A trip to Iowa

We had put aside the day to travel to Iowa to visit Dan and Tom's aunt Sister Imogene




across the state border and the Mississippi River at Dubuque.




Interesting houses all around.




Really enjoy the variety in the homes.




There was a fireman collecting money at the intersection at Kansasville.




Without having to drive, I finally had a chance to photograph some of the amazing barns in Wisconsin again.




I love the barns and silos.




Wonder what goes on in these places.




We had lunch at Berloit in the park by the river - very pretty but no restrooms open made for an uncomfortable fifteen minutes until a stop at dairy queen.




Sister Imogene is Dan and Tom's mother's sister and lives in the St Francis Convent there.




The buildings were beautiful. She graciously took a lot of time to show us around the convent




and show and explain to us the many works of Art both in the new and old buildings.








We also enjoyed the hospitality of a meal in the convent, meeting many friends of Sister Imogene.




She is a very popular and happy lady.




We finished the day there overlooking the Mississippi River from the Eagle Point Park lookout before heading home. There was a lock on the river below.




The mist and rain set in and it was a watery experience at first but the skies cleared.




We sheltered under the trees.




The sun was setting among the storm clouds giving an ethereal red glow in the West.




We travelled on in the dark, we were tired and very grateful to Tom for driving the whole trip. A nice day!
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Location:Dubuque

Dan's mom

We visited Dan's mum in the veterans home and hospital today.


His brother, John, also brought down 3 of his family..... they played mini putt with Hunter while we sat outside.


Dan, Tom and Josef chatted outside while watching on


From there we needed to drive South to Racine through beautiful Wisconsin, which alternates between farmland and deciduous forest with lakes and rivers dotted throughout.


There is so much land in forest that I wondered why it hadn't been converted to farmland but apparently the soil is very poor being filled with rocks and clay pans I guess from the glacier age as much of this area was covered in huge glaciers.


I didn't take too many photos down the interstate and we arrived


in time for a BBQ at Tom and Janet's with Janet's parents also coming over. It was good to see them, they are the same age as my parents and it is a tough time of life but like my parents they are doing it gracefully.


Janet has a new kitten, Benny, and the cats and a movie finished off the evening's entertainment.


It will be good to have a break from driving although i have gained a lot more confidence on the right (wrong) side of the road. Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:King

No big blog today.

Driving today into Wisconsin from Minnesota. Crossed the Mississippi river. All driving on the interstate so few photos due to not stopping. Beautiful Wisconsin many deciduous trees and many barns and silos which i took many photos of last time I was here but we did have a stop at Withee-Owen, where Dan was raised.


Small town and we saw the college


where he went to school. Evidence of the Armish community here with genuine horse manure at this parking space


There is no phone reception here at the motel which makes me think we are in Siberia so I couldn't ring my dad for fathers day. :(
We didn't get to see Dan's mum today but will do first thing in the morning.
Dan's brother, John, surprised us at the restaurant at the motel where we are staying at Waupaca.


John is the youngest of the Hynes eight siblings. It was good to see him. Tomorrow it is on to Racine after our visit to Dane's mum.


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Location:Grand Seasons Dr,Waupaca,United States

Goodbye Joyce, hello MOA

We said our farewells to Joyce and Gary




And headed northward to Mall of America. It was an easy one hour trip from their house.




The two cousins.




The Mall has about 500 shops and a large playground in the middle. By playground I mean roller coasters etc. no I did not go on any but Hunter had a ball interspersed with a bit of shopping.




Ready to shop! and ride!












We stayed till 9 at night. Very tired girls.




























Goodnight!

Location:Killebrew Dr,Minneapolis,United States

From Sioux Falls to Minnesota

Sioux Falls is a nice city - gently rolling surrounding countryside. Sioux Falls
And farm land all around.
We had lost an hour that we didn't realize until later in the day, due to moving into another time zone, so although we thought we were up super early, we actually ended up behind time. With four hours driving ahead we lost track of time. Dan wanted to see the butterfly house in town which also had tropical fish.




We did get there early but it didn't open for another hour so we were forced to go shopping at the Empire Mall to fill in an hour.




It was a lovely clean friendly mall, quite big, and a good lace to eat a Cinnabon cinnamon bun for breakfast with some surprisingly good coffee. Model train at the mall.




Back to the butterflies and fish and also tarantulas, there were also touching pools where you could touch the stingrays and sharks and starfish.




After the butterfly house we headed north to Joyce's house through beautiful Minnesota. The familiar barns and corn silos




became predominant and the land became a lot greener. Corn as far as the eye can see but also trees and deciduous forests which will be awesome in autumn. Hunter fell asleep




and we became even later with roadwork detours. Dan's cousin, Joyce and husband Gary were very welcoming to their lovely house in an idyllic spot -




10 acres of grass bordered by a stream and forest which must be amazing in the fall.




We went for a walk after dinner and admired the wildflowers on the way. Golden Rod along the borders.




Gary told us there were deer and a turkey who were regular visitors but they must have heard we were coming because they didn't show their faces.




Gary's lawnmower was custom built with many snazzy features. He tries to keep the moles at bay by running over their burrows with this machine.




Hunter would loved to have a spin on it but it was waiting for parts. The trees were just lovely.




Gary and Joyce had planted rows of beautiful trees.




The family cat was also welcoming though so all was well




and I snapped a few pics of the birds at the many feeders.




Love the way Americans decorate their houses.




We had a lovely home cooked meal and a margarita was quoiffed down easily.




I loved this sculpture on the wall at Joyce's place. We had a very enjoyable evening. On to the Mall of America tomorrow- the largest mall in USA.
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Location:Killebrew Dr,Minneapolis,United States