I'm in the Quad Cities airport about to head home from my Midwest trip. When I left Texas, everyone wanted to know "Why Iowa?" The answer is, Iowa was very happy to welcome this visitor. Everyone I met was very happy that I chose to visit, especially in this lingering bit of winter.
Temperatures were pretty cold, 40s most of the time, with strong winds. We're just a flat prairie away from Chicago, the Windy City.
The Mississippi River runs between the cities of Iowa (Davenport & Bettendorf) and Illinois (Moline & Rock Island) - hence the 4 cities. It's quite the crossroads of the Midwest, with the river a traditional trading area and this is where the Transcontinental Railroad crossed the Mississippi, and so present day Interstate 80 follows that same route from New York to San Francisco. The Rock Island Arsenal is a long time military base here since the 1800s.
Everyone encouraged me to see the World's Largest Truck Stop, the Iowa 80 in Walcott. It was a big place yes, but also a testament to good marketing. The Love's Truck Stop or the Pilot or the Flying J nearby would be about as good.
Downtown Davenport and Moline have lots of interesting old buildings with new ones mixed in as well. I stayed at the Radisson on the river in Moline, just by the riverboat casino of the Rhythm City Casino. Riverboat gambling got an early start here in the 90s and is well established. On Sunday night we played some slots there - and it was a good time.
The brewery scene is big here by the river, lots of microbreweries. The Great River Brewing Co was a good place. Also the Bent River Mississippi Blonde was tasty.
Dr. Liz had chiropractor training Sat. and Sunday. Monday we toured the Palmer College of Chiropractic. Dr. D.D. Palmer was characterized as inventing modern chiropractic and his son Col. B.J. Palmer did a lot of help spread it and popularize this fledgling medium. We toured his home and learned a lot of him. He reminded me of other Midwesterners who took a a small idea and made it big in 20th century USA. Think Joseph Smith of the LDS Church, or Walt Disney. Even Ronald Reagan, who started working for B.J. Palmer's radio station WOC in Davenport, IA.
I had a nice drink and dessert Sat. night at the Duck City Bistro and returned for dinner on Monday night. Definitely a 5 star meal, from the French trained Chef Jeremy. Outstanding in all respects. And just around the corner from our hotel.
Most days we took it easy, sleeping late, late brunch, not much on the schedule. Sunday night we saw Batman v. Superman and it was good to watch on the Imax screen. For a $250 million movie, we needed to go big. Walt Disney would be proud of what he created.
Certainly a good place to be and I'd like to return in the mild summertime. Maybe combine it with a trip to Madison WI, just a few hours away. Iowa was a good state to visit - glad I made it happen.
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