Iowa Trip

It was time for our annual trek to Iowa - and since Patty and I were taking a mini-trip, Glenn decided he would haul his boat back and take his boys fishing up in South Dakota!  So since he was already hauling the boat, he decided he wanted to stop at Lake McConaughy in NE to do some fishing!

I looked online for a place to stay - the choices were not great!  Two of the places had 1star reviews so I wouldn't even consider them (keep in mind these are mostly fishing cabins that don't cater to us that would like a little bit of luxury!)  And Glenn wanted it to be close to a place where he could put the boat in!  I finally had it down to two places but one didn't have a website so with no pictures to go by, I chose the other one!!  My mistake..............

The place I chose had wi-fi (the other one didn't) which was a plus for me - but on the website it said they charged for early check in!  REALLY????  Who does that?????  I called the day before to let them know we WOULD be checking in early because Glenn wanted to fish and I wasn't about to sit outside my room for a couple of hours with all the stuff until check in time of 2:00!  The lady assured me there was a "common" area I could wait but she would see about NOT charging us the fee!

We arrived - pulled in and could not see the motel, just a sign that pointed one way and the office another way which was their house!  There was also a blue and white structure kind of on the hill which we couldn't figure out?   So we walk to the office/house and there are 2 dogs barking their heads off at the screen door and the guy inside says to wait until he puts the dogs away.  Fine by me - I'm not that fond of dogs!  We go in and the guy tells us that one of the dog bites so to be careful when we're outside as the dog will come up behind you and bite your leg - so keep a rock in your hand and turn around and pretend to throw the rock!!!  OK!!  He then proceeds to tell me the amount and assures me there IS a $9 charge for checking in early - the lady I talked to was no where to be found so I just paid it.  It wasn't about the money - it was the principle of the thing!!!

Anyway, the white/blue building is the "common" area and that's where the wi-fi is!!  I said you mean there's no wifi in the rooms - yup, that's right!!!  Definitely misleading on the website!!

We can see the motel over to the backside of the property now - and out front is very nice - a huge brick patio with tables, chairs, firepits, etc.   And the 10 or 12 rooms are all hooked together motel style!  As much as we liked the patio area, the room wasn't near as nice!   It was clean, but it just didn't FEEL clean - I wore my socks on the carpet if that tells you anything!  We unloaded (we had a kitchenette so we could cook breakfast as the restaurant a mile away didn't open till 8 and Glenn always heads out early) and Glenn headed out.

I walked over to the rec room and went in - reminded me of a party room back in the 70's!!!  Old couches and chairs, pool table, kitchen area but no food or ice, and music blaring out of large speakers!  I looked back at the glass door and there is one of the dogs glaring at me, I'm sure just waiting for me to come out so he can bite my leg!!  At least the password for the wi-fi worked and I checked my mail and such and waited around because the darn dog is still there!!!  FINALLY he leaves and I race out and walk down to the room!

One of the things I didn't like about the room were the bedspreads - those polyester type ones (there were 2 double beds) with 2 pillow shams and 4 small pillows on EACH BED!!  With only ONE place to set your bag, you know those pillows always get put on the floor - yikes!!!  12 pillows we had to find a place for!!

I had brought water but had no ice so asked the cleaning lady where the ice machine was when she walked by - oh, no ice machine - the convenience store is 1/2 mile away and you can buy it there.  Great - I have no transportation!!   And I don't generally carry ice cube trays in my luggage!

I went to shower and wash my hair late afternoon before Glenn came back as I knew we would go out to eat - NO SHAMPOO!!!  I don't generally carry shampoo either in my bag as hotels and homes where we stay always have it!  Luckily I had thrown a small shampoo in Glenn's bag for when he went fishing in So. Dakota but it was in the truck so had to wait till he got home!

No luck fishing - we headed down to Otter Creek to eat as the reviews said the food was great and it was!!!  No complaints there at all!!  Glenn asked the waitress if we could see a kitchenette room in their motel and she said sure so we walked to them after we ate.  Let's just say that after I saw that room, maybe I DID make the right choice!!

I decided to lay out Glenn's things for cooking the next morning - good thing I did as there were mice tracks on the dishes and skillet - so I washed EVERYTHING he needed to use!  

Even though the walls were paper thin, we slept pretty good as there were only a couple sets of fishermen staying there - until the next day!  I went for a walk in the morning and luckily no dog was around and sat outside by the fire pit for awhile which was nice.  The owner came over with BOTH dogs and I asked him which one bit and he said it was the little one!  So at least I knew..............

Early that afternoon after all that nice quiet time, about 30 people arrived and took over the entire patio area!!  Families with kids and babies - probably a mini reunion!!  I stayed inside the rest of the day!

We ate at the same place that evening and their broasted chicken was excellent!!!  We figured we might have trouble sleeping that night as they were all partying right outside the door on the patio BUT about 9:00 it started raining so the party was over!!

I wasn't sad to leave that place!  And I KNOW I will never stay there again!!  There are no pictures because I didn't want to be reminded - but it sure makes for a good story!!  And just in case you're interested, the place is for sale!!

Ride The Rockies

Colorado hosts a "Ride the Rockies" bike race each year and my friend Carrie (who I met in 1989 at church and now lives in Albert Lea, MN) has a daughter Tasha who was going to be riding (Tasha is from Portland.)

So Carrie and another friend did some Colorado sightseeing and I drove to Breckenridge on Thursday, the day before the race would end, to wait at the finish line and then bring both of them back to our house!

I hadn't seen Carrie in 6 years so we had a lot of catching up to do!  We headed to a nice restaurant just across the street from where we were staying and this place had the coolest lights!

We did some driving around on Friday - Breckenridge is so beautiful!

Stopped for coffee at a cute place and enjoyed drinking it on a park bench as we dodged all the white fluff in the air from the trees!  Yes, my allergies were going full speed!

We arrived at the finish line of the race about 2 hours before Tasha came in - so cheered and clapped the ones before her and enjoyed seeing Tasha cross the finish line!

 After dinner at a local pub, we headed back to our house!  Saturday we headed out to Florissant for coffee after one of Glenn's famous breakfasts' and then into town to give them a tour of the changes since they used to live here!

Tasha and Glenn had fun playing pool!

Plans were to go to the balloon fest out on Hartsel flats on Sunday morning so Tasha could take a ride in a hot air balloon but her flight left too early so we headed to the Springs to drop them off! But not before one last picture of long time friends!

Wine Tasting

We arrived home from camping with a couple hours to spare before Joleen and her daughter Becca pulled in!  Usually just Joleen comes out from Ks. but Becca was needing a break and decided to come out too!  Becca spent the first night with a friend and then headed to our house for the remainder of their stay!

It's always fun to catch up with Jo and this time we headed to the wine tasting down in Manitou Springs!  Parking is always an issue but we found a place right on Main Street and walked to the place.  With 5 wine tastings, cheese, crackers and grapes, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

FINALLY - Camping!

We've both been itching to camp and ATV but life has just been too busy!!  But I knew we had 2 1/2 days before the next set of company came so as soon as I dropped off Kenzie and Aleah at Jaime's on Wed morning, we headed out!

Our plans were to go to the north part of Buffalo Peaks, over by Buena Vista, but when we arrived the gate was locked for elk calving season!  We knew they did this but didn't realize the dates of the closure and we were just a few days early!  I wrote down the dates in my phone so we'll remember for next year!  So headed over to Poncha Pass and found a nice spot to camp, although we were disappointed there were so many people out that way camping!  Luckily almost no one was ATVing so we had the trails to ourselves!

Just as soon as we got the 5th wheel in place, I happened to look out the window and there was a turkey walking by!

We went for a ride on Wed. late afternoon and spent about 6 hours on the trails Thursday!  Always a great time and beautiful scenery!

Of course there were no campfires allowed - I think the entire state of Colorado is on a fire ban due to the dryness!  We had hoped to ATV a few hours on Friday morning but Glenn's shoulder was hurting him so bad that he said he just couldn't do it!  Which means it is time to get an appointment with the dr for an MRI and finally deal with this pain that he's had for years!