It appears from the above photos that even our brothers may be leading double lives!!
Mame: Peter has seen “Field of Dreams” so, since it was pouring rain, we didn’t stop there today.
APRIL 24, 2008
We finished our drive along Route 20 to Waterloo IA yesterday afternoon. Before arriving at Andy and Christine Sexton’s we saw more small towns including Rockwell City, the “Golden Buckle on the Corn Belt.” Here, as in rural America across the country, there is the omnipresent Dollar General; we saw one in almost every town we drove through. We had driven over 450 miles along Route 20 and there’s more to go!!! We did pass a large complex of windmills set in the middle of farm land; we wondered if the farmers get free electricity for use of their land.
Marilyn led us one house past the Sextons but Andy came out and waved us back! We got a great welcome from Christine, Andy, Zoe, Hazel and Hook (the Sexton dog) and a tour of their acreage and out buildings. They’ve obviously done a lot to their century old farm house and we were very comfortable there. We had a picnic supper at a park in Cedar Falls next to the Cedar River. The weather was picnic perfect! After the girls went to bed, we talked about kids, politics and technology. It was great getting to know Andy’s family without the usual mob scene!
After a delicious breakfast and some quality time with Zoe (she gave use a trampoline demonstration!), we left Waterloo in the rain. And the rain followed us into Illinois! It’s was the first time we’d seen rain since Texas five weeks ago. The weather we’ve had on this trip has been unbelievable: two days of rain and one day racing snow in 48 days!
Crossing the Mississippi for the second time this trip (first time was going East), we drove into Illinois and passed through some beautiful small towns and very green rolling hills and farm land. Galena, the home of Ulysses Grant, is a restored Civil War town. It reminded us of New England towns with their nicely restored mansions and houses. The rain had stopped but the wind was howling! The closer we came to Chicago, the heavier the traffic became. It made us long for those many miles we’d spent driving on beautiful, deserted roads. Marilyn did well and led us directly to the Ambassador East Hotel, two blocks from Lake Michigan.
The hotel is pretty elegant and our room very comfortable. We went for a walk to check out the neighborhood, the wealthiest neighborhood in the US, according to our concierge. Beautifully restored brownstones and elegantly restored apartment buildings line the streets for many blocks. The concierge recommended an Italian restaurant called Quartino’s where the food is served family style. It’s large, noisy, busy, local and the food is delicious! We even got a so-called brick oven pizza which was very good but, since Peter couldn’t see the oven, he was skeptical!
Mame: Peter has seen “Field of Dreams” so, since it was pouring rain, we didn’t stop there today.
APRIL 24, 2008
We finished our drive along Route 20 to Waterloo IA yesterday afternoon. Before arriving at Andy and Christine Sexton’s we saw more small towns including Rockwell City, the “Golden Buckle on the Corn Belt.” Here, as in rural America across the country, there is the omnipresent Dollar General; we saw one in almost every town we drove through. We had driven over 450 miles along Route 20 and there’s more to go!!! We did pass a large complex of windmills set in the middle of farm land; we wondered if the farmers get free electricity for use of their land.
Marilyn led us one house past the Sextons but Andy came out and waved us back! We got a great welcome from Christine, Andy, Zoe, Hazel and Hook (the Sexton dog) and a tour of their acreage and out buildings. They’ve obviously done a lot to their century old farm house and we were very comfortable there. We had a picnic supper at a park in Cedar Falls next to the Cedar River. The weather was picnic perfect! After the girls went to bed, we talked about kids, politics and technology. It was great getting to know Andy’s family without the usual mob scene!
After a delicious breakfast and some quality time with Zoe (she gave use a trampoline demonstration!), we left Waterloo in the rain. And the rain followed us into Illinois! It’s was the first time we’d seen rain since Texas five weeks ago. The weather we’ve had on this trip has been unbelievable: two days of rain and one day racing snow in 48 days!
Crossing the Mississippi for the second time this trip (first time was going East), we drove into Illinois and passed through some beautiful small towns and very green rolling hills and farm land. Galena, the home of Ulysses Grant, is a restored Civil War town. It reminded us of New England towns with their nicely restored mansions and houses. The rain had stopped but the wind was howling! The closer we came to Chicago, the heavier the traffic became. It made us long for those many miles we’d spent driving on beautiful, deserted roads. Marilyn did well and led us directly to the Ambassador East Hotel, two blocks from Lake Michigan.
The hotel is pretty elegant and our room very comfortable. We went for a walk to check out the neighborhood, the wealthiest neighborhood in the US, according to our concierge. Beautifully restored brownstones and elegantly restored apartment buildings line the streets for many blocks. The concierge recommended an Italian restaurant called Quartino’s where the food is served family style. It’s large, noisy, busy, local and the food is delicious! We even got a so-called brick oven pizza which was very good but, since Peter couldn’t see the oven, he was skeptical!
2 comments:
Now that you are almost to the end of your journey I have a couple of questions: What did you miss most while away from home for so long (other than the obvious such as family, etc) and what did you like most about being away for so long?
Connie, did Peter tell you Rick's suggestion for the title of the book you should write about your adventures/ - "Travels With Marilyn"
Safe trip home. I'm going to miss your blog, Connie, good show.
Connie, great updates and travelblog... I think you missed your calling, Miss Coonie, Travel Writer! Thanks for taking the time, fun to follow!
Safe travels, Randy
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