The Mississippi River

Upon looking through some "old" photos the other day, I came across this photo I took in 2007. I was in Illinois, having just crossed the Mississippi River, and had stopped for a 15-20 minute driving break at the first rest area in Illinois.

You can see the Mississippi River, with the bridge going across (east/west), which is actually I-80. The far side of the river as seen in the photo is Iowa, somewhere between the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois) and  Le Claire, Iowa.

Click on the photo to see a larger view of it.

This must be worth about 7-thousand words

Here are a few more photos from our last trip to Wisconsin.

We're on the bridge over the Mississippi River:

Here's the view from Iowa, as we're looking over the Mississippi into Wisconsin:

I would love to take a tour of that house up there on the hill overlooking the Mississippi River. 

The "Wisconsin welcomes you" sign

We've stopped at a rest area to enjoy the view. It was pretty sunny out there.

The big "M" on the US 151, on the way to Madison:

Liv is excited that we're finally at the hotel pool!

Okay, so Little Merry Sunshine gave me this idea . . .

Some of you may know that I enjoy reading a blog called Little Merry Sunshine, authored by fellow Lake Forest College (LFC) alumna and classmate of mine, Jessica Gardner, LFC Class of 1993. I know I've mentioned her (and her blog) before, but I have to mention her again, because she gave me the idea for this particular blog post.

A few days ago, she posted her "Bucket List" - a list of things she wants to accomplish in her lifetime. Click here for her "Bucket List" blog post found on her Little Merry Sunshine blog.

Well, after reading her post, realizing I'd accomplished a few things on her list, and wanting to accomplish a few other things on her list, I decided that was a sign I'd better do my own bucket list.

So here's my list, in no particular order - keep in mind, it's a work in progress, so I may have to add things as I go along, and definitely check things off as I go along:

1. Travel to Italy (specifically, Positano, among other Italian destinations), Spain, France, Greece, England, Scotland, Wales, and other European destinations with Livie and Andrew. See the sights, eat some tasty local cuisine.

2. Travel to Mexico (Oaxaca, Puebla, and other locations) with Livie and Andrew. Again, see the sights, and eat some tasty local cuisine (mole poblano comes to mind).

3. Travel to National Parks around the country with Livie and Andrew. The Grand Canyon, Acadia National Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Bryce Canyon, Glacier National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park are at the top of the list.

4. Take a cross-country family trip with Livie and Andrew in a nice RV.

5. Take Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. – maybe this one could be in an RV.

6. Learn the ins-and-outs of Santa Fe and learning it by heart by spending lots of time there. Same with other Southwestern locations.

7. Get reacquainted with Tucson, with Livie and Andrew.

8. Take Livie and Andrew to the Hoover Dam.

9. Record our travels in photos and writing.

10. Buy a horse that I can ride (hunters/jumpers/trails) and show.

11. Swimming lessons for Livie.

12. Take photography classes.

13. Earn M.A. in English or Creative Writing.

14. Write a novel (preferably a mystery) and have it published.

15. Earn a “living” by writing novels.

16. Run the Army 10-miler.

17. Become a better cook.

18. Figure out how to make my grandmother’s tasty, homemade tacos.

19. Successfully grow my own garden, so my family can have fresh fruit and veggies in the summer.

20. Be completely debt-free.

21. Have a vacation home in the Southwest.

22. Get reacquainted with the Chicagoland area with Livie and Andrew.

23. Take Livie and Andrew to “Viva! El Paso” in McKelligan Canyon in El Paso, TX.

24. Spend a long weekend with Andrew in Las Vegas, NV, while Livie spends a fun long weekend with her Abuelita.

25. Take Livie to a Blackhawks home game.

26. Take Livie to watch a big horse show.

27. Be Livie’s groom when she rides in a big horse show (if she wants). 

28. Go to Disney World with Livie and Andrew.
29. Take Livie and Andrew to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
30. Ride in a helicopter.
31. Ride in a hot air balloon in Albuquerque.
32. Take a Grand Canyon helicopter tour.
33. Have a "herd" of Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
34. Take a ride with the Hurricane Hunters in one of their WC-130s.
35. Take Livie to an air show to see all the aircraft and watch a Thunderbirds performance. 
36. Take Livie on the big slide at the Iowa State Fair.
37. Take Livie to Concord, MA, where she was born.
38. Take Livie to Mike's Pastry in Boston's North End for some tasty cannoli.
39. Play polo again.
40. Have a great 40th birthday party (November 2010).
41. Take Livie and Andrew to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. As a veteran, it would be nice to see my name there. Plus, we can see the other memorials - like the WWII Memorial, in honor of my grandfather and great-uncles and take a few moments for quiet reflection.

I'll stick with this list for now. The number of items on this list will fluctuate as I accomplish things and add others.

Taking an overnight road trip, Part 3

And here are the remaining photos . . .

Liv and Daddy are posing at a Wisconsin Air Guard unit:

Checking it out:

"Look, Mama! Look at the airplane!"

Liv's checking out the "lawn dart" with Daddy.

Liv wants to touch a chock:

Liv is consulting with Daddy:

Liv is heading around the track:

Stopping for lunch:

Liv is stealing Mama's guac:

On the road again; this is in Verona, WI:

Lemonade stands are on the road. That's all I'm going to say about this one:

We're on US 151. Here's the bridge over the Mississippi River:

Here's the Mississippi:

Welcome to Iowa:

For photos from Part 1, check out Taking an overnight road trip, Part 1.

For photos from Part 2, check out Taking an overnight road trip, Part 2.

Taking an overnight road trip, Part 2

Heading into Wisconsin after crossing the Mississippi River:

Welcome to Wisconsin!

Daddy says "Take a pic of THIS! 'Ahhhhh'!"

On the road in southwestern Wisconsin:

We had to stop in Mineral Point, WI for a potty break. Here's the view of the Dairyland Motel as seen from the gas station:

We're finally at the hotel in Madison. Liv's having fun at the hotel's pool . . .

Warming up her feet in the hot tub. . .

Daddy got cold, so he's getting into the hot tub for a couple minutes:

More swimming in the pool . . .

For photos from Part 1, check out Taking an overnight road trip, Part 1. 

Just a few more photos to come . . .

. . . and the final photos can be found at Part 3, so click here: Taking an overnight road trip, Part 3.

Taking an overnight road trip, Part 1

On the way to Madison, Wisconsin . . .

Liv's laughing at her DVD.

Eastern Iowa farmland . . .

Farm equipment

Dubuque, IA

Train crossing in Dubuque . . .

More photos to come . . .

To check out photos from Part 2, take a look at Taking an overnight road trip, Part 2. 

To check out photos from Part 3, take a look at Taking an overnight road trip, Part 3. 

Not Exactly Quixote's La Mancha

This past Friday, Andrew, Livie, and I went on a little long-weekend road trip to Bloomington, MN. It's early March so the drive through the farmland of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota looked absolutely barren; the muddy landscape was covered in melting snow, and once frozen lakes and ponds were becoming less icy and more slushy. On our drive north, it was hazy, but the sun was doing its best to shine. On the way back, however, it was overcast and dreary.

On our way there, we passed these huge windmills (I guess "three-bladed wind turbine" is the proper term), part of some wind farms out here in this area. These things were HUGE. (I'd wanted to take photos, but alas, my camera was stuck in a bag in the back of the 4Runner). Livie was amazed - for a little while - and then went back to her DVD.

Meanwhile, I thought of the obvious - Don Quixote - which led me to thinking of  Manchega cheese (from Spain's La Mancha region, of course, and very tasty paired juicy, ripe pears), and wondering if it were a lot warmer and less muddy in Spain right now than it is here in the midwest. 

And of course, I thought of Man of La Mancha starring Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren, and the famous "The Impossible Dream." I had this song stuck in my head for a good part of that drive.

I actually enjoy that movie. Did you know that the first time I saw it was in high school in my Spanish 3 class?! During class for two (maybe three) days in a row, we did nothing but watch this movie. It was a fun change of pace. Okay, so we weren't practicing our Spanish-speaking skills, but we were, in fact, watching a musical adaptation of a wonderful piece of Spanish literature.

And now that I'm thinking of it, I should put it on my Netflix queue, since I haven't seen it for a while.

During that drive, I also thought of my grandparents and a road trip we went on long ago from Des Moines, IA, to El Paso, TX. I think it was "The Impossible Dream" that reminded me of my grandfather, and thinking of him led me to thinking of our long car trip to El Paso all those years ago.

That song always makes me think of him - the honorable, proud American who always had a lofty goal and did what he could to reach it, permanently unafraid, and always confident that doing the right thing was the only way to go.

Anyway, at around this point, Livie's movie was over, and I was snapped back into the present when she asked for another movie.

On the way home, however, I made sure to have my camera next to me, in case I had the chance to take some photos of the wind turbines. We didn't stop, but I did take some photos through the window as the 4Runner sped along.

 

 

  

If we ever head back to Bloomington again, I may pull over onto an exit and take a couple photos other than through the moving car's window. 

Sometime after snapping these photos yesterday, I saw another interesting sight - at least *I* thought it was interesting - it had captured my attention enough to make me want to stop. If we'd been hungry, and if it had been closer to lunch-time rather than late in the afternoon, I may have convinced Andrew to stop for a bite. It was a sign for a restaurant in Waverly, IA called The Fainting Goat. I'd never heard of it before, and the name was so fun, I made a mental note to check it out when we got home. Here's the link for The Fainting Goat. Looks kinda fun, huh? Maybe next time . . . if we ever take this route again.