i was gunning to go
to Iowa for spring break...
and found some ready fellow travelers -
my parents!
we flew OUT
under the mask mandate
(which was discontinued during our trip
by a judge in Florida...)
why Iowa, you ask?
see my happy face below?
that's why (and why's a who)!
we were all super happy to see Samuel :)
who met up with us at my cousin's house in Minneapolis! 
here we are (my cousin Beth and I) on Easter morning
(her mother is my father's oldest sister)
i grew up Lutheran, which wasn't exactly common in the South -
but, boy-o, are there plenty of Lutherans in Minnesota!
we went to the cathedral-like Central Lutheran for Easter Sunday.
it was just a wee bit COLD...
the group post-service
then my cousin's family
produced an amazing Easter brunch!
nom.nom.nom
after which some of us toured more Lutheran sites around town
& it SNOWED!!!
the next day, Samuel & I set off for Dubuque
(my parents followed separately & stopped
to see friends on the way)
burger joint in Harmony, Minnesota
then a taste of Norway in Decorah, Iowa
Vesterheim = Western Home
(as opposed to their true/Eastern home, Norway)
...they would refer to America as their Vesterheim
when writing letters home...
gorgeous painted wood
but it was a cold, dark life
(I suppose actually less cold than Norway, though...)
i loved these tree chairs - amazing!
carved from one piece of tree trunk!
my dad spent part of his senior year of high school in Norway as an exchange student, and i realized in this museum that his mother (my grandmother) was highly influenced by this Norwegian folk art! she painted these kinds of designs (and in these somewhat garish bright colors - I love them!) on recipe boxes that my mother and I have, as well as a long-lost childhood dresser. i just thought it was my Nana-Bon's invention/sensibility - but i see now that she must've taken some inspiration from things my father sent or brought back from Norway!
just gorgeous! 1863!
the ship, The Tradewind, is in this museum
"I have always been an adventurer."
Samuel and I arrived in Dubuque mid-afternoon,
ahead of my parents,
with a cold wind buffeting us as we drove through town,
Samuel pointing out some sights,
we then walked (briskly!) around one of Samuel's
favorite places to work, Convivium Urban Farm
These chickens were quite hopeful we were there with some food!
we enjoyed their eggs later in the visit :)
John Deere is perhaps the largest employer in town
the downtown library is in a beautiful old building with a cupola
the Mississippi is controlled along this section of the river
by a series of Locks & Dams;
Dubuque hosts Lock & Dam #11
Samuel enjoyed showing me the many murals
in downtown Dubuque,
including this OCTOPUS one!
by then, my parents had arrived - and,
after settling our bags at our Airbnb,
we headed to a yummy dinner at Pete's Thai!
~ ~ ~
the next day was our one sunny day,
so we spent it traipsing around
all of Samuel's favorite places
~ ~ ~
first, we went to see Samuel's house (all housemates were at work)
one of the big pluses when Samuel was deciding which Americorps position to focus on was getting connected with a group of post- and current Americorps young people living together in Dubuque.
so much more appealing than living alone in a new place!
shared kitchen & living room
...cool silver tree wallpaper in Samuel's room...
Samuel toured us around his favorite spots,
most with fabulous views of downtown Dubuque
and the Mississippi River!
this is at Cleveland Park, a small spit of land
at the edge of the Bluffs
and not far from Samuel's house;
he enjoys riding his bike with this as a destination
you can see a series of the large building murals
(though the octopus one is on the street behind,
towards the river)
you can, also, see both the bridge to Illinois
AND the bridge to Wisconsin!
i'm a shrimp - yes -
but Samuel is standing on a rock in this photo, too :)
there's an old Bull Durham (tobacco) sign
on a downtown building!
Mom, Samuel, & Dad contemplating the bridge to Illinois
This was going to be our one warm(ish) day,
so we chugged on down to the River Walk next!
Great Blue Heron & a White Pelican
with the bridge to Illinois behind us
(you can tell which one of us
is not used to cold weather...
this was a warm day for Dubuquers!)
there's a casino on the River, and this glassy convention center, too
plus, a great railroad bridge that has a rotating section
for boats to pass
we ate great food on our trip,
including lunch at the old Dubuque Star Brewery building
we managed to do a couple things that Samuel hadn't done yet,
including the Fenelon Place Elevator!
"the world's shortest & steepest railroad"
see that squiggle-like opening
in the middle of the two tracks?
that's where the two cars pass each other
as they trade places!
another great view of Dubuque!
no slackers are we - we persevered on this sunny day
over to Galena, Illinois!
(home of Ulysses Grant, no less)
we thought to tour his home, but - alas - it was closed...
so we toured the Galena Museum, instead,
which was in an historic house built within eight feet
of a lead mine shaft!
(lead mining being one of the first reasons
this area drew settlers to it)
they are in possession of Grant's left boot
Galena is a weekend destination for Chicago residents,
so midweek it was very quiet!
like Dubuque, there are some major HILLS!
the flat land is down by the river
(where it used to flood)
spy anything odd?
primed for tourists with money to burn
left behind....or getting an early start
as i said, we were no slackers or nap takers on this trip!
not us! next, we hoofed it back to the other side of the river
(passing by Coach Korte Field outside of Galena,
who clearly is a relative of some sort -
there just aren't that many
Kortes in this country!
"Coach [Chuck] Korte never played high school football as a student,
but turned out to be one of the notable coaches in Northwest Illinois" - Wikipedia)
to check out the Mines of Spain!
(this is a state park that houses a monument
to Frenchman Julien Dubuque
and is the location of the Mesquakie tribe,
near Catfish Creek,
with whom Dubuque initially traded furs)
they were doing a controlled burn
as wind was low & rain expected...
we were a little concerned to see the fire
had jumped up into a tree, though!
Samuel and I trekked to one last overlook -
the sandy soil is so different than what I'm used to!
& these bluffs are amazing!
Samuel on the Mississippi
we hit another great restaurant for dinner
*Knockout Melts*
bringing the food back to the Airbnb for some rest
~ ~ ~
the next morning, we had a lazy start at the Airbnb,
which was about five minutes (drive) from Samuel's house
we headed out on what became a rainy day,
getting in our outdoor stop,
Bee Branch Park,
before that happened!
our next stop was Convivium!
for a scrumptious brunch,
preceded by a tour through their urban farm.
this is one of the places Samuel works
through his Americorps placement,
and I think it is one of his favorites!
one of those stinky flowers!
driving away from Convivium, I spied
what appeared to be a grotto or shrine...
so we investigated!
(Dubuque is historically Catholic,
with the small colleges in town
all Catholic
& a couple of Bible colleges thrown in
for good measure!)
here's what we found...
it appeared to be a centennial celebration of the church,
with a small, locked chapel-like building.
THEN...
we headed to the Mississippi River Museum!
(the site of Samuel's likely-to-be-repeated
experience as Sippy the River Otter Museum Mascot -
apparently, he's just the right height for the costume!)
otters swim REALLY FAST
~ ~ ~
then, we had to say good-bye to Samuel,
which was really hard for this mom to do :(
~ ~ ~
on our drive back up to Minneapolis,
Mom, Dad, & I stopped by Effigy Mound National Monument,
along the Mississippi a little North of Dubuque
the three "lumps" you see are effigy mounds!
we didn't hike up to the others,
but this was the way...
we stopped in Decorah, Iowa
(recall my Vesterheim stop with Samuel?)
and ate yummy pizza, then popped
into the Vesterheim gift shop
for some Norwegian trinkets!
Mabe's Pizza did not disappoint!
I googled this later & wished I had gotten some!
what a GREAT spring break!
