Bellevue, Iowa
August 29, 2019

Dear Family & Friends:

Today was a special day because my dear friends, Steve and Barbara Harris, visited me in Bellevue.

I enjoyed a quick trip from Dubuque to Bellevue and arrived at Lock & Dam No. 12 at 2:50pm. In Dubuque, I exited Wisconsin and entered Illinois. Iowa is on my right and Illinois is on my left. I’ll be in Illinois for a very long time. While I waited for Steve and Barbara to arrive, I sat in a swing above the River, had a sandwich for lunch and watched the River flow.

Steve and Barbara live in Illinois. Steve is a professor at Chicago Kent Law School. We have been close friends for decades. We worked together on many law reform projects when I was practicing law. Barbara is a retired educator. They have two grown children-Jacob and Molly. Steve and Barbara arrived in Bellevue at 4pm. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and the city along the River is old-style clean and quaint with lots of shops, restaurants and bars that line Riverview Drive.

After I booked a room above a bar and secured my canoe, we drove back into Dubuque to have dinner at Marcos, a family owned Italian restaurant. The food was authentic and excellent. We had a nice chat with the owner, waitress and chef.  Many of them immigrated to America from Italy. What a great Italian family and restaurant.

All-in-all, a super fun day on the River.

Tomorrow, I will lock down Lock No. 12. I hope to make it to Clinton, Iowa.

Bill

 

One of our summer cabins

A tow pushing 15 barges

Watching the River go by

Steve & Bill in Bellevue

Barbara & Bill

Marco’s in Dubuque

Marco’s owners & staff

Riverview Road, Bellevue

Hawkeye breakfast at Granpa’s Parlour