Day Eight- IL/IA

We woke up early this morning from a refreshing night's sleep at the Moline/Rock Island KOA. Today was the first day we were really on a strict schedule. We had a lot to do in Moline before heading to Iowa. First, showers were necessary but we soon ran into a problem -- we didn't have any towels. We had become slightly accustomed to hotels providing these in the room for us. A little creativity on our part was necessary but for future travels, remember: Campsites don't come with towels! Pulling out of our campsite, we noticed two rather unusual objects on the side of the road. The first was a huge particle board castle which is the site of the annual renaissance festival. And the second was patriotic rocket in a company's parking lot. We love it!

A rocket in Moline.

Our first stop of the day was a little coffee shop in town called Dead Poets Espresso. A cute little shop that served all kinds of coffee, truffles and pastries. They had pictures of poets lining the room (i.e. Shakespeare, Dickinson, Poe, etc.). The coffee was excellent with our egg and cheese bagel and a cinnamon roll.

Our next stop of the day was the John Deere Pavilion. Jessica was like a kid in a candy store. On display were John Deere agricultural equipment, new and old. We were able to see antique tractors and even the first corn harvester! Best of all, we were able to check out the latest and greatest models of cotton pickers, tractors, combines, and hay bailers! Yes!

Jessica standing in front of an unbelievably large combine.


A 6430 tractor model pulling the mega-wide 468 model hay-bailer.

Orit started chatting with one of the guys who worked for John Deere. He informed us that there is a farm in Iowa with 100 of those 4-row cotton pickers which are needed for the 80,000 acres of cotton grown there. Wow!

Jessica in the four-row cotton picker, retail $265,000.

After the Pavilion it was on to the John Deere Store. Jessica stocked up on t-shirts, hats, and a thimble but this phrase on a t-shirt in particular caught her eye. (We are not going to say who this is intended for, but you know who you are!)

A special John Deere saying.

Next on our to-do list was a 2 hour ride on the Celebration Belle that took us up and down the Mississippi. We had lunch, entertainment, and a narration of the historical significance of the area and its surroundings.

Orit on the Celebration Belle.

Then, we were back in the car ready to cross over the Mississippi on the I-74 bridge into Iowa to see the Village of East Davenport. Jessica managed to stick her hand out the window and place the camera on top of the car in order to capture the picture of the welcome sign.



Once in East Davenport we came across an old time candy shop and soda fountain. It was filled with chocolates and sweets, but there was only one thing we wanted.

Cherry Coke Float.

It was back on the road to Des Moines, Iowa for an overnight. We were forced to take the interstate the entire way because there weren't any other remotely direct routes. We survived the drive on music, sunflower seeds, diet coke, and fudge. We're all smiles in the car!

We found the KOA without any problems and quickly got our tent set up and laundry started. The nearest town was Adel which was 7 miles away and it was here that we had some dinner -- Subway -- and saw some of the locals. Jessica and Orit always feel like they are traveling with a billboard on top of us with the word, "Outsiders." We picked up a couple of citronella candles at Family Dollar so that we could sit outside without getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes once back at the campsite. Our tent site had an electrical hookup which enabled us to sit out and communicate with everyone from a cornfield in Iowa.