Got back earlier this week from a trip to the old home town in Iowa. It was quite an adventure. Before setting off for the midwest, I got to play host to my family members that would be traveling with me. It's not often I have guests in general, let alone overnight guests. But we had a good time and it was fun to have some of the kids around.
After a good night's rest, everyone set out the next morning for the Great Midwest. I met up with them a couple of day's later after flying in to Des Moines. From there, we drove on to Maquoketa (the old home town).
The purpose of our trip was to have a good long visit with my Grandma, and my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. We didn't do much in the way of sightseeing - mostly we sat at the old house and visited, told family stories, and ate too much.
But we did manage to do a few other things:
Dad and my Uncle went fishing on the Mississippi River and got a big catfish. The catch of the day was promptly cleaned and fried up, which the little boys thought was totally cool, and made for a very nice meal.
On Sunday, we took a ride on the 4th Street elevator in Dubuque - it's an old cable car pulley system from the late 1800's, that takes you up to the top of a bluff, where you get a terrific view of Dubuque and the river. It was quite a little trip, and not necessarily for the faint of heart. It was built in the 1880's or 90's, and most of the workings are original, so let's just say that the elevator is somewhat "lacking" in safety features.
Also, we went to the Bellevue Lock and Dam, and got there just in time to see a tug boat push a barge through. The kids thought it was awesome, and they were thrilled that the tug captain honked and waved at them from his window.
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