Another Camera Club Feildtrip: Galena and Dubuque

Now I have gone on my second day trip with the Camera Club.  This time Linda and I drove with some friends of hers.  It was nice not having to drive and just be along for the ride.  Our first stop was Dubuque, Iowa.  We first road on the Fenelon Place Elevator.  "Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator, this funicular railway has been called "the world's steepest, shortest scenic railway."  Once you get to the top there is an AMAZING VIEW of the city.

Riding the rail.  Picture courtesy of Linda Clark. 

House with a View

These two kids looked so adorable I had to take their pictures.

We didn't spend too much time in Dubuque.  We ate lunch at a wonderful restaurant downtown called "Crust" and then headed for Galena, Illinois.  That is a place I definitely want to visit again!  Such a great city!  It kind of reminded me of Savannah, Georgia with all of the historic buildings, churches and houses. 

Brochure:
"Galena today looks much as it did in Grant's time. Hundreds of buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, and an estimated 85 percent of the town has been declared a National Historic District. Grant’s modest Italianate style home still stands overlooking the cemetery. It was a gift given to the Grant family in 1865 by a group of Republicans who purchased it for $2,500. More than 80,000 people per year visit the home of the former president."

"Walking about the village is akin to stepping back in time. Main Street has been named one of the most attractive streets in America. It is lined with well-preserved Federal-style storefronts. They host a variety of shops and restaurants that serve the more than 1 million visitors who come to the village each year." 

Here are some downtown reflection pictures:

A window within a window!

Picture courtesy of Linda Hansen.

Picture courtesy of Linda Hansen.

Picture courtesy of Linda Clark.

 

Here are some pictures of a few of the historic buildings:

 

 

Pac man is hungry! 

 

 

 

Here are some random pictures of trees and plants that I found interesting:

 

 

These are still pictures in the downtown area.  The downtown was layers upon layers.

 

 

This picture is the famous "Main street" that has been labeled one of the most attractive streets in America. 

 

 

These pictures were by the park of a few old shacks sitting by the railroad tracks.

 

 

 

Puddle reflection.

 

 

A picture of the entire gang, all seven of us, standing on the bridge.

 

 

 

My mom and dad watched the kids for me so I could go on this day trip.  They had lots of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

 

 

 

 



 

Austi and Rye

Today I had the day off.  I spent the day running errands and hanging out with my kids. 

Riley is obsessed with the Power Rangers lately.  That is his first choice to watch on Netflix the last few days and to tell you the truth I am really sick of hearing "Go, go power rangers!"  Riley thinks they have "Cool moves."  He likes to try to copy their AWESOME MIGHT MORPHINE moves!  He is hilarious.

 

 

 

Austin is almost 20 months old.  I just took him in for his 18 month check up last month.  He weighed 23 pounds.  He is right on track on his growing and everything checked out great.  He is a little peanut but he eats really good.  He is so active that he must burn it all off.  His personality is so fun.  He is getting more independent every day.  He is a little copy cat of Riley.  He likes to carry my iPod around holding it up to his ear and sing to the music.  He can say a few words but still does not say much that you can understand.  He is a good communicator though just not with many words.  He loves Tammy's dogs.  When I drop him off in the mornings he heads straight for them.  He is a definite animal lover.  He is NOT a morning person.  It is always a little rough in the mornings and he usually wants to stay in bed.  He always sleeps in until around 9 am on the my days off or on the weekends which I enjoy.  He is a good traveler and is mostly good in car rides.  He loves eating and really enjoys applesauce.  Every night he is covered in whatever he ate for supper no matter how hard I try to keep him clean.  I know some kids wear bibs really well but neither of mine ever kept them on for me.  He likes to play with puzzles and blocks and he seems pretty hand eye coordinated.

 

 

 

Riley is doing great.  I love him as a 4 year old.  He is so grown up and can do so much more on his own now that it makes it easier for me.  He has his sassy days but overall he is a really mild mannered boy.  We are lucky.  It is fun seeing all of his art projects he brings home from preschool and hearing all of his stories about his friends.  He can write his name almost legibly but needs a little work in the writing skills area.  He has never been one to enjoy coloring or drawing and it is hard for me to teach him as he is left handed.  It is hard to write with your non dominate hand and then to try to teach someone is even harder.  He likes painting, cutting and pasting more than he likes coloring or drawing.  He loves books and always has to have at least one story at bedtime but mostly two.   He loves to play video games, big surprise!  He can even sit and watch other people play video games on you tube and be entertained.  I am sure if I let him he would sit and watch video games all day long.  What a life that would be.  He loves people and is such a social kid.  He is a daddy's boy and always wants to follow dad around.  He likes to sing my country songs with me in the car.  He loves to talk and always says the funniest, cutest things.  Tonight when I was reading him a book he said "Excuse me."  Then a few seconds later he said "Excuse me" again.  He says "Mom the reason I said excuse me two times is because I farted two times."  He always is making us laugh. 

 

Riley and Austin get along pretty good.  They are good playmates.  Here are some pictures.

 

       

 

 

 



sunset

The Fog

This morning it was a thick fog so I took a few pictures off the beach on French Island.  When I looked at the pictures tonight I noticed a weird looking outline in the water.  It almost looks like a cat fish. 

If you look close you can see the outline of something in the water.

When I zoomed in on it.  It looked like the outline of a cat fish to me, it even has the whiskers on top.

The Effigy Mounds

Today we took a drive to Iowa area to see The Effigy Mounds.  It was another beautiful fall day.  It seems the year's fall just keep going and going.  Last year we had about one week and it was gone.  The leaves have really stayed on the trees for a long time this year and we are soaking up every minute of it.  Today Jason, the kids and I hiked on a hilly trail for 6 miles.  I pushed Austin in the jogging stroller the entire way(thought I might die) and Jason carried Riley on his shoulders half of the way.  Our bodies are aching but we truly had a great time.  We saw a lot of beauty and it was perfect hiking weather. 

The Effigy Mounds
"Eastern Woodland Indians built mounds from about 500 BC until the early European contact period. A unique Effigy Mound culture developed in this area of the Upper Midwest placing thousands of mounds in the shape of animals across the landscape. Others are conical, linear or compound shapes; many of the conical are burial mounds. Some effigy mound groups were built to a monumental scale; the Marching Bear Group, containing 10 bear and three bird effigies, stretches nearly one quarter mile along a bluff top overlooking the Upper Mississippi River."

Play date

Today Riley had a play date with his best friend, Gabe.  Gabe drew him 2 pictures of Lightning McQueen to take home with him.  They are so cute.  Carrie and I had fun catching up.