Memorial Day River Cruise in Dubuque

 

Today Travalon and I got coffee downtown in Galena, and we shopped a tiny bit more. The coffee shop was right by the trolley depot.

They have a small war memorial in Galena.

Then we drove to visit the much larger war memorial in Dubuque.

They have a monument to just about every war America was involved in.

Then we took a lunch cruise on the Mississippi. We were the first passengers on the boat, so we sat up top, and from there we could see a coot swimming around.

A very congenial couple sat with us, and we talked through the whole cruise. Travalon and I also did some bird-watching. We saw this pelican standing on a sandbar.

Here are the old brewery and shot tower that are at the end of the river walk.

The woman we sat with was very excited about this tunnel. Not sure why.

Here is the cathedral, which is right by the Fenelon Elevator and the cool shops we went to yesterday.

Here is the Hotel Julien, I presume named after Julien Dubuque, founder of the city.

And here is the monument to Julien Dubuque that we were at yesterday. You can see the people that were up there visiting it today.

Both Travalon and the woman we were sitting with love abandoned stuff and boats, so they were both really excited about this abandoned boat you could tour. The woman and her husband toured it yesterday. We will have to go back sometime to do it.

And here is the boat we saw yesterday that I wanted to ride - still no sign of anyone selling tickets for it.

I think this is a casino in an old riverboat.

And this, of course, is a sailboat.

There were lots of beautiful bluffs, some with spectacular houses on top of them.

This is the dam. We had to turn around here, of course.

I love how this pelican is just hanging around with the fishermen. Aren't they in competition?

And I love how the cormorants just hang around with the pelicans. Again - competition?

This looks like a very cool beach house.

And here's another sailboat. I love sailboats.

I have heard this is a bed and breakfast, but I don't know the name of it, so we can't stay there. Like we could afford it, anyway.

On the drive back, we passed Platteville, and there is a giant M on the hillside for the Miners, which is their team name. I took this photo as we were driving, so it's not in perfect focus.

Then we stopped at Governor Dodge State Park and took a hike by Cox Hollow Lake.

We saw this pink jack-in-the-pulpit, but maybe it's just past its prime.

And here's another shot of Cox Hollow Lake. We also drove by Twin Valley Lake but didn't take any pictures.

When we got home, Travalon's new Barney Bear T-shirt had arrived in the mail.

So today was a balance of remembering what the day is for, exercise, and fun. We got a lot of fresh air, and I'm afraid I got too much sun. I told Travalon, "I didn't put sunscreen on, because I forgot to bring any," and he quoted Bugs Bunny: "What a maroon!" I said I was maroon because of forgetting sunscreen, but really I'm more of a hot pink. Time for the aloe vera! Fortunately I have some plants.

Famous Hat

Watching a Train from the Mines of Spain

 

Today was another wonderful day, especially for someone like me, who loves trains. We woke up and had breakfast at our bed and breakfast, and I looked at their hot tub.

We never used it, because we had a private one in our suite. It has its own room!

Then we went to Grant's house, but we didn't take the tour again.

This old house nearby will be the new Grant Museum.

As we were driving away from President Grant's house, a bald eagle flew over us. Then we drove to Dubuque and walked along the riverfront path.

Check out this robin sitting on a piece of artwork.

I made a short video of his song.

Here is the A-frame house across the river that I love.

And a family of geese swimming in the Mississippi.

How far is it to Dubuque's sister cities?

I wanted to ride this boat, but there was no sign of anyone selling tickets.

Here is the city from the Port of Dubuque.

Then we went to the Irish shop near the Fenelon Elevator, but it was closed so we got coffee at the place next-door and sat outside. This was our view.

When we got done, the Irish shop was open, so we bought some stuff. For example, I bought this matching necklace and earrings.

Then we went to the Mines of Spain and hiked on the Horseshoe Canyon Trail. The bluffs are very cool.

And we met the world's coolest dog, but we didn't get his name.

We took a path around a pond and saw a blue heron.

Here is the pond.

And look at these mushrooms!

After hiking, we went to the Julien Dubuque Monument, from which you can see the city.

Then a train went by right below us. It must have been a quarter mile long! You can see that it had at least three engines.

Travalon made a video that I will try to edit and post soon. We could also see the old brewery and shot tower at the end of the riverfront walk from there.

Here is the monument.

And here is another view of Dubuque from the monument.

This is a historical marker explaining it all.

Then we drove to Bellvue and stopped for lunch at a place called Offshore. We sat in an area that was half inside, half outside, and we had a stunning view of three little islands.

A live band played, and the drummer had a tie-dyed drum.

Look at our pretty drinks! I had a key lime pie martini, and Travalon had a peanut butter s'mores martini. They were both delicious!

Then we drove past St. Donatus, stopping to take a picture of their church and the chapel way up on the hill.

We drove to Sabula, but the photos from Travalon's fancy camera are uploading very slowly, so I'll have to share those later. We did see a bird party of pelicans and cormorants in Bellvue, and in Sabula we saw cormorants, pelicans, and two egrets. We also saw this crazy jeep.

Then we drove across the river to Savannah and went to a park called Mississippi Palisades, and from way up on the observation deck we could see a wood duck. Travalon actually got a pretty good photo of him. Then we saw another very long train pass right below us! Travalon made a video of that too. After that we went to Poopy's, the biker bar, for some snacks, and finally we drove back to Galena and had a late dinner at a very authentic Irish pub. It's in a bigger complex which is a hotel, and it has these cute fake Irish shops on the front. Here is the post office.

Here is the telephone booth.

And this is the... library of horses? That's what the Irish seems to say.

They even had one of these Celtic rock formations, I forget what they're called.

And they had Celtic crosses on the building.

This is the outside of the pub.

And here is the inside! Very authentic.

Though we finished dinner well after eight, there was still a beautiful sunset going on.

When we got back to our suite, the housekeeper had arranged the friends we brought.

From left to right: Ming the Red Panda, Sergio the Capybara, Randy the Red Panda, Kizi the Honey Badger, Yuri the Polar Bear, Raymond the Fox, and Peach Bear. Stay tuned for photos from Sabula.

Famous Hat