Back From Iowa

It was a short trip this time...only two days. I decided to return to KC Saturday night instead of spending an extra night in a hotel. Besides, I needed the extra money to cover the price of gas.

The driving went without incident. I arrived in Dubuque, IA at roughly 2 PM Friday. After checking into the hotel, I drove into Galena, IL to browse the shops for three hours. I then returned to Dubuque, grabbed dinner, and, afterwards, decided to check out the tram-elevator that overlooks downtown Dubuque and the Mississippi River. Click on the image below for a brief slide show


After the tram excursion, I roamed the downtown area and came upon a free-to-the-public concert at the town square. I listened to a couple of songs as I wormed my way through the crowd. People of all ages were there having a good time drinking beer and eating the food that was offered from the vendors. I returned to the hotel after deciding that I was not energetic enough to listen to any more songs (or perhaps the music itself was not compelling enough for me to stay).

I should mention that I had an interesting conversation with the tram operator. He's lived in Dubuque for most of his life so he was full of stories of the town's history and culture. But I really became attentive when he mentioned the movie Field of Dreams. In particular, parts of Dubuque and Galena, IL were used as shooting locations for particular scenes. For Dubuque, a city block was used as an exterior Boston shot when Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is trying to locate Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones). And Galena is used as the setting for Chisolm, MN, the place where Doctor Graham (Moonlight Graham) lives. I may have to pop Field of Dreams into my VCR and see if I can recognize any Dubuque or Galena landmarks....

Saturday morning, I woke up early, checked out of the hotel, and immediately started driving to the Amana Colonies. After getting a late breakfast in Cedar Rapids, I arrived at the colonies at about 11 AM. This time, though, Amana did NOT capture my fancy like it did last year. I spent three and a half hours browsing the stores, test-tasting the wines, and then grabbing a roast beef sandwich and a root beer at one of the bakeries. As I was completing the third hour, I made the decision not to spend the night in the hotel room but, instead, I decided to drive home to KC thinking I could make it home before darkness. So, after making the decision, I loaded my car with my wine, beer, and root beer purchases, got fuel, and drove non-stop to North KC.

I guess I arrived at the conclusion that the Amanas are a nice place to visit....just not on a year-to-year basis.