Where Has the Time Gone

I guess I left you a week ago!  Can’t believe that it has been that long.  But, a wonderful week it was.

At the last post we were travelling to Prior Lake.  We survived the parking.  It was an easy park to help our participants get settled.  Not all parks are equal!  The 4 days in the Minneapolis area seemed to speed away at lightning speed.  Dakota Meadows was the campground in Prior Lake.  It is co-located with Mystic Lake Casino.  This casino was not as much fun – couldn’t find a winning slot machine!  But, we were able to find some live music in the hotel lobby on two of the nights and even had a chance to dance a bit.  This is always a plus for us!

We had a bus tour of both Minneapolis and St. Paul, with scenic stops to view the river.  Lunch was at the St. Paul Hotel.  It was a lovely hotel with valet attendants in top hats and tails!  Our bus load of obvious tourists did not use their services!  We had enough time to walk around at take pictures of the bronze statues of Charles Shultz’ Charlie Brown Characters.  We all seemed to enjoy seeing our comic book friends.

While in the area we were able to take a brunch cruise on the Mississippi, travelling through one of the locks in this area of the rivers.  The Mall of America was an interesting destination.  We didn’t do much shopping.  But, we were able to walk all around it and on most of its many floors, stopping occasionally to watch the amusement rides go by. 

One day was a day to visit the Renaissance Festival.  We had a great time.  Lots of people watching to do.  There were so many visitors dressed in period costumes, it was difficult to tell the “actors” from the visitors.  We saw a couple of jousting matches, eat some food, shopped a bit, and enjoyed comedians, flame throwers, flame swallowers and many other types of amusements. 

After the Minneapolis area, we stopped in Prairie du Chien, WI.  This was just a one night stop.  So it was quick with not extra side trips.  We did go to Pikes Peak State Park.  I know, Pike’s Peak is in Colorado – we have been there.  This Pike’s Peak is named for the same man.  Who knew that he started on the banks of the Mississippi in Wisconsin!  But, what a spectacular view of the Mississippi we had as the Wisconsin River meets it.  Lovely view from above of the scattered islands in the middle of the River.  Well worth the side trip.

Our next stop was Galena, IL.  What a fun town to visit.  So many shops and things to see.  Home town of President Grant, Galena has the appearance of a town from another era.  The architecture is so well preserved and the homes and shops were most appealing and set in another era.  After a trolley ride through town, we were able to walk around the town for some shopping, sightseeing or lunch.  The afternoon was spent in Dubuque, IA (yes another state, but just across the river).  We visited the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.  It is a very well done museum.  We were able to tour a river dredge boat. This boat was used for many years to dredge the Mississippi/Missouri Rivers.  Fun to see.

Today we signed off the caravan.  We wanted to visit the Field of Dreams.  It is the location of the filming of that movie in Dyersville, IA.  And remains the same as it was for the movie in 1989.  BTW, the long flight of stairs toward the end of the movie, is actually in Galena and are called the Grant Steps, as President Grant would walk down them while he worked at his family business (before his presidency).  It was fun to see the baseball field just as it was and the corn field at its boundaries.  I, too, could hear them talking to me.  Not sure what they were telling me, but sure can understand what Shoeless Joe heard!

After the trip to the Field of Dreams, we followed the caravan route and stopped at a working grist mill, housed in a Dutch Windmill.  It was a fascinating tour in  Fulton, IA.  While we did not have time to visit, the local cemetery is “home” to several of President Reagan’s aunts!  His boyhood home is not too far away and he often visited here.  Just a piece of trivia for the enquiring mind!  And I have discovered that we are in American Pickers territory.  Today, we drove by Frank Fritz Finds and we are within 16 miles of Mike Wolfe’s store in Le Clair, IA, just 16 miles from us.  I may not have time to visit either.  Just as well, I would not appreciate their offerings, even though I do watch the show from time to time. I guess I’ll just have to visit Mike’s Nashville store when we get home!

We are now in Eldridge, IA, at a great county park.  We have some tours scheduled for Friday the 27th.

That’s about it for now.  But, there will be more to come.  We have many more miles of the Mississippi to travel!