June Road Trip Part 1

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Tuesday, 6/13/2023: Collinsville, IL/ St. Louis area

Our adventure began at 6 am when we left home. Our first destination was tentatively Knoxville, TN. When we arrived at Knoxville, Don was still full of energy and wanted to continue but we did stop at McDonald’s for breakfast. We figured that since we were only 3 hours away, we could visit another time. So, our next possible stop was Nashville, TN and again, Don was ready to continue. Before Nashville, we entered the Central Time Zone and our clocks were an hour earlier. So, we headed to St. Louis. We used Hotwire to find a nice hotel room at a reasonable price ($68). So, we ended up at the DoubleTree in Collinsville, IL which is just on the east side of St. Louis.

Once we checked in, we decided to go to Steak-n-Shake for dinner. We had a combo special for $8 each which included a cheeseburger, fries, a drink, and a chocolate sundae. Then we went looking for the Largest Catsup Bottle in the World and found it not too far away. It was a pretty cool water tower.

Wednesday, 6/14/2023: Collinsville, IL/ St. Louis area

We got up early and went to Waffle House for breakfast. Our breakfast was around $5 each (eggs, hashbrowns, and toast). Then we headed to Laumiere Park and my knitting friend, Cindy met us there. We walked around the sculptures and saw our favorite eyeball sculpture there. She had to go back home and back to work so we headed to the St. Louis Zoo which is free. Parking was $15 but we were able to find free parking on the side street. The Zoo was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed it. When we left, I was hot, tired, and hungry so we went to Imo’s for lunch. We each got the lunch special (pasta, ½ salad, and a drink) for $11 each. We could have gotten one and shared it if we bought another drink. After lunch, we returned to the park and walked around the children’s garden which was beautiful. Next, we drove around the park and decided we wanted to find the giant 33-foot alien at the Science Center. Our GPS kept sending us to the Science Center but no alien could be found. When I looked up pictures online, it said it was at the planetarium at the science center. Finally, we drove around until we saw the building in one of the pictures and found the planetarium and the alien! Next, we found the visitor center and enjoyed talking to the ladies there. They recommended that we check out the Missouri History Museum which had a World’s Fair exhibit. We went there even though we knew they closed in 30 minutes (5 pm) and I was able to buy a magnet and see one of the exhibits. The World Fair exhibit had closed down in April for refurbishment and would reopen in 2024. We were tired and ready to get a hotel room so tried Hotwire again. We got a room at the DoubleTree again but it was $77. We had a full day and really enjoyed ourselves.

Thursday, 6/15/2023: Springfield, IL

After breakfast at Waffle House, we hit the road and headed to Springfield. On the way, we passed a huge pink elephant and an alien ship. Of course, we had to turn around and go to them for pictures! They were in front of an antique mall. The mall didn’t open until 9:30 and it was only 9 but the lady saw us and opened up for us anyway. Don found some treasures there. We finally got to Springfield and booked a room at the State House Inn ($95) which was right across the street from the Capitol. Next, we went to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They were having a naturalization ceremony at 3:30 but they only had a few seats for the public. After that, we ended up at the Prairie Archives bookstore where Don found some World’s Fair memorabilia. Then we went to the Visitor Center where we took a picture with President and Mrs. Lincoln. The visitor center was in the old Lincoln-Herndon law office building where President Lincoln practiced law on the 3rd floor. At that time, the first floor was used as the only post office in Springfield. Then we went to the visitor center in Lincoln’s neighborhood to get a free tour ticket for Lincoln’s home. While we waited for the tour, we watched a 30-minute video which was very good. The tour took 30 minutes and it was very good too. I was thrilled to be walking in the same place that Lincoln had lived. We finally stopped to eat a late lunch/early dinner at Sapuros (a well-known Italian restaurant). We had the lunch specials ($11 each). After eating we walked to the Depot (where Lincoln took the train to DC after being elected President). Since we were tired and hot, we drove to Lincoln’s Tomb and got there in time to go inside before they closed. I found it interesting that Lincoln was actually buried 10 feet deep in a concrete vault because grave robbers tried to steal his body in 1876. The robbers were caught before they could succeed in their plan. It was a full and fun day!

Friday, June 16, 2023: Peoria, IL/ Moline, IL

We left Springfield and headed to Atlanta, IL to look for the Giant Paul Bunyon statue holding a huge hot dog. We found it and then continued to Bloomington, IL to the 316 Antique Mall. Don shopped for a couple of hours and found some treasures. I was able to sit and knit and talk to the owner. They were having a 4-day concert next door but we were able to get in the parking area to go shopping. When we left there, we headed to Peoria, IL to the Caterpillar Visitor Center. It was $6 admission for each person and we spent a couple of hours there. I really enjoyed that. We bought a magnet at the store and got a Veteran’s discount. After that, we walked along the waterfront and Don found a yarn store for me! Then we left there and headed to Moline. We got a room at the Wyndham Moline on John Deere Commons for $126. It was a very nice room with a sofa/sitting room and a small refrigerator. Many hotels were sold out in the area because of the Matchbox 20 concert. We finally found one in Geneseo so we went ahead and booked it for Saturday. Next, we walked along the river in both directions and then we walked across the street to the John Deere Pavilion and took photos. We were able to buy a magnet at the store. We brought our stuff to the room and then went back out to find this festival a lady told us about. A policeman told me that “Mercado on Fifth” happens every Friday from May until September. There were a lot of food vendors and the music was great.

Saturday, June 17, 2023: Moline, IL/Geneseo, IL

After breakfast, we drove to Sylvan Island Park which is a free city park. We walked across the bridge and hiked around. It was a very nice park. After that, we decided to drive over the bridge to Davenport to scope out where our tour will be on Monday. When we got over the bridge we stopped along the riverwalk on the Iowa side and took pictures of the old and new bridge. We had a nice chat with a local man. On Sunday they plan to demolish the old bridge. After finding the John Deere plant, we went to Costco and did some shopping. Then we went to Geneseo, IL, and found an outdoor festival. It was very nice and the local library was giving away free books. After the festival, we hunted for antique stores. We spent 4 hours at the C&S Antique Mall. Don shopped while I knit and talked. Then we checked into the Best Western Geneseo Inn ($125).

Sunday, June 18, 2023: Moline, IL/ LeClaire, IA

We checked out of our hotel and headed to Moline again. We were too late to see the demolition of the old bridge but I got pictures of it before and after. I did see a video of it online though. Then we went to the Iowa side and rode around. We went to LeClaire, IA, and found the Antique Archeology store (from the American Pickers Show). Then we drove along the river. We found Dam and Lock #14. Then we went back to Costco to return some clothes that didn’t fit Don. After eating a hot dog lunch, we went back to the Wyndham in Moline where we had a reservation. The room wasn’t ready so we sat around for a couple of hours drinking free coffee and reading. Then we got our room and were lazy most of the day.

Monday, June 19, 2023: Davenport, IA/West Branch, IA/Rochester, MN

We headed to Davenport, IA for our 10 am tour of the John Deere Manufacturing Plant. We were sent an email telling us that we had to wear long pants, and closed-toed shoes, and leave our phones in the car. We couldn’t believe it when one couple showed up in shorts and she was wearing sandals! They made her go back to her car and change her shoes. Then they gave both of them long pants with elastic waists to wear over their shorts. The tour was amazing and well worth going! It lasted an hour and we rode around in a tram while the guide talked to us through headsets. We also had to wear safety glasses. The plant covers over 2 million square feet (roughly 37 football fields).

Then we headed to West Branch, IA to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum ($5 each for seniors). We watched a 22 min. video and spent about 90 minutes at the museum. We also went to see the President and Mrs. Hoover’s gravesite. Next, we went to look for the World’s Largest Nickel. It was on the side of the road and I took a quick picture and then we made a quick stop at Costco. We looked for a hotel to spend the night and didn’t find any suitable ones with good reviews at reasonable prices so we went on to Rochester, MN. We stayed at Hampton Inn Rochester South ($115). While we waited to check in, we were told that they were serving free chili for dinner so we had some. The room was nice and we will even get a free breakfast so we may stay here again tomorrow night.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023: Rochester, MN

After breakfast, we headed to Austin, MN to the Spam Museum. It was free and we spent about an hour there. After that, we headed to Buffy the Cow and then Oxbow Park Nature Center and Zollman Zoo (also free). It was really hot outside (85 degrees) but the zoo was pretty nice. Then we headed to Costco for gas and Aldi for junk food. We returned to the Hampton Inn (booked another night but it was $120) and decided to hop on the shuttle to the Mayo Clinic (downtown). We walked around to get our bearings before the ZK knitting retreat. When we got to the mall, we had to stop at Chocolaterie Stam and get a salted caramel gelato. We found the Hilton and the parking garage where we will be for the rest of the week.

June 21 - 25, 2023 - Zombie Knitpocalypse

I wrote a separate post on this in case you aren’t into knitting. Click here if you want to know more about our time at ZK.

 
Things I Learned:

• If you are going to the St. Louis Zoo, go early so you can get free parking on the street.
• Bring a bottle of water in a pack even if you think you aren’t going far.
• Waffle House has a good breakfast for around $6 a person.
• The people at Sapuro were not very friendly but the food was good.
• It was fun to go through Atlanta, IL to find Paul Bunyon.
• The 316 Antique Store in Bloomington, IL was worth going to.
• The Caterpillar Visitor Center was worth visiting and I really enjoyed it. We spent about 2 hours there.
• The John Deere Pavilion was free and took us about 30 minutes to go through.
• Sylvan Island is a nice park to walk around.
• It was fun to drive along the river in both directions in both states.
• The dam and lock were interesting to see.
• The John Deere Tour in Davenport was fabulous and free!
• Herbert Hoover’s Museum was well worth the stop for 2 hours.
• The Spam Museum is fun to go visit for an hour.
• The Zollman Zoo was fun and interesting too.