Don’t ask me why, but as I wrote the
header I heard the song Hello Old Friend by Eric Clapton….I’ve never been one
to really “know” music. I have a basic
appreciation for lyrics and rhythms but for the majority of my life I’ve really
just considered it as background noise (noise not being negative). Apparently I was paying more attention to it
than I thought because I swear lyrics pop into my head in probably 75% of conversations
that I have. I somehow equate it to
Seinfield, you know, the show about nothing. I remember that didn’t really care
for the show when it first came on and then I realized that it was a show about
the nothingness of everyday life. I
started looking at my everyday life and came to the realization that in fact
the show was genius. I have many of my
own episodes of Seinfeld still running around in my head just based on my own
observations.
Ahhhhh, but I digress.
Pab, you remember Pab, right? He is the friend that we visited in Mexico a
year ago (OMG, has it been that long….digression yet again). Pab spends his winters in San Carlos, Mexico
and parts of the summer months in Dubuque, IA, where he grew up. I’ve never had a burning desire to see
Dubuque, really the only reason that we went there was to see Pab. I must admit though, Dubuque is a really nice
place, I imagine to live but definitely to visit. We only “planned” to stay a couple of days
but we ended up extending our stay because it was so nice being with Pab again.
First things first, we had t-shirts
made for Pab while we were in MI and we were so excited to share them with
him. We had several made so that he
could share with people….Pab is the most generous person I know and we really
wanted to do something unique for him.
We also explored a couple of things
across the border in Wisconsin including the Dickeyville Grotto. The grotto was built by Fr. Mathius Wernerus
between 1920 and 1930 without the use of any type of blueprints. The religious and patriotic shrines were
constructed using bright colored objects (gems, corals, seashells, porcelain,
glass, etc.) from all around the world.
It really is a sight to be seen, even if you aren’t religious at
all. Over-the-top comes to mind when I
think how to describe it.
While in Dubuque we did quite a few
things. Interestingly enough our visit
here brought together many informational pieces from our previous trips. We visited the National River Museum which
had informational displays on the dams of the Colorado, the flow reversal of
the Chicago River, Pere Marquette’s explorations, and Louis Armstrong to name a
few (all of these have been noted in previous posts). There was even mention of our own Samuel de
Champlain and his explorations of the St. Lawrence River. The NRM also had an aquarium, children’s
exploration area, and an area for birds of prey (injured). I was enthralled with the Paddlefish. I must have taken 20 photos of them but never
quite got the one that I wanted. The
Paddlefish have no bones instead they have skeletons made of cartilage. They feed by filtering tiny plants and
animals out of the water. You can
basically see right through them when their mouths are open, which is what I
was trying to capture.
We also spent part of an afternoon
checking out Eagle Point Park. As the
name suggests there are a lot of bald eagles in the area. We were high up in the park and had a great
view of eagles flying overhead as well as a view of the General Zebulon Pike
Lock & #11 Dam, which is located at the upper section of the Mississippi
River. We also had stunning views of where
the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi….quite lovely.
One evening we were out and about and we took a ride up the Fenelon Place Elevator, also known as the 4th Street Elevator. The elevator claims that it is the shortest, steepest railroad in the world and is listed on the National Historic Registry. Stunning evening views of the city.
We also visited the Potosi Brewery in
(you guessed it) Potosi, Wisconsin. It’s
basically a brew pub with a few historical pieces to look at…and of course a
retail store. We enjoyed a beer while
there and I picked up some Tangerine IPA to take home with us. I was never much of a beer drinker but I do
love the IPAs. The hint of tangerine in
the Potosi IPA made for a most refreshing beverage.
Lastly, we met several of Pab’s
friends. It’s clear that so many people
feel the same way that we feel about Pab.
We spent some time at the home of one friend listening to the two of
them play music and later in the week we went out to dinner with them…I’m
embarrassed now that I can’t remember their names…oh well, I guess that’s what
happens when you don’t stay on top of things when they’re happening.
Leave Grafton, IL -
8:20am - 74°, sunny
Rte.
100S►3N►16W►100N►67N►Lunch in Macomb, IL
►280E►74W- Welcome to IA
(1:26pm)►80W►61N
Gas - $2.13/gal Circle K
Rock Island, IL
Arrive – Dubuque, IA
3:00pm
Miles traveled – 294
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