Mississippi River Mini-cation

Kayla and I were both on Spring Break this week, and since we didn't go with our friends to CO, we decided to do something nearer home (aka cheaper). Uncle Aaron, who works there, had told my mom that Dubuque, IA seems like a neat town. So we did some research and made a reservation at a b&b there.

We left Thursday morning and took our sweet time getting there, stopping in Winona at the Mississippi River. It was flooded of course, and churning angrily. Like the kids we are, we made a little boat from a styrofoam chunk, and sent it floating down the river.
Effigy Mounds National Monument near Yellow River, IA was our second stop. Since it was such a nice day, we gladly hiked the two mile loop up on the bluff above the river.


Another trail went under the road, and boy did we have fun taking pictures in it.

I just love the green water and rust red bridge. We may or may not have sunbathed here.

This is Pikes Peak, located in McGregor, IA, and is the highest point in Iowa. It is also opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River (heh heh, just learned that word).
We finally made it to Dubuque, and after checking in at our bed and breakfast, went downtown for dinner. The town kind of reminds me of Duluth, with water on one side, and a hill on the other. It was more run-down then I expected. As was our b&b. It was old, with a lot of lamps. Very inexpensive too, which suited us just fine. Our bed was comfortable, and the food was delicious! We named our innkeeper "Aunt Cynthia". She reminded us of a character in teen books, the kind that is eccentric and has cats. She was genuinely nice though, and told us that it is against the law to talk on your cell phone while driving in Dubuque. I didn't take a picture of our inn, and regret it now. This is downtown...

On Friday morning, we went to the Mississippi River Aquarium and Museum. It was totally worth the $10.50 admission. There was so much to do and see, like this huge catfish (I think that's what it was).
And a lizard exhibit that you could crawl into and get a peek of the habitat at close range.
Along with seeing many tanks of animals, we got to go outside and tour a boathouse, a wigwam, and an old barge.

Next, we headed across the bridge to Galena, Illinois for some shopping. Galena is a picturesque town with one long main street of shops. We didn't actually go into many, but the fudge shop beckoned to us.
It made me think of SLW and Chocolate Lovers :) After lunch and browsing, the weather turned chilly, and we were ready to head back to MN. One last picture...
When we say we went to Iowa for Spring Break, everyone gets that why? look on their face, and yeah, it wasn't Florida, but it was honestly great. I wouldn't have traded it for anything.