The Summer Gets Busy

While some plans changed with the sneeze, others stayed as planned. Like a week-end on the river with friends. Muscle relaxants, ibuprofen, and the promise of Manny's pizza made it a no brainer for Pam and me to accept Kim & Lu's invitation to join them on Vagabond for the trip downriver.

Our first night was on the hook with meat on the grill! Yummmm!

After dinner we were so full we couldn't move.

The next morning we traveled south through the Sabula RR bridge to Island City Harbor.

On the way into our slip we passed our old boat. Still in great shape.

A few hours later we were met by Mike & Nancy and Jim & Dorie. Jim had a car at the marina which we used to travel to Savanna where our first stop was the Iron Horse Saloon.

Ride-em cowgirls!

Our next stop was of course Manny's for tacos and pizza. Scrumptious as usual and we were too busy eating to take pictures. (www.mannyspizza.com) Fat and happy we made our way back to the boats where Nancy used her skill of reiki to help ease my back pain.

It's working!

All too soon it was time to head back home.

We arrived at Lock 12 in time to lock through with the riverboat Twilight.

The week-end was great and helped ease my back pain and Pam's pain of listening to me whine about my back!

A few days later the wind blew in from the east and with it came boating friends Bru & Sandy (M/V Coconuts) from Virginia who were on a road trip.
With me in a weakened position we ended up playing board games a couple of nights. If memory serves me correctly I believe we weren't very gracious hosts concerning the outcome of the games.

Since Bru & Sandy are baseball fans we thought it only appropriate to take them to the Field of Dreams movie sight which is only 25 miles from our house. (www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com)

Of course there was a souvenir stand as well as a game being played on the field.

I remained on guard in the car.

From Dyersville we travelled to the banks of the Mississippi where we rode the Cassville Ferry across the river to Cassville, Wisconsin.

The Pride of Cassville arriving on the Iowa side of the river.

Our view as we made our way across to Wisconsin.

Of course I was left to guard the car!

We made a stop at the Potosi Brewery. Drove past the Dickeyville Grotto, and made a stop at Lock 11 before returning home.

Dickeyville, Wisconsin Grotto. (www.dickeyvillegrotto.com)

Bru & Sandy at Lock 11.

The next day we checked out the local ski area, Chestnut Mt. and the Alpine Slide. (www.chestnutmtn.com)

Our guests heading down the hill.

We also checked out the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque for some fantastic views. (www.dbq.com/fenplco)

Lower station of the incline.

The view from the top.

We checked out a few more vistas before heading off to dinner.

Before we knew it time rolled around for the Coconuts crew to head back East. It was a fun few days and we were happy to show them our part of the world.

Early August is Birthday time for us. Pam. Her sister Barb, and my Dad all celebrate birthdays within the first two weeks of the month.

For Pam we went to Perry St. in Galena. Good food & good company made for a great night!

We had a joint celebration of the sisters birthdays at our house.

For my Dads birthday we celebrated with Sunday brunch at Timmermans.

With all the food I've consumed in this post I now weigh 600 pounds! No wonder my back hurts.