This morning Travalon and I set off, and as we were driving through Cuba City, Wisconsin, I suddenly felt compelled to ask if there were any antique shops there. Travalon said yes, several, so we stopped at one with the promising name of Junques, and I found a couple of extremely cheap rosaries and some very cheap holy medals. Just when I thought I would get out of there without spending much money at all, I spotted a display of crystals, and I got a goldstone pyramid and a very beautiful obsidian pyramid. It is so black. I feel like maybe that was the thing I was meant to find, rather than either of the rosaries. Sorry, no photos yet.
Our next stop was Sabula, Iowa, where we walked along a causeway and saw pelicans and gulls having fun flying in the wind. We stopped on tiny Driscoll's Island and saw some cormorants and a blue heron. Here are some photos. The first one is a little house in the marina.
The pelicans were really enjoying flying in the wind, more than we humans liked walking in it.
This gull is extremely disappointed in you.
Then we followed the Great River Road along the Mississippi, and we saw the word "dip" in the clouds.
This photo is out of order (thanks, Blogspot) - it's from Credit Island in the Quad Cities. More on that later.
These photos are from Clinton, Iowa, where we stopped for lunch. This is some sort of monument.
They had these little lighthouses all along the riverfront.
This is the town hall in Clinton.
This is St. Boniface Catholic Church in Clinton.
And this is a little gazebo in the backyard of St. Boniface.
In the Quad Cities, we went for a walk on Credit Island, which is in Davenport, Iowa. There were other islands too, but they were on the Illinois side. Then we left the Great River Road and drove west. We stopped in Iowa City and explored the University of Iowa campus. Here I am in front of a strange rock right in the middle of campus.
We never did learn what this beautiful building is.
This is a cool walkway between two residential halls.
We got into Des Moines after dark. Here are two shots of the Capitol Building all lit up.
This building in downtown Des Moines has a lit-up umbrella on it.
We are staying at a rather swanky hotel downtown with a lovely view. We got to their restaurant just before it closed and had foodie food: flatbread with shiitake mushrooms, arugula, and goat cheese, and then a flight of creme brûlée for dessert. The three flavors were raspberry, elderberry, and chocolate. I loved them all, while Travalon was particularly fond of the elderberry. Sorry - I forgot to take a photo when they were more photogenic, before we tore into them. The middle one was garnished with a sprig of mint, if that helps you visualize it.
We also had such good beer - he had a tangerine wheat beer and I had a chocolate porter. The view from the restaurant was spectacular, and I was pleasantly surprised that Des Moines could be such a romantic place. Now we have to rest up for our adventures tomorrow, which hopefully include the Omaha Zoo.
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